little_fish
Moderator
That is hardly enough light for the soft corals, that light cant support very much coral life and definitly not a nem or clam.
My 55 & 125
- Thread starter ezlight
- Start date
That is hardly enough light for the soft corals, that light cant support very much coral life and definitly not a nem or clam.
Oh well, that means the 55 will just be a little fish tank, or a QT. I'm turning my other 55 into a sump for the 180. So if I want anems or corals, I need MH's. I'm kinda understanding how this works now.
Where does LED's come into play?
little_fish
Moderator
You dont need metal halides to keep nems or corals, they can keep kept under t5's just fine. You just need a specific amount of light. The quick and dirty rule is to take the total number of watts and divide by the number of gallons you have.
So for the MH set up, you have 1140 watts/180 gals = 6.3 watts per gallon, which is perfect for keeping nems (around 6 watts/gal is what you shoot for with nems).
But the T5's have a total of 260 watts/ 55 gals = 4.7 watts per gallon. This is actually fine for any coral you would want to keep, but on the low side for nems. So i wouldnt keep anything more demanding than a bubble tip. I clearly did my math wrong the first time, im sorry for that.
the general rule of thumb is 3 watts per gallon for corals, and 6 watts per gallons for the more light demanding animals.
But that only applies to metal halides and t5 lights with individual reflectors for each bulb. Power compact lights or t5's that dont have individual reflectors need much more higher watts per gallon to keep the same animals because they quality of light (power compacts) or total amount of light (t5 without individual reflectors) is much less.
LED moon lights are totally for your pleasure they dont serve any needed function.
If you want to do LEDs as you main light source, im not really sure what the rules of thumb are, but i would go with the one above
So for the MH set up, you have 1140 watts/180 gals = 6.3 watts per gallon, which is perfect for keeping nems (around 6 watts/gal is what you shoot for with nems).
But the T5's have a total of 260 watts/ 55 gals = 4.7 watts per gallon. This is actually fine for any coral you would want to keep, but on the low side for nems. So i wouldnt keep anything more demanding than a bubble tip. I clearly did my math wrong the first time, im sorry for that.
the general rule of thumb is 3 watts per gallon for corals, and 6 watts per gallons for the more light demanding animals.
But that only applies to metal halides and t5 lights with individual reflectors for each bulb. Power compact lights or t5's that dont have individual reflectors need much more higher watts per gallon to keep the same animals because they quality of light (power compacts) or total amount of light (t5 without individual reflectors) is much less.
LED moon lights are totally for your pleasure they dont serve any needed function.
If you want to do LEDs as you main light source, im not really sure what the rules of thumb are, but i would go with the one above
RO system just got delivered. Don't have my sump finalized yet, changed my course. Going with the berlin sock setup instead of the wet/dry sump. Going to go get a couple 55 gallon trash cans this weekend to start mixing some water. Hopefully rest of my supplies will be here by middle of the week.
Local place had some nice brackets for the berlin sock method for $60 with a sock, but I just found a similar one on marinedepot for $30 a piece, since I need 2, that's a considerable cost savings. I like supporting local places, but I like my wallet better.
Still doing research on the LED thing. I kinda like that option better, as equal lighting can be achieved, and lower energy costs. Just pricey at first.
Local place had some nice brackets for the berlin sock method for $60 with a sock, but I just found a similar one on marinedepot for $30 a piece, since I need 2, that's a considerable cost savings. I like supporting local places, but I like my wallet better.
Still doing research on the LED thing. I kinda like that option better, as equal lighting can be achieved, and lower energy costs. Just pricey at first.
little_fish
Moderator
Ya, if you are going to do with LEDs i highly recommend the AI fixtures. They are widely considered the best for reefs.
