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	Lighting Issues
reflectz Fingerling Posts: 17 Kudos: 7 Votes: 1 Registered: 14-Sep-2003	I'm setting up a marine reef tank with liverock and corals later. I read that you need at least 4-7watt of lighting per gallon of water. My tank size is 60x30x30in. If i was to put most of the corals up higher on the live rocks, can i recaculate the wattage required, or do I work out how much wattage from the total of the fishtank.
Posted 28-May-2006 14:44
sirbooks Moderator Sociopath Posts: 3875 Kudos: 5164 Votes: 932 Registered: 26-Jul-2004	It isn't so much wattage per gallon as it is the type and power of the lights. Many folks opt to use actinic and powerful daylight bulbs, with either power compact or metal halide fixtures. They seem to be the most common types on reef setups, especially small to mid-sized ones. Another important thing to consider is what type of corals you want. Unlike live rock, most aquarium corals need light to survive. Mushroom corals and zoanthids tend to be pretty easygoing in this respect, but Acroporas and other SPS require intense light setups. Your tank is on the deep side, so if you plan to keep any photosynthetic animals on or near the bottom, you need to plan for that in your lighting setup. Otherwise, you'll need to situate those animals up on the rocks, as you already said. And when he gets to Heaven, to Saint Peter he will tell: "One more Marine reporting, Sir! I've served my time in Hell."
Posted 30-May-2006 14:10


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