Looking at lighting

[saltwater4life]

ok i'm looking at a CL 30" Aquarium Dual Power Compact Light 130W for my 20g and i was woundering would that be good if i end up getting corals and stuff that would give me 6.5w a gallon so my questions are is this good or to much?
Thanks!!
Nick

 

[Mushroomman]

Coralife is a great pc light, you will be able to keep alot of corals, softies, zoas, lps, most except the higher end sps.

Watt per gallon is a pretty misleading system. Light intensity, type, and depth of the tank are more crucial factors when it comes to how much the corals are actually receiving.

 

[saltwater4life]

ok cool thx,
So then i cant have SPS corals in there? or just some and the wattage is it low,mid or high? so i can see what colars i could look at getting if i do get this lighting

 

[Mushroomman]

You might be able to get away with some montipora, example monti digitata as far as the sps goes. Ive seen it do well, and not so well in tanks with pc lighting like yours

 

[saltwater4life]

hmm ya i guess i mean i want this tank to be a FOWLR and some coral and stuff well thx
BTW if i dont get this think my single PC light would do good with any coral? (probbly not?)

 

[saltwater4life]

Ok i got a new Question would something like work with my add on to my PC light Compact Fluorescent Aquarium Lighting: Mini-Freshwater & Mini-Aqualights
or would this not add watts to my tank? cuz right now i think i got 1-2w a Gallon also if i got reef later on i can always add another making it close to 8 watts a gallon so please and tips if this is good i'm going to see if i can get it online sinces it's on sell well thanks

 

[Fishrockmysox]

Yeah, that's perfectly fine lighting!! 130/6.5=20g. So it's fine

 

[iplaydafoozball]

instead of looking at the wpg, look at the intensity. u should use the 10000K or more for corals. they need the higher intensity, although wpg does matter, the intensity is more important. i've found this out as i have a 4 wpg freshwater planted tank, but the bulbs are 10000k, and they are frying my plants. it is too intense for them, but corals need the higher intensity. hope that made sense lol

 

[saltwater4life]

alright so i can use anything as long as it's 10,000k cool TY i'll check into using my old clamp lamp thing see if that could work

 

[iplaydafoozball]

im not saying wpg doesnt matter at all, lets be safe and say 2-3 wpg minimum. what i meant was that intensity matters most, because even if u have 100 wpg, the wrong intensity (or spectrum) won't do much help

 

[saltwater4life]

oh i see sry i miss understood so if i got Compact Fluorescent Aquarium Lighting: Mini-Freshwater & Mini-Aqualights with the 10000k lights it'd help both the wpg and the intensity?

 

[iplaydafoozball]

well the intensity is right, but that would only gives u 18 watts....not even 1 wpg for ur tank. if ur looking into upgrading ur light, there really is no cheap way to side step it. ur gonna have to throw down some cash..........haha actually i see what u mean. if u think u can fit that fixture next to the one u have (which i think is what u mean) that may be ok. probably placing it over the area where ur corals are. if u cant fit it in, i suggest u go for a full 24" fixture. the satellite single bulb one is good (65 w w/ a lunar LED) $55 from Dr Foster Smith....not a bad deal at all.

 

[saltwater4life]

Ya i was thinking if i got that i would just put it behind my main lighting and if i get something like that i could keep some corals? also it's 30" I'll check into those types and maybe I'll ask for one for Christmas or maybe for my Birthday which is in 2 weeks

EDIT WOW! Thats CHEAP i was just about to ask my give my dad money 130 bucks to buy me one off ebay

 

[saltwater4life]

ok my dad bought that CL 30" Aquarium Dual Power Compact Light 130W so i gotta wait until Christmas to use it but it's kinda good since hopefully by then my tank will be established and i'll have some money to drop on some corals