Light requirements for coral???

I have a 47 gallon fish tank (H 18", W 20", D 18")

Anyways is 18" deep and i was just wonerding if a:


Coralife Lunar Aqualight Compact Fluorescent Fixture, 2X65 Watt, 24 inch
would be good enough for Soft + LPS corals?

 

i would say no because it doesnt meet the 4-5 watt requirment, and pc generally dont work at that depth, for that size tank i would suggest a single like 300 watt mh, so that it will rech to the bottom of the tank.

 

I agree more will be needed..

 

hmmmm i guesss soooo but.... my tank is more tall then wide.... as u can tell by the specs.... is there MH lights that can adust to my tank size? i mean i'm pretty sure i'd only need one MH bulb right?

 

yes you definatly only need one, they have ones that just hang singley that you can mount to like a hood or something over the tank, and that will definatly give you enough light and more, that way you can get like carpets and hard corals and such, if you wanted to do pcs, you would want a much more wide and long tank, as less height as possible ahha

 

okayy but if i put LPS coral in the middle of my tank.. aka 9 inches ... do u think my PC lights would work adequately?

 

hhmm....honestly i think that softies would be ok at that depth but for hard corals i would say no, but then again i personally have not tried it yet. but i do have a green carpet at the bottom of my tank and a 6inch clam at teh bottom, with pcs, and they are doing good, both said they needed mh, so idk, haha

 

What all corals do you think you will be keeping under these lights ? And what price range are you thinking about ? the 20 inch is the killer There may be a fixture so that you don't have the over hang. If I'm reading your measurements correctly..

 

well if i place lps corals at around 9 inches deep i was thinking to myself tht maybe they'll liveee

yes they r correct