good wattage for a 38 gallon
- Thread starter sggavin
- Start date
bdhough
Active Member
I have a feeling you might a few prolems with it. It doesn't seem like enough. You want intensity as much as wattage in your tank. I think if you could add another 40 watts in there it would be good then.... From what i remember 38's tend to be tall rather than long so your light has to go through all that much more water to reach the bottom parts.
a&m aggie 04'
Active Member
110 watts is not enough for any anemone. Thats just about 2.5 watts per gallon, you'll need at least 5 in that tank for an anemone. I remember that 38s are deep, if thats the case you'll need even more lighting b/c it'll have to penetrate more.
with 2.5 watts you could probably get away with mushrooms and maybe a few polyps.
with 2.5 watts you could probably get away with mushrooms and maybe a few polyps.
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alti
Guest
hey sggavin, i dont know if the light is good enough for an anenome, but if you want more light you could probably put two more 36 or 32 watt bulbs in that hood. how much room do you have between the end of the bulb and the end of the hood? 32 watt bulbs will fit in a space of about 14" and the 36 watt bulbs need about 18".
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alti
Guest
that hurt. you could keep a decent variety of corals under those lights, but if your dead set on anemones you'll probably need to get the dual 96 watt pc. is there any way you can exchange the light or is it too late?
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alti
Guest
probably not
. i know that they make 65 watt bulbs for the square pin bulbs, but i see you have straight pin bulbs. i dont know how much another 20 watts will help, but check out some of the online stores and see if they carry 65 watt straight pin bulbs. like i said before, you can keep alot of different corals under that lighting. is it that important to have the anemone? i always wanted to have a queen angel in my tank, but i cant. i still check them out every time i go to the store and i know that someday ill be able to have one. it leaves something to look forward to.
. i know that they make 65 watt bulbs for the square pin bulbs, but i see you have straight pin bulbs. i dont know how much another 20 watts will help, but check out some of the online stores and see if they carry 65 watt straight pin bulbs. like i said before, you can keep alot of different corals under that lighting. is it that important to have the anemone? i always wanted to have a queen angel in my tank, but i cant. i still check them out every time i go to the store and i know that someday ill be able to have one. it leaves something to look forward to.
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alti
Guest
hey sggavin. i saw a dual 55 watt hood for sale in the classifieds forum. he'll sell for less than 100 i think. the title was 48" aga light strip i think. the poster was jjboods. check it out.
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alti
Guest
you can build a hood for like 10 bucks. its only 5 pieces of wood, some screws, sheet metal and paint(optional). piece of cake.
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alti
Guest
ok sg, i have a solution if your willing to build the hood. i have an extra dual 55 watt retrofit in my closet. it has no bulbs or reflectors but ill send it to you for free if you'll build the hood. all you have to do is buy the bulbs. ill even design the hood for you. you will have to gut out the light you bought. its pretty simple, i did it with my dual 55 watt. do you have any tools (saw, drill,screwdriver)?
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alti
Guest
i just saw your test results for your cycle. the ammonia is rising like it should. keep adding more shrimp every day. not more than 1 cube per day. you should start to see nitrites in a faw days. maybe a week max. keep me posted.