7.8 or 5.2 watt for gallon in a 30gl tank??

[ANDREA]

I don't know what to do regarding my small fish tank is a 30gl depth is only 17 inch
nova fixture 4 t5 with 156 watt (5.2 w for gallon) or a nova pro 6 t5 with 234 watt (7.8w for gallon)
i know with 5.2w for gallon i will be ok, because
on my 75 gl i have nova pro with 8 t5 x54w and give me a 5.76 watt for gallon and is working very good with all my coral's

but what about 7.8w (6 t5 )for gallon in a 30 gallon tank with 17" depth of water to much and fry all the softy????/
wath do you think and what is a decent number of watt for gallon????


Aquarium Lighting for Reef Systems: Current Nova Extreme Pro Saltwater T-5 Fixtures
Aquarium Lighting for Freshwater and Reef Systems: Nova Extreme Compact SLR T-5 Fixtures

 

[bjohanson1234]

I have a total of 96 watts on my 29 gallon. I can keep most everything. The one SPS that I have tried is thriving. I have it near the top of the tank.

 

[14 gallon nanocube]

If you only want to keep softies go with the 4 bulb fixture but if you wanted to someday get some of the fancy lps or sps then grab the 6 bulb fixture.you can always raise it up off the tank a little if its to much for softies.We have 6 watts per gallon of t5 on 40 breeder and have no problem keeping zoas,palys,lps sps and various softies and shrooms.It is a little much for some of the high end zoas so we keep them down low and under overhangs.most people prefer t5s at 5 to 10 watts per gallon but it depends on what they are keeping and also on the depth of their display tank

 

[Reef Nutz]

5 watts per gallon is sufficient for almost anything at 17" depth. SPS will be fine with that lighting.

 

[Bifferwine]

I also think the smaller light would be fine.