Reef Light

Reef Light
Light wattage for 10 gallon nano reef?

I'm going to be setting up a 10 gallon nano reef, and I want to keep a combination of soft corals and LPS corals. About how many watts do you all suggest? I've been looking at two lights. One is 40 watts, one is 96. Which one would suit these types of corals best?

You have to look at little more than just your wattage to figure this out. There are different types of fixtures tou can get for a saltwater tank, and the wattage for one isn't the same as the equal wattage of the other. If you've seen the new compact fluorescents that you can buy to replace your regular light bubs, you may have noticed where it says "10W equivalent to a 60W incandescent" or something like that. Aquarium lighting works the same way.

First, there are the kinds of hoods that use incandescent bulbs, the long tubular bulbs that screw in with the filament inside. These aren't suitable for a saltwater aquarium at all.

A step up is normal output fluorescent lighting, these have a tube where the code will have T-12 or T-10, These are what you'd use for a freshwater tank light, they aren't very good for a saltwater tank either.

The next step up would be either a straight fluorescent tube with a T-5 code, these are narrower than the T-10 and T-12, but are more intense, or a compact fluorescent, in which the tube is U-shaped. Either one of these would be what you'd want. You would just get the size that would fit the length of your tank. If these last two are what you're comparing, 40 watts would be a good choice IMO. The 96 watts would be too intense for the amount of space between the lights and the corals. But if this is normal output fluorescent, the 96 watts would be better.

You also want to get tubes for your lights that are the best for coral growth and photosynthesis. If your hood has two individual tubes, I prefer to use a 10,000K and an actinic, which is a deep blue. You can put them on different timers to build from darkness, to blue to white light, like the sun rising, then have them turn off in reverse order. This can be good for corals if you want them to reproduce, not just grow and spread.

But if you only have space for one tube, you can get what's called a 50/50, which mixes the two I named individually, but you're only able to have this turn on or off.

Another option that you didn't mention is an LED system. This uses LEDs like those that are in electronics. They're more energy efficient, come in the same spectrums, but are harder to find and are, for now at least, more expensive.

For More Reef Light Info Click On The Blue Links Below

mage lang="en" source="youtube" backup="article"]Reef Light[/mage]

Many thanks for reading our Reef Light article

Republished by Blog Post Promoter

• Your Guide To Keeping Tropical Fish: How To Choose Tropical Fish Species & The Best Equipment For Your Home Aquarium
• Tropical Fish Identifier

Tagged with: 24" metal halide t5 ho lighting reef marine coral 346w • 30" metal halide t5 ho lighting reef marine coral 346w • 30" metal halide t5 lighting aquarium light hood reef marine coral 346w led • 36 inch plant odyssea hoods • 36 odyssea aquarium light • 36'' sun light metal halide • 36" 156w aquarium light t5 ho hood reef fish saltwater • 36" 192 watt marine aquarium lights • 36" 234w aquarium light reef marine tank w/ lcd timer freshwater lighting coral • 36" 234w t5 ho aquarium light hood lcd timer coral reef 6x39 fluorescent actinic • 36" combination reef light • 36" odyssea 234w t5 ho aquarium light hood lcd timer • 36" odyssea reef marine light hood metal halide • 4 bulb 36" t5 odyssea • 48 reef canapy halide t5 • 48" 216w t5 4x54 6500k fluorescent aquarium light led lamp hood freshwater plant review • 48" 4 ft t5 lighting aquarium light hood marine reef coral 432w 8 bulbs timer ratings • 48" 4ft t5 aquarium light hood marine reef coral cichlid 216w led legs fan timer review • are the t5 odyssea light reef capable • how does a digital oceans lw401 work • oddysea grow coral • odysea reef light • odyssea "hoods" • odyssea 30" 346w metal halide system • odyssea 30" metal halide mh t5 ho light hood coral reef 346w reviews • odyssea 30" metal halide t5 lighting aquarium light hood reef marine coral 346w led • odyssea 346w metal halide (nano reef) • odyssea 36 metal halide • odyssea 36'' 117 watt • odyssea 36" hood with timer • odyssea 48" 4 ft t5 lighting aquarium light freshwater • odyssea 6x39 • odyssea light hoods • odyssea lighting • odyssea marine metal halide 36 • odyssea mh 36 • odyssea mh 36 inch • odyssea mh reef light • odyssea pl tube • reef light • reef lighting • reviews on 48" 216w t5 ho aquarium light hood with lcd timer • strictly