lighting for sps growth

[culp686]

i was wondering if 8 watts per gallon is enough lighting for sps growth. or is is just enough to keep them alive.

[R-3]

The whole watts per gallon thing is really deceiving. What size is your tank and what lights are you wanting to use?? We then can decide from there.

[culp686]

96 watt compact on a 12g eclipse

[grassi]

I have 6x54 T5 on a 65 and sps are growing like weed, but my tank is really shallow.

As R-3 said is a manner of kind of light and tank size and corals positioning.

I think that some sps can survive under pc at the very top. Just survive, not showing nice colors.

[jgf86123]

that light over that tank, you should be able to keep them alive, I'd upgrade to a T5HO fixture if I was you personally.

 

or, a 70w halide, that'd be wicked lol

 

it's not so much about watts per gallon as it is the type of lighting, PC lights arent the greatest, T5HO, with individual reflectors works good,e specially for a tank that size.

[culp686]

so pc is not really worth it for coral growth?

[reef165]

If you already have it then I would use it, the 12 gallon tank is only what 12 inches deep before the sand, I think that it will have plenty of light. I had a couple SPS growing under 3 110 watt VHO's at the bottom of a 24 in tall tank. Sure that wasnt optimal and they will grow much faster under T-5's or MH but they were growing, and that 96 watt PC in that tank will be way more light than that I had getting to the bottom of mine.

[tigerv503]

I think 8 watts is plenty for sps, you can have it grow at 4 watts per gal. It depends on how far you place your MH lights from water surface.

[reefnjunkie]

so pc is not really worth it for coral growth?

 

Define coral??

PC works fine with the majority of corals, as Grassi said they run T5s and get great growth, I had 6 T5s on a 24 gallon nano and the SPS and clams did great.

PC wont penetrate depth as well as MH and that's a lot of the reasoning why people give the knee jerk reaction of no SPS cant live under T5s. I had a LFS that told me that, and all that did was ruin the credibility, they need to ask more questions-you cant just say yes or know-that's why you hear general answers.

 

With what you have 96 watts in a 12 gallon, you will have plenty-your next concern or question will be regarding heat in the tank-I had to get a chiller with my 24 gallon nano, but I also ran a skimmer that had the pump in the tank, so heat was a problem, and I had mine about 6 inches from the surface, not enclosed in the lid

 

T5s work fine it the right application-yours is fine, like I said I would be as concerned about heat

[Mandinga]

I have a quarantine tank that I use...it is lit with a 13 compact fluorescent bulb. I have quarantined some monti cap and hydophora in the tank. Both corals are growing at a slow rate, but growing. I keep the nutrient levels pretty high as well...all softies do fine under this bulb. They just dont have the coloration.

 

 

8 wpg is plenty. I do believe that different bulbs and different spectrums will really vary the amount of growth you can get out of an SPS. I prefer 10k MH in 250 or 400 watt for GROWTH.

[culp686]

well thank you everyone for your input. i'm pretty new to this, so all the help is GREATLY appreciated. i guess the next step is to see what happens. it is about 12" ts the sand bed, but i do have alot of lr that makes a great shelf about 3/4 of the way up the tank. i figured i would use that to place them on, which would set them about 4-5" from the light.