Watts Per Gallon

president89

New member
Now i've read that certain species anenomes, coral etc require a certain amount of light to thrive. Now my question is, is that the gallons in the actual display tank. For instance to make things simple. If i have 130 watts on a 10 gallon tank that is 13 watts per gallon. Now what if I had that same tank, with the same lights, only i added 10 gallons for a sump(probably a 20 gallon half full).
 
the watts only matters to the tank that is being lit. the sump is not being lit, it is only adding volume to the total of the system. the watt per gallon method is just an indicator to see how much light it hitting things so far down. so only the volume of the display tank matters.
 
Yes sknich is correct you can have a 10 gal with 13 watts per gal and add a 100 gal sump and not change your lighting needs, but it would take your nitrates way down and improve water quality.
 
I was thinking of doing a 10 gallon clown tank, i'd like to have two ,and the only way that seems possible is to add some volume. i'm not too interested in the other species of fish, and I think if i setup a 55 gallon tank, it would be a bit of a waste for two very small fish(you might not be able to see them casue they are pretty small, so I was thinking of doing a 10 with a sump. They would be the main attraction of the tank, I already have a 2x65 light setup. I could hide my heater and my protein skimmer. I think it will be a good idea. If i decide to drill rather than overflow, a 10g is almost disposable. Does anyone know of a thread for drilling a 10g tank?
 
Watts per gallon is not a good way to calculate how much light you need for a tank.

Whats important is the type of light, how deep the tank is and how much light your tank inhabitants need.

Metal halides are very bright and penetrate the water the farthest. Some SPS, clams and anemones almost require metal halide to thrive.

T-5's and VHO and PC's are not quite as bright and will not penetrate quite as deep. But you can still keep most LPS and softies with these lights. Some people also have good luck with clams, anemones and SPS if they are up higher in the tank. (T-5's are the latest and greatest flourecent type lighting and I believe has the highest output)

Remember tank depth is important not tank volume.
 
So if you had a 150 gallon tank that is 24" tall with 15 of the 96 watt PC lights on the top of the tank then you could keep any high light coral or anemone on the bottom of the tank right? You would have about 9.6 watts per gallon right?
 
imo no. pc lighting isnt gonna penetrate to the bottom. So you could have all the pc light you want but you'd only be able to grow the really light needy stuff at the top.
24 inches is too much for pc lights imo.

but to answer the original question...the lights not gonna get sucked in thru pumps and go down to the sump, so like others say...only the display water volume counts for lights...except i really hate the "watts per gallon" crap. but 130 watts over a 10 isnt too shabby imo...thats pretty good.
 
dang forget the top part of my post! i thought you were bein serios freed lol. i didnt even read the one befor yours
srry bout that! :)
 
That was my point exactly. You can have all the PC light you want above your tank and add it all up to the dozens of watts per gallon and still not be able to keep clams or SPS on the bottom of a tank.
 
Well, to make things simple if you just keep the coral higher in the tank you won't have a problem. I have SPS all the way down to softies in my 90gal reef with 4x96watt PCs and everything is growning and has good coloration. I just can't keep the coral i have towards the bottom of the tank.
 
ya but thats still only at the top. What if you want sps at the bottom too? then you're sol if you get pc's and a tank thast very tall
 
I talked with someone once that had mathematically worked it out so that 1 christmas tree light bulb over a Solo cup of water worked out to about 20 WPG, but you aren't gonna be growing any corals in that. It is definatley about more than just lighting.
President, if you are looking at a pair of clowns, I would not do anything less than a 20 gallon, but it also depends on the type of clown. There are many different breeds. Some can get rather large for such a small water volume, ecspecially if there is an anemone involved.
 
if you want a pair of clowns go for a pair of ocelaris (false percs) or just reg. percs in a 10. They're the smallest ones i think. DONT get stuff like maroon clonws..they get big and really mean.
 
I have an 80 gallon tank, 82 inches by 15 by 15 and definatly want an anemone and some corals, don't know what kind.

How many watts should I get?
 
how many watts of what lighting? pc lighting will not be nearly as good as mh lighting...but fi you just want stuff like softies (xenia, etc) then pc is fine. Go to liveaquaria.com and look at all their corals and see which ones you like. Then post back here and we'd be able to find the right light.
 
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