Lighting For A 55 Us Gallon. Sw

[ThatGuyMike]

im going to do a salt water setup in a 55 gallon tank, i know the light will have to be 48 inches. but what wattage do i need for a 55.

will be doing a corals.

 

[ben1987]

look into what corals you want before buying anything.
Harder more light demanding corals may need metal halide lighting

 

[ThatGuyMike]

all soft corals, no hard corals. not yet anyways only hard corals im looking at are suncorals. which are nocturnal and need no light at all. if i do well with the soft coral set up. i may do something that is a nocturnal set up, just to try something different.

thats just a thought though.

 

[SkiFletch]

US or UK Mike? A 4-tube T5 setup with individual reflectors comes to mind right away. You might be able to get away with a 2-tbue setup with only softies, but the 4-tube would give you a little m ore flexibility. PC (power compact) lights will also work with softies only, but IMO the color isn't all that great and the light surely isn't as bright.

 

[ox5477]

I have a 4 bulb set-up as ski suggests... keep softies and lps... recently purchased two sps and a clam... all on top of the stack right next to the light... thinking they will be ok for the time being, but for the future, I am looking into MH lighting to boost them and give an overall better look to the tank. But for softies, a 4 bulb T5 setup is plenty

ox