Question About Watts Per Gallon

[schooly20]

Alright so Im fairly new to the planted tank thing but I know that one of the ways you can measure the amount of light you have, and what you can grow is by watts per gallon. My question is I have a 50 gal cube, dimensions 24"x24"x18", and well I can buy a nice light for it that is 24" but it doesn't put more than 2 watts per gallon into the tank and I wanted to grow plants that took more than that. So do I need to find a different light or what?

 

[aaronnorth]

it is a deep tank too, so you need T5's or Metal Halides - which may be better as it is a funny size tank and this is a great way to get the extra light you need.

 

[schooly20]

Alright cool, thanks for clearing that up for me!

 

[Wolfenrook]

I usually say T8s for 12" deep, T5 for 18" deep and metal halide/mercury vapour for 24" deep tanks. Makes it all simpler.

Ade