Marine lighting

Hi everyone

I was wondering if anyone could help me to figure out what my watt per gallon is.
I currently have two, 15W T8 45cm fluorescent globes, with a 18 gallon tank (rounded up)

 

30watts / 18 gallons = 1.666666666666667... Rounded up? 1.7 watts per gallon

 

The old "watts per gallon" rule no longer applies. IIRC, it was created when VHO lights were the hobby standard.

If you're planning on keeping corals, you need to consider better lighting. T5HO and MH are 2 time-proven systems; LED technology is also improving rapidly and well worth a look.

 

Welsome to 3 REEF!!

And also, the reflector of any given light makes a big difference also!
That's another reason my LED's, be in 45, 90, 120 degree loptics still get basically all the light going towards the DT.

IMHO, LED's are by far the way to go when you start factrong in bulb replacement costs/yrs. MOst need yearly to put out good light quality.
And, you can get bargain brands really cheap- that work great!

Good luck, and welcome to 3 Reef!

 

In keeping with the question of the op, how does one calculate the correct wattage for a tank with T5's for example...?

 

I'm sure ill be corrected but with all the reading I've done there is no rule of thumb for wattage and t5s. I see from 3 watts to 8 watts per gallon in different threads and articles but that depends on spectrum, manufactures, personal preference/experience. It depends on how deep the tank is what corals you want to grow the list goes on

 

cheers everyone you helped a lot im new in keeping marine tanks but tropical is easy