FamousGuy Posted June 8, 2002 Share Posted June 8, 2002 Alright i've got my credit card holstered and ready but i have one more question....i asked earlier if i should get a 20g or a 25g and this sorta relates...i already have 87 watts of pc's on hand, plus a 13w pc i might throw on if i don't give it away with my 5g....anyways that works out to around 4-5wpg for the 20g but it would obviously be less on a 25g, BUT if i stack the live rock up nice and tall the extra 5 gallons/4inches of the 25g shouldnt make a difference right....? both tanks are 24 inches wide (Edited by FamousGuy at 1:21 am on June 8, 2002) Link to comment
NanoReefer53 Posted June 8, 2002 Share Posted June 8, 2002 watts per gallon is an old outdated thing. It's all about intensity. 100w on a 5g would have the same intensity on a 20g. 87watts is okay for 55g. I would only restrict corals to softies and other that have been grown under low light PC's. Link to comment
Nishant3789 Posted June 8, 2002 Share Posted June 8, 2002 I agree with 53 but i dont understand waht he meant about thr 100 watts wouldnt make a dif on the 5 or 20 gallon... Persnaly i think that the only true way to find out if u have enough light for your corals is to try it, but to get a good idea then u should first look at the height of your tank. Light loses intensity at certain intervals which im not sure about? and it also matters wher u keep your corals. And last what kind of bulb you are useing. 20 watts of NO is not enough for much anything on a ten gallon tank. If u think about it in a one hundred gallon tank, with one 36 watt PC, then the space near the PC that has the dimensions of 10X20X12- the size of a ten gallon tank, would be able to have enough light for the corals you could keep in roughly 36 watts of light. But, I have a ten gallon tank and i have curently a 36 watt PC over it AND a 2X9 watt PC. now this is 54 watts of PC light that i have over my tank and yet its only under where the 18 watt and the 36 watt ahve the most intesity that i can keep the higher light loving corals. So baseicaly it all depends on A- the height of where u are placing the coral, B- How intense the light is under that coral, and C- what kind of BUlb you are useing. well i hope this helped! nishant Link to comment
Guest AbSoluTc Posted June 8, 2002 Share Posted June 8, 2002 Nanoreefer - Instead of being a post whore and jabering along - please allow me to finish! First, when I asked about tank size - it was not because of watts per gallon. I have never used that "idea" nor will I ever. Its absurd. Second, a 100w light will not have the same intensity on a 5 , that it does on a 20. 5 gallon tank is shallower allowing more light to penetrate. Whereas a 20 gallon is deeper, requiring more light to reach a nominal depth. Now, granted this is not 100% true science. Its just to explain that you are wrong. Stop making generalized comments and taking up space! I asked what tank size because I could not make out from his post what EXACTLY he had. Now, to answer his question - Since it seems you have use PC light to their end, and at this point would seem somewhat useless - I would get rid of your PC's and go with a 150w 20k/12k DE HQI pendant style setup. This will allow you to keep most anything your heart desires. Sell off your PC kits and earn a return so you come out a little ahead of the game. If your gonna spend more money - might as well get something that is going to achive much better results. Stop wasting money on PC and just charge that new 150w setup! Probably looking at around 250 for the pendant setup. Link to comment
lizbeth Posted June 8, 2002 Share Posted June 8, 2002 I'm going with 110 watts PC on my 20 tall (16"). AHSupply 2x55. I've seen pics of the lights on tanks and I like it. AbSoluTc, not everyone wants or can afford to buy and run (I pay the light bill) HQI lighting. Especialy in California! Link to comment
quiksilver5768 Posted June 8, 2002 Share Posted June 8, 2002 May I ask how you have 87watts? Like what combinations of lights do u have? 2x32 watt pcs and another 13? My suggestion would be to put around 110 watts on you 20 gal which would be ok for softies and most LPS but if u use around 100 for the 25, since its taller you might not be able to get away with all the types of LPS corals... Also nanoreefer53, absolutec is right. 100 watts is definitely not going to have the same intensity on a 5 gal as it would on a 20 due to the height of the tanks. This is true with 20 gal tanks since they make 20 longs and 20 highs. THe long tanks are shallower and therefore you could get away with even SPS with say 2x55 watt PCs. a 20 long has the same height as a 10 gal (As i recall) which is therefore much more shallow than a 20 high. So in this case a 20 high would require more light in order to pentrate the through the water farther...Also, I would like to know where you got the fact that he has a 55 gal tank from? 87 watts on a 55 would not be enough to keep most corals except some polyps and lower light mushrooms(brown, darker colors...). Link to comment
FamousGuy Posted June 8, 2002 Author Share Posted June 8, 2002 quick, i've got a 32w smartlamp from my old 5(and a 13w pc so i actually have a total of 100 watts), and 55w smartlamp. I think i'm gonna go for the 20, its 16 inches tall. The main reason i'm asking is that i'm interested in lps like red/green brains and the euphyllias. The 96w smartlamp was only like another 20 bucks more than the 55, but its 3 feet long and my tanks definately not gonna be long enough (neither would my stand that I already have). If 87 to 100 is definately not enough for lps in a 20 tall let me know and i'll upgrade the lighting Link to comment
FamousGuy Posted June 8, 2002 Author Share Posted June 8, 2002 Yeah liz, i'm definately not gonna get too crazy on mh lighting cuz the electricity here in cali is ridiculous Link to comment
HuBu Posted June 8, 2002 Share Posted June 8, 2002 right now i have 72W over my 10 gal. when i switch up to the 29 gal. going to either put 2 175W MH over it or 1 275W MH and 2 36W PC. or use everything. 2 175W MH and 2 36W PC. what do you guys suggest? Link to comment
eferna Posted June 8, 2002 Share Posted June 8, 2002 i think we are all missing the point here. printerdown had setup a website reagding what corals can be kept under what lighting. The 2x32W light on a 10gal was enough to keep any sort of coral. Link to comment
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