ati lighting

[hippo]

I want to upgrade lighting. Does ati T5 3 x24watts power lux retrofit sufficient for reef aquarium (i.e. clam, LPS, SPS, etc.) Tank size: 2ft ( approx. 20gallon)

 

[loganj]

No...that will allow you to keep some of the less demanding corals and inverts, but not clams or SPS. 6 or even 8 of these bulbs would put you a lot closer to where you need to be. I have a 20 with 3x65w PC on it and I only keep soft corals in there. A 175 MH would do a good job I think.

 

[hippo]

Getting MH lighting will cause excess heat up on the aquarium. Hence, a chiller unit comes in. That incur more cost involved as well.

 

[reefrunner69]

Are these t5 hos? if so...I'd say 3 X 24W over a 20g tank would more than likely be fine for all but the most light demanding corals and clams.

 

[loganj]

Getting MH lighting will cause excess heat up on the aquarium. Hence, a chiller unit comes in. That incur more cost involved as well.

Not if you have fans on the tank. You'd probably only need a chiller if the room temps were high. I'm not that familiar with the intensity of the T-5's. It was my understanding that they were more intense than PC's but not drastically so. I have a 20H with a pair of 65w PC's and, IMO, it could use more. I wouldn't attempt SPS in there unless I could locate it right at the top. JMHO.