light wattage

jklh1987

New member
Hi i was wondering what would be a good range of watts to stay in for my tank its 27"tall and 48" long and 18" wide im wanting to go with t5 lights but i dont want to spend money on something i dont need i have several mushrooms and some zoos and want to get some tube annenome and some other similar things
 
Wattage is pointless. I could get 2 T5 units each putting out the same wattage and one will put out 2x more light than the other. It is about PAR(Photosynthetic Active Radiation) or "how much" light is really there.

For your tank I would be looking at a 6x54w ATI Sunpower if you want to penetrate the 27" of water.
 
Joking aside, a 6-8 bulb fixture would work quite well, as would a pair of 175W or 250W halides. Neither has any more pro's then con's then the other, it's really just up to aesthetics in the end.
 
If wattage was pointless, why tell someone to get (6) 54 WATT light bulbs?:D

Because that's how fixtures are named. 54w indicates its a 48" T5HO bulb. The wattage doesn't matter though in the way the OP asked. He wanted the watts per gallon which is completely useless anymore.
 
Well what would be a good light setup to go with as far as brand. And what is the key thing to look for when im trying to choose a light
 
Well what would be a good light setup to go with as far as brand. And what is the key thing to look for when im trying to choose a light

For your tank I would be looking at a 6x54w ATI Sunpower if you want to penetrate the 27" of water.

That is what I said earlier.

There are only going to be a couple lights that can penetrate 27" of water if you plan to keep any coral on the sand or near the bottom.

I wouldn't use anything but the ATI on that size tank.
 
Ok thanks for the help does the brand of the fixture matter bc some brands are real cheap and some are outragous and what does ati stand for is that a brand or a type of bulb thanks
 
Ok thanks for the help does the brand of the fixture matter bc some brands are real cheap and some are outragous and what does ati stand for is that a brand or a type of bulb thanks

ATI is the company that makes the light. They also make bulbs. Check out reefgeek.com. They will have what you need.

Yes, the fixtures makes a HUGE difference. The cheaper the fixture, the worse it is. Yes, ATI is expensive but they put out way more light than any other fixture.

Lighting is not a place to skimp in this hobby. You will pay for it one way or another.
 
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