another newbie lighting question

1 have a GLO fixture with 2x39w T5's. My tank is 18Hx36Wx12D. I should be ok to try some corals? Being in a remote location, myLFS is quite expensive...I want to make sure things will be OK.

 

I guess I should be in the lighting forum.lol. I really am new to this!!!!

 

Your going to need more than 78 total watts for a 30 gallon = 2.6 watts per gallon , your not even to 1 full watt yet per gallon

Rule of thumb' if wanting even the easiest of soft corals to try sis to have ATLEAST 4 watts per gallon

and some beleave as i do to purchase above what you expect to use / need for that 30 gallon you have now.
because you can always cycle on what you need and you have a larger virity
of corals to choose from if you have the light to supply to them .

All to many times , beginners/ novices "under buy" lighting systems only to realize they need more light' because their intrest has grown to wanting clams, xenia, stony's etc.
And you would be supprised how much light corals need to survive and grow .

I would suggest nothing less than power compacts / T5's atleast to 260 total wattage , you can set them half/half or to full day light , depending on your needs'

( I'm trying to save you money in the long run ) if you under buy you'll see dust collect on the ones that didint provide the light needed for your corals.

If you need light's ive got 2 set of some real nice power compacts in their own case with cooling fans . that would do real nice . and extra bulbs ( ive been there brother lol )

 

Yeah, I would try for more lighting. I have 48 watts over my 5.5 gallon nano...... I would at least bump it up to 7-8 watts per gallon....

 

maybe my calculations are off but it appears he has 2.6 watts per gallon. am I wrong? still not enough to do corals any respect or healthy enough. some say you can get away with 3 watts a gallon for soft but 4 is better. shoot for 5 to 7 watts a gallon

 

I was wondering the same thing.... But I couldn't find my calculator to double check myself>>> LOL!!!!!!

 

WPG as we used to know it no longer applies. With the advent of T5s and MHs and the like, there is no fair comparison between the two other than things such as PAR and lumens, not watts per gallon.

For anyone who is out of the know, T5s are VERY comparable to MHs and have been documented to even color up acropora!! They use less wattage and have the same results. So where a 55w T5 might equal something like a 175w MH (this is just an example, I don't know if it's true...simply for illustration), put both of those over separate...say...20 gallon tanks. The one with T5s is going to come to 2.75 WPG whereas the one with MHs will come to 8.75 WPG.

That's not fair, considering they will both have the same results.

Your tank is about 33 gallons. You have 78 watts of T5s over it. My opinion: you are going to be just fine with that.

 

yes you are correct it is 2.6 WPG in my last post i did my math wrong, will correct that .

Karma to you !