Lighting

[gullmo]

Is a 24" 1 X 65w custom sea life smartlite enough lighting for a 20H? It has a 10,000K and actinic if anyone is not familiar with the product. I thought I read somewhere that the actual w would be a lot higher than the 3w I am expecting, which is kind of low on the scale of acceptability I know! I only intend for now to start out with mushrooms and colony polyps, maybe other low to moderate light corals. Any thoughts?

[tinyreef]

you're right! the 3:1 ratio is derived from normal output (NO) lights from the old fluorescents when compared to VHO. the powercompacts are rated in the VHO range and i've heard them quoted from 3~3.5 times lumen output versus NO.

 

caution: this is the diceiest part of reef-keeping, quantifying light output. much too in-depth for a simple post, sorry.

 

the 65w smartlite pc is a good light but it will be a little low in output for a 20H but good for a 20L. if you are confused that's the lighting issue i mentioned above. for softies and shrooms your light's sufficient. anything above and you'll need mh's imo for anything on the substrate. mid-water column distances can make up some of that deficiency though (i.e. placing it closer to the light source).

 

rule of (my) thumb is if the tank is <24"H (VHO/PC) and if the tank's >24" try to go mh. (depends on livestock)

[anthony812]

one thing people always forget is to add the distance between the actual light bulb to the surface of water..i have 2 x 250W MH on my 55 show..the tank is only 16" tall, and i have a 2-3" LSB, so that is only about 13-14" deep..but people think i am nuts when i use 250W MH and says that the tank is too shallow and stuffs. The reason i chose it is becuase i have the MH about 10" above my water in which my tank would be close to 24" tall..i am using Sunburst 12K Bulbs and when i looked in the tank i don't feel that it is too strong ...