Proper Lighting?

[kart_racer3]

Greetings!

I've finally had my 90 gallon tank (and 20 gallon sump) with fish and live rock cycling for a little more than a year, and would like to invest in some corals/anemones/etc. My question is: how much wattage do you recommend per gallon? And what is the best lighting method to attain this wattage? Is there a particular lighting system that you could recommend? I'm aware that different species have different intensity requirements, but would like to invest in a system that has room for flexibility in what it would allow me to stock. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Quil]

I'm interested in lighting recommendations as well...trying to get all the parts together for my new 60g tank.

 

[stradt03]

i would say around 4.5 watts/gallon

 

[Quil]

OK, here's another question. This tank is being converted from a FW, so the hood I have on it only allows for one light bulb, 36 inches. Any recommendations, or do I need to get a new hood?

 

[stradt03]

i've got a PC fixture for sale with two bulbs for a total of 192 watts. It has about 3.5 months of use. that would give you about 3.5 watts/gallon which isn't half bad.

let me know

Jason

 

[ianrich147]

If i wer you i would get a pc mh combo 400w+ to get 4.5+wpg and check out ebay lots of lighting

 

[Avi]

If your tank is no more than 18-inches deep, then you can probably do well if you limit your coral to kinds that aren't very light demanding. Otherwise, if it's deeper, you should consider getting T5s or metal halides. I've never had T5s as a main lighting source but I have read about them extensively and they are highly recommended for tanks up to 21-inches deep if you get quality reflectors like the ones that come with the TEK fixtures. I have metal halides after having used power compacts for a long time. I recommend them. Metal halides have a depth penetration beyond what other lighting can provide so you woudn't be limited in what you keep in any way.

 

[Quil]

i've got a PC fixture for sale with two bulbs for a total of 192 watts. It has about 3.5 months of use. that would give you about 3.5 watts/gallon which isn't half bad.

let me know

Jason

What are you asking for it? Any lunar bulbs? I'm definitely interested.

 

[stradt03]

no lunars in it as of right now, however it does have the lunar lights holes and a lunar light switch to control the lights.

Jason

 

[lando]

The first thing you need to do is decide what types of corals/inverts you would like to keep. You can then build your lighting system around that. The whole watts/gal is a very poor way to look at things. While it can be used as a guideline, it is far from a hard and fast rule. For your tank, I would look into some form of MH lighting with actinic CF or VHO suppliments. The MH will give much better light penetration (its a tall tank) and the actincs will help make the tank more pleasing to the eye. Both Coralife and Orbit make some nice MH/CF combo fixutes. If you are on a tighter budget, Odyssea fixtures will work (I have one) but they do come with mixed reviews.