light watt

what size watt would i need for my 55 gallon tank 48 long,20 high and 15 deep on a MH 10k,15k or 20k.

 

Depends on what you plan on keeping!!!! Their are many threads and posts under the lighting section to help you out.
You should be ok with 150 or 250 watt bulbs though!

 

Most reef tanks run 5 to 10 watts per gallon - fish only requires much less

 

lights

im setting up another 55 gallon tank and i just want to have live fiji purple algae rocks. i like the looks of it !! should i just used a 12000k day with actinic bulb would that be better than a MH?? i want to get the right fixtures to have healthy growth purple algae growing.

 

If you set a 55 up you'll need 2 M/H fixtures and also actanic's I just re-did a 55 for a friend who had nothing but problems I like to use 175 w and 10,000 K with 2. 48 in VHO's you need and can't have enough true 03 actanic and URI is statre of the art for true 03 . The act. is far more importiant then many mention.. especialy for the promotion and healthy growth of corallines thats where their growth starts.. Back in dim corners where only the blue spectrum gets to.. Also with a good actanic set you can run the M/H a bit less and get a better dawn and dawn simulation as many feel is so needed ..Not me

With good strong actanics I run the VHO 14 yrs aday and then M/H like 6 hrs aday..

 

I have a 55 gallon and I'm running 260 watts 50/50 pc's and 250 watt metal halides - it seems like a good combo for everything in my tank!