What size light?

[aquanaut]

Hello


I have a 30 gallon long reef tank, mostly soft corals and polyps etc. Right now I have a 36" light ( 1 96watt 1200K Actinic and 1 96watt 1200k white ).I can not use the legs that came with it because then it does not fit the top of the tank...too long. What size light is used for a 36" tank? (Dimensions that is) Is a MH light going to be too much for that tank or not. I was thinking of going with 175 watt MH and 2 Actinics. I cant hang it so Ill need to use legs. Will I sunburn everything?


Thanks all

 

[MYTY1705]

nope that would be fine. You could pretty much house anything you wanted in there with that. Including clams and acropora. I'm jealous. I want clams!!!!

 

[fishfreek]

If your 30 gal tank has a center brace you will need two MH lamps centered on either side of the middle brace. If you go with a single bulb over the center brace you will have a shadow over the tank. Using florecents to accent the MH may alevate the shadow to some degree but the bulk of your light intensity will be blocked. Most 96W bulbs are about 36" to begin with excluding the space needed for the endcap so I can see how the light would be to long for the tank. If you can suspend the light over the tank you can still use the light you have.