# Lighting opinions



## JerseyBird97 (Sep 13, 2009)

Tank: 20 Long
Current lighting: Currant USA Nova Extreme HO 24" 48 watt

Stock-
1 ocellaris clownfish
1 yellow tail damsel
1 rose bubble tip
2 small zoa colonies

Would like to stock (in addition to above)
montipora
brain
candy cane
fire goby
fire shrimp

question being... with my intended stock... should I upgrade to 96 watts?


----------



## reefsahoy (Jul 16, 2010)

i don't think you can keep a montipora with that lighting


----------



## JerseyBird97 (Sep 13, 2009)

...to much?... not enough?


----------



## reefsahoy (Jul 16, 2010)

not enough. montipora needs intense lighting. the type of corals you can keep with that lighting are like mushrooms, and soft corals. more intense lighting for lps type of corals then the most intense lighting for sps which includes montiporas. basically anything witha skeleton needs intense lighting.


----------



## JerseyBird97 (Sep 13, 2009)

So branch corals like xenia as well? Is 48 strong enough for what I got or should I get the 96?


----------



## JerseyBird97 (Sep 13, 2009)

liveaquaria recomends minimum 3 watts per gal for monti. The 96 watt would more than cover that.


----------



## reefsahoy (Jul 16, 2010)

JerseyBird97 said:


> So branch corals like xenia as well? Is 48 strong enough for what I got or should I get the 96?


yes you can keep xenias with that light.


----------



## JerseyBird97 (Sep 13, 2009)

forgive me if I'm not your responses right but are you saying the 48 is enough or the 96 would be enough?


----------



## reefsahoy (Jul 16, 2010)

JerseyBird97 said:


> liveaquaria recomends minimum 3 watts per gal for monti. The 96 watt would more than cover that.


first let me clarify about watt/gal. That is just a starting point and it probably works well for soft corals, however for stonies and lps you should now have to take into consideration much more than just watt/gals. consider the depth of the tank. If you have a 20 gallon long tank (30x12x12inches lxwxd) and you have 60 watts of light or if you have a 20 gal tall (24x12x16 inches lxwxd) with 60 watts of light would you have the same effective amount of light for the aquarium? Absolutely not! there is a law called the inverse square law that states " if you double the distance you will have to square the power of light to get the same power or brightness to the bottom. 

Secondly you will now seriously have to consider the type of fixture for efficiency. Assuming you are using T5 HO. If you use one that has 4 bulbs all under one reflector or you are using a fixture with 4 bulbs and 4 individual reflectors are they the same? Not even close! For simplification and because I'm lazy and don't want to pull out my 25 year old calculus math book there is a law about parabola that I can't remember but applies to this situation. I would probably say the one with the 4 individual reflectors is probably somewhere between 2 to3 times as efficient at putting out light verses the other even though they consume the same amount of power. For simplification, if you have a light without a reflector or one with reflectors and they have the same power consumption then light output is the same but the reflector directs all the useable light to one direction where as the one without the reflector shoots light all over the place and effectively has less light where you would want it and thats in the tank.

So basically you have to really take into consideration the depth of the tank, the efficiency of the light fixture and at that point the watt/gal theory is out the window with the dirty baby bath water!

Then after deciding the light you will now have to consider spectrum of light to be used. All bulbs are not created equal. An atinic bulb versus say a 10k bulb have totally different output of light. For simplification of this discussion (and because i can't explain) just trust me on this one. 

So if you are going to error on lighting it's best to error on the "too much" light side because the sun is wayyy more powerful than any light you can put over your tank. Remember we want to have the corals thrive and not barely surviving. So yes you could probably keep montiporas under 48 watts BUT it will not look anything like what you see in books or pictures. it would look pale white, never grows, and basically starving ever so slowly just like a human could live on eating one slice of bread a day.

hope this helps.


----------



## JerseyBird97 (Sep 13, 2009)

Got it... so basically upgrading the lighting from where I'm at will only benifit my tank.


----------



## reefsahoy (Jul 16, 2010)

JerseyBird97 said:


> Got it... so basically upgrading the lighting from where I'm at will only benifit my tank.


absolutely and no doubt about that! which fixture and how many bulbs and if you'd like i can suggest bulb combo.


----------



## JerseyBird97 (Sep 13, 2009)

My LFS has a Deep Blue Solar Max at a great price. There's not much about them online but the few reviews I've seen are good.

Package Contains: SolarXtreme Light System, (2) 10KK Daylight Lamps, (2) Actinic-03 Lamps, Mounting Legs, Suspension Kit, GFCI Grounded Cord & User Guide.
System Specs: 4x24W System, 120V / 60Hz, (4) Moonlight LEDS
24.01L x 10.20W x 2.75H

dual function digital timer to control actinic seperate from daylight.

here's a link:
DB-ADB42424 Premium Aquatics - DB-ADB42424


----------



## reefsahoy (Jul 16, 2010)

JerseyBird97 said:


> My LFS has a Deep Blue Solar Max at a great price. There's not much about them online but the few reviews I've seen are good.
> 
> Package Contains: SolarXtreme Light System, (2) 10KK Daylight Lamps, (2) Actinic-03 Lamps, Mounting Legs, Suspension Kit, GFCI Grounded Cord & User Guide.
> System Specs: 4x24W System, 120V / 60Hz, (4) Moonlight LEDS
> ...


 
even tho that's not the best fixture in the world, i think if you use that fixture you will be able to keep montiporas in a 12 inch deep tank. that fixture seems to have individual reflectors for every bulb so thats good. the only thing i don't like are the bulbs. if you ever change them go with 1 KZ fiji purple and 3 giesemann atinic+ (not pure atinics!!) and pay spcia lattention to the spectrum of the bulb. this combo will give your tank a beautiful blue look and even it out with the fiji purple. you colors will pop with that combo selection. if you look at my aquarium tab in my avatar you'll see i use that combo too and the colors i get and while you are there check out the video i made. note i also use metal halides but i know for certain that those colors can be achieved using the combo i suggested above.


----------



## JerseyBird97 (Sep 13, 2009)

great thanks for all the info!!!


----------



## reefsahoy (Jul 16, 2010)

JerseyBird97 said:


> great thanks for all the info!!!


 
NP, and drop me a line if you got any more ?

happy holidays!


----------



## JerseyBird97 (Sep 13, 2009)

follow up:

http://www.tropicalfishkeeping.com/saltwater-aquariums/deep-blue-light-fixture-58225/#post542845


----------



## badxgillen (Aug 20, 2010)

*hmmm*

i agree that more ligting is better ...but i must say i keep montipora digitata in one tank a 40 gallon breeder that has only 2 T5 39 watts and it has grown exponantialy...and in another nano 11 gallon tank i keep it with two 24 watt compacts...so it is possible...and the new light you got should allow much more diversity...it always sucks to not have the option to keep something not because of room or agresion but the sheer fact that your system isnt capable is even worse..


----------

