lighting for coral

[agoerl]

wondering what lighting would work for coral in a 5 gallon tank, I have looked around at the lfs in my area and have not found any thing small enough for my 5 gallon. I was ariginally looking for a 50/50 pc but the smallest I could find was a 21", not shure what to do

[drdrew]

*sigh*

i wish dave were here.

 

anyway, there are several options. measure your length and look at some online lighting stores. www.hellolights.com

comes to mind. i believe the 28watt pc will work perfectly if i recall correctly. otherwise you can DIY all kinds of configurations.

multiple 13 watters is a choice, so is 400Watts MH.

 

try searching the words lighting and 5.5gal.

[palaegic]

CustomSeaLife Retrofits

 

For a 5.5 gallon, the PC15232 model should do the trick.

[agoerl]

I currently have 2 13 watt florecent light hoods would this be enough or is their a special kind of bulb available to use with these hoods

[palaegic]

Part of the problem with lighting is that "watts" is the standard benchmark used to judge the power of lighting. It's essentially incorrect. Light intensity is what we are interested in as reefers. Intensity is usually measured in "lux" - which of course is meaningless to most people, myself included. Suffice to say that a 13 watt power compact flourescent is more intense than the very same wattage normal output tube, which is what I am guessing you have. Shoot for at least 32 watts of PC flourescent lighting on your 5.5. This will provide you with sufficient lighting to maintain a wide array of corals - but is not adequate for organisms like clams or some of the delicate stony corals.

[AbSoluTc]

The CSL 32w 50/50 retro will fit in the 5.5 hood. I had one in mine once.

[agoerl]

Is their any modification that I would have to do to the hood in order to us the CSL 32w 50/50 retro

[AbSoluTc]

Not that I am aware of. Other than gutting the hood and strapping in the new lights - no.