t-5 watts per gallon

[heliguy71]

how many watts per gallon would i need for mainly softies and lps corals using a t-5 fixture.i am looking at a 6 bulbat 324 watts and a 8 bulbat 432 watts.my tank is 60x18x26.reef geek said a 48" fixture would be fine but i don't know how many bulbs i should run,any ideas.

thanks mike:wink:

 

[ziggy]

I used to run the 8 bulbs for 432 watts on my 75 gallon tank. That worked really well for LPS and SPS, but it sounds like you have alot more water than 75 gallons with the given dimentions. It may be alright if you are not doing SPS in it...

 

[ZoaGuy]

I think I would run 6 x 80W T5's, unless you want darker sides for low light coral. This is what I run on my 180. 72x24x26

 

[crabbejoe]

I'd go with the 8 bulbs, then you won't have to upgrade later when you want to throw in an sps or two.

 

[Jhildebrand]

+1

Cheaper to get more now than to upgrade later. You don't hear anyone ever say they wish they had less light. And it's not too much light with a tank of that size. Safer bet to go bigger and be happy from the start. Also consider the quality of the reflectors in the fixture you're considering, as that also plays a big role in output.

 

[johnanddawn]

its a toss up
you could go 6 and run higher par bulbs - say 2 whites (aquablue, aquasun, actinic white) and 4 blues
or you could go 8 and throw in a couple low par actinics for color; 2 whites 4 blues and 2 actinics
with a mostly lps tank i would go as blue as you can stand, but realize T5 actinics get washed out by blues and whites big time so if you want actinics you need to go more bulbs, ie putting 2 actinics in a 6 bulb would really cut the PAR and visually make the tank dimmer
Personnally my fav combo so far in my 8 bulb unit is 1 aquablue, 1 actinic white (aquasun works too) and 6 blues but i have sps. my LPS and zoas are all in the bottom 1/3 of a 24" deep tank
i agree the 48 will be fine cause you don't want anything to close to the glass sides anyway and it will be a bit dimmer for those lower light corals

 

[plainrt]

I would go 6 if only 18inches wide.Your gonna end up with alot of light spill with 8 bulb anyways imo.