lighting

[saltwater4life]

Ok i was thinking about down the line when my tanks been set up for awhile that i was thinking of getting coral and stuff now when they say med-high or low-med lighting what do they mean lighting on for like 12hours a day or do they mean like type of lights??

Thank you i've just been stuck on this question for along time
Nick

 

[OCCFan023]

it is talking about the intensity of the light.

 

[saltwater4life]

like 10k 15k stuff?

 

[Joe Fish]

Possibly how deep the light will penetrate the water, that's the main reason you need those small car priced lights.

 

[JWright]

Generally they are referring to wattage. A better measurement would be PAR, which is a measurement of the "useful" light coming from the fixture, rather than just the wattage, but wattage is good enough in most cases.

 

[zoalover34]

you can keep some corals under pc lights ( power compact ) and they are pretty cheap compaired to MH lights

 

[Joe Fish]

I hear a lot of people saying PC are old and out dated. That is why I am hesitant on buying them because the price is much nicer. I still haven't decided what to do yet. Metal Halide is the way to go if you can afford it.

 

[saltwater4life]

idk i dont have much money to spend on this but i'll have to check the LFS and see what there prices are well Thank you guys so much again

 

[aresgod]

pc are cheaper, but dont work for alot of tanks due to depth, plus you end up replacing pc bulbs much more often and there are more to replace so in the long run MH are cheaper.

 

[saltwater4life]

well my tanks alittle over 1ft tall so i'd think pc lights are ok but i just wasn't sure

 

[aresgod]

should be fine.

 

[saltwater4life]

alright thx for the help guys