54w par38 bulb in 20g reef

[Iodizedfate]

54w par38 bulb in 20g reef

Will that be enough light for corals? I'm not looking for anything fancy, just something to start out with. In case anyone asks here are the tank specs.

12W x 24L x 16H 20 gallon
Aquatech HOB 30-60 (330 gph)
Petco power head (125 gph)
Gunna have 2-3 inch sand bed
Have about 10-15 lbs of base rock.

I plan on having rock rubble and filter floss in HOB.
Not set up yet so no parameters.

 

[Iodizedfate]

It's an LED


http://item.mobileweb.ebay.com/viewitem?index=0&sbk=1&nav=SEARCH&itemId=111115630726

Here's a link to it

 

[Freshnoob1]

I'd get 2 so you don't have as much of a spotlight effect. Also the color temperature is very white so you're gonna need some little blue led strips to balance it back to about 14-20k instead of 6-12k. Right?

 

[Iodizedfate]

I thought the blue was more cosmetic tho. Do you think a single bulb would be okay in the meantime? I'm not interested in running 2 of those bulbs, if I'm pushing 100w I'm just going to grab a taitronics or briglux fixture. This is something interim until I have 130-170 bucks lying around.

 

[Freshnoob1]

Blue is better because it makes the colors if colors and whatnot pop out more. Sw aquariums are uglier the whiter the light is. 1 will be fine for now just bunch all your corals under it. But the thing is you'd be good for years if you just went with two par38 bulbs right now.

 

[Freshnoob1]

Colors of corals pop out*

 

[Iodizedfate]

Okay, I might do that. One more bulb is a lot cheaper than the other fixtures. Thanks for the help!

 

[czwicky]

10000k is the best for coral growth. 16-20k is purely aesthetic

 

[CaptainJugz]

If you think the "actinic" spectrums look good, then add lots of 12-18K lighting!! That's my opinion. I wasn't satisfied with the hue of my tank till I added lots of actinic and deep blue led strips to balance out the white wash....still need plenty of PAR, but color me blue!