Lighting with different currents.

[custombuilt]

can any one tell me what are the difference if you are lighting your tank with an AC or DC because i was just wondering someone posted that lighting should be 3-5 watts for a reef tank, what if i have a 50 gallon aquarium what is the difference if I'm going to light it up with 500 watts 220vAC or 12vDC, they are both 500 watts.

 

[wangotango]

Don't concern yourself with how many watts of light you have over your tank. A watt isn't a unit of light output so it's meaningless for your corals.

 

[custombuilt]

so how should i know if i have a good lighting over my tank for the corals. and how could i compute for the light output?

 

[custombuilt]

would and 11k t5 be enough to penetrate my tank 18 inches deep?

 

[nikesb]

if want to measure how much light your getting, you'd need a par meter.
quality t5 bulbs can penetrate deep as long as theyre on the right reflectors/ballasts. that being said, without good reflectors theyre not good for penetrating

 

[scsinet]

Even if you do want to figure it in watts, a watt is a watt.
All other things being equal, a 500w lamp should produce a certain amount of light, regardless of it's design voltage.
I've never heard of a 12v 500w lamp though... Such a lamp would draw 41 amps, and thus require very heavy wiring.