Lighting Questions

[Nanoreefer2k3]

Hello everyone I have a JBJ NanoCube and it came with a 24Watt combo light in the hood that seems quite bright but i was wondering if it is enough light to keep some mushrooms, zoos and soft corals healthy n happy i know using the watts per gallon rule it is 2 watts per gallon so i'm wondering if i need to retro it to get more wats per gallon. At my LFS i saw a nice compact 96watt quad i think i could fit in there somehow. what is the reccomendation on lighting for keeping the shrooms,zoos, and softies?

[LITTLEFISHEE]

First of all, what size is your cube? I don't think that rule of 2 watts per gallon is any good. I've heard 3-5 also. I'm sure 2 watts will keep softies alive, but you might not see any reproducing among them.

[Nanoreefer2k3]

littlefishee, it is a 12 gallon nanocube. it is 12 high 13 wide and13 deep. i too think the 2 wats per gallon is a bit low but i wasn't sure what the correct ammount of lighting for it should be. thats why i asked . BTW i have a purple feather gorgonian in this nano which seems to be doing great:) new growth and good color. but i am wondering if i put 96 watts on a 12 gallon cube if that will be tooo much?

[toefu]

2 watts per gallon? i'm running a 70w metal hallide over a 3 gallon...

[LITTLEFISHEE]

IMO, 96 watts will be good for keeping a lot of different corals. You could try acropora, clams, montipora and all sorts of different light loving corals.

 

I made the mistake of buying 2 X 96 watt powerquad for my 110gallon tank and now I need to upgrade and sell my other set. I was only planning on having shrooms, and zoos and a few leathers. My tastes have changed since then and now I want some clams too.

 

I take the watts per gallon rule into consideration, but that's about all. I always look at the size of your tank and which animals are going to be placed in the tank, and where.