average watts per gallon.

[Kengaroo131]

what is the average watts per gallon you should run to have all kinds of corals?

 

[LNell]

Watts per gallon is not really that useful. It depends on the kind of lights that you use and the depth of the tank. Are you thinking about upgrading the lights on your 10 gallon? If you are, any size MH bulb would work. Also, maybe 3 or 4 T5's (Don't really know T5's very well, anyone with experience with them please chime in).

 

[Cuby2k]

6 watts per gallon is a decent rule of thumb.

 

[I am a giraffe]

I wouldn't put too much weight on the watts per gallon thing either. Different kinds of lighting can produce different amounts of light with the same amount of power. The Solaris units claim 250 watts worth of MH lighting for only 100 watts.

I'm overdriving 4 24 watt T5 bulbs using 2 Icecap ballasts and Icecap reflectors on my 28 bowfront, and it works fine for me. I'm pretty sure I could keep whatever I wanted depending on which bulbs I used and how far up I put the livestock.

 

[demonsp]

atleast 3 whatts per gallon but sps like 6 and above.But therer are alot of factors. Like type of bulb , tank size.Lights can be expensive so decide early on stock and your budget then go from there. 29 gal kinda small and if you love this hobby then MB bigger tank now will save alot of headack and money now.

 

[celano]

I agree that watts/gallon isnt the best way to measure the lighting needs of your tank. Theres lots of other factors involved.

 

[michaeldaly]

How deep is your tank, a shallow tank requires considerably less lights than a very deep one.