Lighting Question

[Demm]

I currently have a 20g Long and am in the market for a new light. i found a good deal on a T5HO nova extreme it's 6 bulbs x 39 watts (234 watts) which would give me almost 12 watts per gallon, which is obviously way to much. Since it is such a good deal (local used) was thinking about getting it and disconnected 2 bulbs to bring the wattage down. Would this be a bad idea? Just wanted to ask on here first before i did something stupid lol

 

[-Nemo-]

I currently have a 20g Long and am in the market for a new light. i found a good deal on a T5HO nova extreme it's 6 bulbs x 39 watts (234 watts) which would give me almost 12 watts per gallon, which is obviously way to much. Since it is such a good deal (local used) was thinking about getting it and disconnected 2 bulbs to bring the wattage down. Would this be a bad idea? Just wanted to ask on here first before i did something stupid lol

Novas are a great fixture. I agree, 6 bulb would probably be too much. 4 bulb would allow to keep pretty much everything.

 

[Pearsondesign]

so am i i to assume that if i have 2 T5s and 2 T8s this would combine to the total wattage of all bulbs?

what is the best Watt per gallon? i didnt know of this rule at all!!

 

[-Nemo-]

so am i i to assume that if i have 2 T5s and 2 T8s this would combine to the total wattage of all bulbs?

what is the best Watt per gallon? i didnt know of this rule at all!!

There is no watts per gallon rule.
Different types of fixtures have different levels of efficiency. Two fixtures could have the same amount of wattage and one could allow you to keep SPS and the other not.

Rather than 2x T8 and 2z T5 bulb, just go with 4x T5

 

[Pearsondesign]

ok, so on my coral frag tank at present i have 1 14000k 54w T5 white, 1 T8 marine white and 2 T5 blues.
is that enough for decent soft coral grow on?

i do have spare T8 whites that i can add, 3 in fact, but no spare T5s

i cannot afford to buy a halide rig yet, or even a nice new led rig.. but i was hoping these would do for now.

what extra lighting would i need for hard corals?

 

[-Nemo-]

How tall is the tank?

I would personally switch the bulbs around and use 2x t5 daylight (10,000k) and use the 1 t5 and 1 t8 for the actinic. Daylight bulbs give out much higher PAR levels than blue or actinic bulbs. Higher PAR = More Growth.