Whats the recommened lighting watt per gallon?

[Reefaddict]

How many watts of light per gallon, MH/PC, do you need for the most light demanding of sea creatures?

 

[cj10488]

i believe they say 3-5 watts per gallon..


HTH,
James

 

[Reefaddict]

Really, thats seems kind of low...does that include anemones, clams, and sps?

 

[kidafius]

PC lighting is rated in Watts/gallon, and 3w/gal is the bare minimum for softies. Clams, anenomes, and hard corals are gonna need closer to the 5 w/gal and up range, I believe.

MH is not rated Watts/gallon, but on depth. I believe for <18" go with 175 watt. For between 18" & 24", go with 250 watts. >24" go with 400. The key is that you need 1 MH fixture per 2 feet. 4'x2'x2' tank = 2x250MH. if you go over 4', I would reccommend using a third MH set up. The actinics don't need to be watt/gallon calculated. Most people just use 2 55w or 96w PCs or VHO's in conjunction with the MH. For anenome's, I would definately recommend actinics with the MHs. HTH.