looking por nub...erhm...*cough* I mean lighting

[Lahatiel]

Ok, I have glanced at a few topics and it seems to normal consensus would be that 3.7 watts per gallon would be enough to convert a FO to a Reef. Is this true? Or are there some other opinions I should be aware of? It is for a 29 gallon, looking at a 24 in. pc with 55x2. One actinic, one 7k K.

Thanks for the input...

Note: I am unemployed, so MH's currently are completely out of the question.

[RazerCorals]

What your looking for is not really watts per gallon. But more intensity of the light. This is measured in lumens. If it is PC I think it would be fine. Here's what I'd get. Get a 2x55w PC. Make sure at least one of the bulbs in 10k or close. GE and AGA make a fairly cheap PC. Then put that light in the back. Then keep your old light on the front.

[reefrunner]

Rather than 55W I would see if the ballast will handle the 65W bulbs, that would give you a bit more penetration and I think in the middle to upper part of the tank you would be able to keepjust about anything but the most light loving corals. I would caution...lumens is a measure of visible light, most of the useful light for our inverts is invisible. UV radiation, what you really want to look for is PAR (Photosynthetic Active ?Radiation). Also rather than the 7100K blue...go with a true .03 actinic, your corals will thank you for it.

[Lahatiel]

Thanks for the quick input fellas...