Soft Coral Lighting

[Bear_04]

Wanted to start putting some soft corals into my tank, so was wondering how many watts do i need in a single T8 18" bulb. Currently running a single T8 SUPER MARINE BLUE ACTINIC 15W 18". Would this be ok?

 

[Dkuhlmann]

No, you would need T5's and around 2-3 watts per tank gallon. Size of tank not actual water volume.

 

[jayball]

Yes, in addition to t8 being underpowered it is also less efficent than a t-5 watt per watt. What size is your tank and what coral are you looking to keep? Not all soft corals have the same light requirements, it actually ranges from some doing okay in very low light to some growing best in high light.

 

[urbanrat84]

If you already have a light fitting and don't want to change it, I would suggest looking for T8 bulbs that contain high output LEDs in a mix of blue and white. I'm sorry I don't know their name, however I've seen them for sale at aquarium shops.

 

[exsequor]

Lighting is SO CHEAP these days compared to 10 or 20 years ago. I could understand wanting to use T-8's 10+ years ago, but now with the low, low pricing on MH and LED reef lighting, I don't know why you wouldn't go that option. I got my 120 watt reef LED fixture for $109 shipped..

 

[mrbigshot]

not only that but some par 38 or other led spotlights come with a good blend of leds for a few bucks. i light my daughters 5.5g tank with a single 12x1w blue/white par 30 bulb that was like 23 bucks shipped on ebay. 2 of those would be fine for a 10g softy tank and you probably wouldn't have to change it for a few years.