Lighting on 20g?

[stellablu]

I currently have a 20w Coralife 50/50 light on my 20g.

I have two ornamental rocks from the beach in the tank now. However, I would like to add aquacultured rock and get some nice growth going in the tank. I don't want to house anemones, but possibly a soft coral or two down the road.

My boyfriend just spent $400 on a lighting system (that he found online after the fact for $200 cheaper, eeek!) but he has a larger tank and lots of anemones and corals.

What is a good watt to go with? He has six watts per gallon. Is that too much lighting for my needs?

 

[Navarre]

IMO you cannot have enough lighting for a reef tank.

I also dont use the calculation of watts per gallon as this can be wrong. For example, a 4x2x2 is 100 gallons. This is 2 feet high and really needs halides for the corals that are kept in it. But if you had a longer tank that was only 1 ft high but the same volume (100 gallons) then the lights needed to penetrate half the distance do not need to be as strong to have success.

As long as you are not interested in keeping Acros or other light hungry corals then i am sure this is enough. What you must consider now is whether the lights you have are effecting the tmperature of the tank. Lighting is the main cause of temperature trouble in small tanks.

Hope this helps a little.

 

[stellablu]

What do you think about this light? I'd like a lunar light, too, for any night blooming corals or nocturnal fish. This one has cooling fans, as well.

Oh, it's a long 20g so I have 30" of length.

 

[ess17]

FYI...the link didn't work.

 

[Navarre]

The link is dead
If it helps i have a friend who has a tank that is 18 inches high, over this he has 3 standard tubes (T8s). 2 marine glows and an actinic.
Under these lights he has a multitude of soft corals, zooanthids , sarcophytons etc and even acros (although growth is slow and coluration not as intense).

 

[stellablu]

Eeek! Thanks haha it's on a secure site, I guess.

Here are the specs...

24" Lunar Aqualight 2x65W / 2 Blue-Moon (Coralife)

Product Information:
--Lunar Aqualight Deluxe Series - Double Linear Strip 65 watt 10,000K and 65 watt True Actinic 03 Blue straight pin base compact fluorescent lamps
--Two 3/4 watt Lunar Blue-Moon-Glow LED lamps
--Three on/off switches with three 8-foot power cords for separate timers
--Built-in ballasts
--Two cooling fans
--Sleek aluminum housing
--Highly-polished reflector
--Acrylic lens cover

The little blurb about it...

Our state-of-the-art Lunar Aqualight compact fluorescent light fixtures incorporate the Lunar Blue-Moon-Glow LED 470nm light which creates rhythmic glitter and shimmering effects while promoting spawning cycles in corals and reef life. Backed by the proven quality of the Aqualight product line, these superb lighting fixtures allow you to Capture the Sun and now...the Moon.

$130.00US

 

[Navarre]

Its not a lighting system i am familair with as the UK seems to operate different types of lighting (or at least has different names for them). However, i would say this set of lights is strong enough for most soft corals.
I would start with easy to keep soft corals to begin with and see how htey do under these lights. After a few months you can then start with a little more light sensative soft coral. My friend has less lights than this and has a good setup with hard corals too! It just goes to show that it can be done without the large expense of halides.