Lighting A 20gal

[injektion]

hi! i'm new to the marine section of this forum so i have loooads of questions.

first is lighting. i currently have a 20 gal tank that im gonna make a FOWLR tank out of. how much wattage should the lamp produce for a proper FOWLR tank? i've heard people saying you don't need much lighting for a FOWLR tank but no one has given specific numbers. i've seen some tanks with t8's that produce 17-19 watts is that enough or should i buy seperate lights? of course i'd love t5's or metal halide but they just cost to much

anyway i'll post new questions as i go.

thanks!

 

[ben1987]

T8s are fine. You only need enough light for you to view the fish

 

[injektion]

so i'm guessing the live rock doesn't need much light to function right?

ok so my next question is rather newbish. do i need a hang-on filter? i know the live rock provides some sort of filtration but do i need an additional filter? i've noticed the tanks a fish stores don't have these filters but they have all the corals and what not so i'm guessing that's more of a complete ecosystem. i don't plan on getting corals anytime soon so is there a ned for me to get hang-on filters?

 

[SkiFletch]

Correct. In fact with too much light, you might battle nuisance algae in FOWLR, best to keep it low

No need for a hang-on filter, just powerheads to move water in/around the rocks

 

[reefplayground]

Correct. In fact with too much light, you might battle nuisance algae in FOWLR, best to keep it low

2nd that. Some good powerheads on your system and you will be fine.