watts per gal for corals

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rngrjt

Aquarium Advice Regular
Joined
May 23, 2006
Messages
57
Location
spring lake NC, (fort bragg)
i was wondering if i need more then 4 watts per gal. one set of lights is 2x96 the other set is 4x96. For a 46 gal tank would i really want to get the 4x96 which would be 8.3 per gal. Is that over kill or would it open the door to any type of coral i would want?
 
I wonder about this whole watt per gallon thing sometimes. I think it should depend on depth and type of corals. I`m not much of a lighting expert though. I would think you`d be OK on the 4.
 
Watts/gal is a very general guideline and poor forumal to soley rely on. As mentioned, tank dimensions and the types of corals you want to keep will make a difference. Using the 2x96watt fixture will allow you to keep a god variety of soft corals, polyps and LPS corals. If you have intentions of keeping clams, high light anemones and SPS corals I suggest you took into a MH/CF combo.
 
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