Lighting

[cushen123]

I've got a 29 gallon set i recently bought and now want to upgrade the lighting system. I know one of the key factors in lighting is watts per gallon. If i had a set up with a little over 2 watts per gallon, would that be enough for me to eventually move to corals?

 

[stonynut]

watts per gallon is a very vague rule... but can be a guideline for newer hobbyist until they learn more about lighting
first off... be sure your lighting is photosynthetic radiation and not just regular floursecent lighting. PC, VHO, T5s, Halides are all generally photosynthetic
i would aim for at least 120watts over that tank with 150 or even 180 being better.

 

[airforceb2]

Stony is right. Watts per gallon is just a guide. The real factor is how far the light has to travel to get to the corals. If your tank is 18" tall, the light has quite a distance to travel to get to the sand. Another contriibuting factor is what kind of corals you want to keep. If you want to keep anemones or clams, you should really get MH lights. If you just want to keep softies and LPS corals, PC or VHO will be fine.

 

[kdfrosty]

If you can get a 24" fixture that's 65wx2 power compacts that would be sufficient to house most soft corals including shrooms, leathers, zoos, etc.
If your goal is to house any coral you might look in to getting a 175w metal halide fixture supplemented with actinics. Those are actually pretty reasonable price wise. You'll be able to pick up a MH retro kit for about $150.

 

[cushen123]

I'm really looking into establishing a small tank, as of now i only have 30 gallons and some what limited funds. I know this is an expensive hobby and one day I'll move on to bigger better things, but for now i want a few fish, corals, inverts, you know a little life and color in my tank, so the lighting i'm looking for is something for a retro kit to my light system. I've seen pc kits for 65, that's a 24 x 65. Would this be sufficient enough to suit my purpose of the tank????

 

[bang guy]

Originally Posted by StonyNut
first off... be sure your lighting is photosynthetic radiation and not just regular floursecent lighting. PC, VHO, T5s, Halides are all generally photosynthetic
Can you explain this further? Are you referring to the lack of intensity with NO flourescent or some other attribute that makes regular flourescent non-photosynthetic?

 

[stonynut]

i was just saying to be sure to have a bulb that will grow something instead of some "regular" bulb that comes with a freshwater setup, etc. ya know... like a little cool white bulb or a incandescent bulb
yeah... NO flourescent shoulda been included in the "PC, VHO, T5, Halide" list. (as long as the NO bulb is a known photosynthetic bulb suited for a reef tank)

 

[bang guy]

OK, thanks, I get it.

 

[stonynut]

yeah.. you get it.. but does everybody else...
i aint too good wit werds sumtymes.
that and i cant seemingly complete a thought when trying to write here at work

 

[fish_wok]

Originally Posted by cushen123
I've got a 29 gallon set i recently bought and now want to upgrade the lighting system. I know one of the key factors in lighting is watts per gallon. If i had a set up with a little over 2 watts per gallon, would that be enough for me to eventually move to corals?

just use a fecking flare

 

[kdfrosty]

Originally Posted by Bang Guy
Can you explain this further? Are you referring to the lack of intensity with NO flourescent or some other attribute that makes regular flourescent non-photosynthetic?

 

[civileng68]

Just FYI,
I have a 29 gal with 130 watts of PC lighting and my tank is awesome with it.
My anemone does very very very well in it.