6 Watts Per Gallon. What else to Add?

[euphoria]

Well guys I used to have 260W of PC lighting and decided to hook up my old T12's in there, too. The T12's are 40W each and I put 2 of them in the canopy. They sit below my PC bulbs.
So now I have a total of 360W for a 60 gallon tank = 6W/gallon.
Can clams and SPS be kept w/ this kind of lighting or is it not sufficient enough yet? (assume my water condition is great).
By the way my bulbs are --> two daylights, two actinic O3's, one 50/50, and one 20,000K daylight.

 

[flatzboy]

You need metal halides for clams and sps.

 

[viper_930]

Not enough for clams and sps.
Also just a note, WPG rule is not a good rule to go by. Light intensity is what matters. An example is 13 watts on a .75 gallon would equal the same WPG as 1300 watts on a 75 gallon. However, there are some things that can live under the 1300 watts, but not on the 13 watts.

 

[euphoria]

Isn't it a matter of wattage per gallon? If for example I can get 10W/gallon out of PC's and T12's and 10W/gallon out of MH's, will it make any difference? Are MH's different types/spectrums/wavelengths of light?

 

[viper_930]

Yes, MH lights are much more powerful.

 

[reefer44]

mh are a point source of light therefore much more intense and they creat glitter lines which imo help penetrate into the corals tissues.............if i were you i would add 1 vho actinics and 2 vho daylight bulbs and clams and sps should do pretty well in the upper portion of the tank....
or you could add 1 or 2 (depending on your tank demensions) 250w mh bulbs and be perfect for most all corals
Brad

 

[euphoria]

I may buy a new house in a year, so I'm thinking maybe I should just stay satisfied w/ this tank and set up a bigggg tank at the new house w/ better lights, then just add the stuff from my 60 to the new tank.

 

[viper_930]

Even with 3 more VHO's you cannot keep clams. Only some SPS would thrive under it.

 

[golfish]

watt's per gal's mean nothing. You could keep some clams and some sps. I wouls stay away from the Maxima and Crocea clams, Derasa and Squamosa's would be a better choice for your lights.
If Clams and SPS are what you plan yo keep I'd spend the cash on MH's before buying any light loving sps or clam's.

 

[euphoria]

I think I"ll wait then until I setup something bigger than 60 gallons in the new house.
By the way, is 6W/gallon too much for mushrooms, soft, and a few hard corals? Can there be too much light for these, if so, I can take some off.
I currently have
mushrooms
brains
torch
fox
zoos
frogspawn
galaxea
candycane
plate coral
and 2 sponges

 

[dragonboy]

Your setup is only good for zoo's, mushrooms, some sps and some softies. Definately not good enough for hard they only take MH. Just go with mostly softies just for now until you get the new tank and new house.

 

[kistheeze]

aye aye aye...> This has got to be the oldest arguement on record...
Can SPS and clams live under anything but MH? The answer is YES - of course they can!
Now - to qualify that statement: Your lighting would be fine (as golfish said) for squamosa, deresa clams kept relatively high in the tank - would Croceras and maximas survive if kept right near the surface? Probably. Would they be happier with MH lighting? Probably.
Acros are not a good choice, but you'd do fine with a couple montipora digitatas or capricornis. Hell - even a poci near the surface would probably be okay.

 

[spsaddict]

Originally posted by ViPeR_930
Even with 3 more VHO's you cannot keep clams. Only some SPS would thrive under it.
actully they could keep a squamy thoes are one of the less light demanding clams (if they added 3 vho)...

 

[russianspy]

I would say what you have is fine, You do need MH for Clams and SPS, but just buy 1x250W MH bulb and you'll be all set, the MH and VHO combined should be sufficient for SPS and Clams

 

[spsaddict]

Originally posted by RussianSpy
You do need MH for Clams
for maximas and croerca yes... squasmosa's no

 

[viper_930]

Oh yea, it's true I forgot about these. You can keep squamosas, derasas and gigas with 380 watts, but you'd have to spread them out and not layer them.
The T12's are 40W each and I put 2 of them in the canopy. They sit below my PC bulbs.
With them below your PC bulbs, they would reduce the amount of light actually getting to the tank from the PC bulbs.

 

[spsaddict]

Originally posted by dragonboy
some sps and some softies. Definately not good enough for hard they only take MH. ]
sps are hard corals

 

[mongoose]

Originally posted by FLATZBOY
You need metal halides for clams and sps.
Ummmmm nooooo....certian SPS corals can be kept without a MH. I would recommend trying out some montipora digitata or caps, I've had great sucess with them in my tank...my acro is even showing some slow growth and keeping its color

Head on over to reefcentral thier was a similar thread over thier where another guy has similar results that I'm having keeping SPS's under PC's
With that being said my next tank is for sure going to have Mh's they are definatly better and you cannot get the intesity of of them with VHO's or PC's
BTW: I have a 130W of PC on a 29G

 

[bill33]

mh pierces the water more than pc

 

[sammyg]

A list Bang Guy posted for me of SPS that do well under strong VHO:
Montipora Digitata
Montipora capricornus
Hydnopora
Seriatopora
Porites
I don't have any SPS; I'm just repeating what I was told.