The Right Light

[will l]

I have a 30 Gal FOWLR it 36" X 12" X 14" and I'm looking to change it to a reef. I have been searching the forums but I cant exactly seem to find the right info for my tank. How many watts and Ks? 250w MH 20K would this be enough?

 

[mr. tuna]

for a 30 reef..
a 170 watt MH retro, with 2x55 watts of PC.
You can get a retro which is much cheaper....

 

[will l]

Right now I got my dads real old floresent lights that are 23" is there any way i can just find the right bulbs for a reef?

 

[zanemoseley]

You'd want to go with 96w PC on a 3' tank since the bulbs are 3' long, a 55w bulb is 2' long. I'd be tempted to go with all florescent bulbs on a tank that size, with MH you're probably gonna have heat problems especially if you don't have a sump. Your tank is very shallow so if you went with PC's only you'd still get good light penetration. A MH bulb only covers 2' well so you're gonna have less lit portions on the ends of the tank. I'd go with 3 or 4 96w PC's. Your dad's lights are probably only normal output and won't cut it for a reef tank but you could check the ballast and see what it runs.

 

[viper_930]

You can't just replace the bulb with a different kind. You need a whole new setup.
What kinds of corals do you want to keep?

 

[will l]

Something to make my tank look a little less bare. Zoos leathers maybe a few more anemones. Just stuff to bring some color in my tank.

 

[zanemoseley]

Just go for 2 or 3 96w PC bulbs, that will be by far enough for all soft corals and then some. I'd reccomend a retro kit and build a canopy yourself.

 

[boomper]

I run a 250 MH over my 29 and it works great. I keep it almost a foot off the water, and run a fan and heat is no problem. It also definately reaches all areas of the tank, you dont want the whole thing under strong lighting anyway.