Pylum Posted July 31, 2011 Share Posted July 31, 2011 I'm going to set up a 75g reef tank, 48x18x21 with about 3 1/2 -4 inches of sand. It will be my first tank with corals and I'm not sure how many watts of lighting I should use? I've heard 2w per gallon but heard it can change depending on tank size. also, would a 36" light fixture work well or would I need a full 48"? any recommendations? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cellowithgills Posted July 31, 2011 Share Posted July 31, 2011 What type of corals do you want? Lighting depends entirely on that choice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tat2d Posted July 31, 2011 Share Posted July 31, 2011 lighting depends on what types of corals you would like to keep. Most soft corals do fine in lower light. LPS corals genarally need med. intensity lighting, and SPS love high levels of light. Most people start out with soft corals because they are more forgiving to water chemistry issues and don't require huge amounts of light. That being said, lots of people keep a mixture of the different types of corals under either high output T-5's or metal halides. You just have to place the corals higher or lower in the tank according to what they require. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nhowe Posted July 31, 2011 Share Posted July 31, 2011 I run dual 250 watt halides on my 75 gal. Gets some really good growth and color on soft corals. if i want to put in some SPS I don't have to upgrade my lighting. With halides you have to worry about the bulbs heating up the water. and might need a chiller. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonas Posted August 1, 2011 Share Posted August 1, 2011 I have a light that would fit perfect on your tank. 2x 250 watt halide. With 2 t12 atenics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mohaynow Posted August 1, 2011 Share Posted August 1, 2011 T5's are a great choice in my opinion. You can grow just about whatever you want with them and they don't use a whole lot of power. Over a 75 I would go with a 6 bulb tek or ati fixture Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dustin Posted August 1, 2011 Share Posted August 1, 2011 I think impur may still have his tel light its a great light and he's got a good deal on it if it hasn't sold Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pylum Posted August 1, 2011 Author Share Posted August 1, 2011 thanks for the info! I was looking at some stuff on ebay and was thinking about a fixture with 156 watt total, but it sounds like I will need at least double that. jonas are you saying that your setup would work for me or that you are selling it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k9flash Posted August 1, 2011 Share Posted August 1, 2011 For what its worth. I'm running dual 250 20k's and supplementing it with 2 VHO super actinics. Love it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dustin Posted August 1, 2011 Share Posted August 1, 2011 Well just as a side note I've been researching lighting pretty heavily before deciding to DIY an LED setup but wattage per gallon isn't really relevant anymore as far as I can tell PAR is the number u need to look at metal halides are the most popular at this point then T5s and compact fluorescents are used occasionally on smaller tanks and then u have LEDs that r still in a limbo some people say they are great others say they r terrible like everyone says it depends on the inhabitants softies need less than stonies so if that's ur preference a good 6 bulb T5 fixture would work well and look great plus u can play with different bulb colors if u want harder corals halides are the way to go probably or get a halide setup with actinic for a little blue or purple color bump its really all preference and lots of research Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cellowithgills Posted August 1, 2011 Share Posted August 1, 2011 There was a guy at SeaMAX that said he downgraded from dual 250w halides to 4 t5's. He said he still gets crazy growth. He also said it's all in the reflectors. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonas Posted August 1, 2011 Share Posted August 1, 2011 Both. Would work great on a 75 gal. Also for sale. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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