Lights for 20 gallon long reef ?

[marko]

Will be starting my tank soon but not sure if I should get a 150 watt M.H or t2 or t5 ? would like to be able to grow soft corals and inverts pretty much just a basic set up live rock Aqua clear 200 hob filter no skimmer will be changing sponge weekly with water shallow sand bed with crushed live rock in the filter plus a power head would like to have an open top no canopy any advice on small M.H would be awesome . I know having a small tank is risky but I thought 20 gallon would be better then the ten I was planning on first .

[cichlid]

Welcome to the danger zone. I will tell you straight up the guys who have helped me the most..
• STANKYfish
• seahorse finatic
• Tang daddy
• gklaw
These guys know a ton about SW, they have helpped me a huge deal. I personally am running a single coralite 10,000K its a brilliant white bulb, this will get my system cycling/started. Then Im gunna upgrade. I just want to get a feel for it before i spend a downpayment. Lol

You should start a tank journal, keep us posted!

[Acipenser]

Anthony " seahorse fanatic" has been extremely helpful plus he is a great guy too !

with a 20 long I think you would do well with t5ho's , I think it's a bit shallow for MH. but I am still a SW newbie my self .

[Cichlid2010]

I think a 30" T5HO with 10000k and actinic bulb would be enough for the 20 gallon long. At least this is what I used to use, soft coral and LPS all grow good. If no skimmer, a hob refugium would be useful.

[Acipenser]

I would advise a skimmer, My tank is only 26 G I have 5 small fish and get a lot of skimate from my skimmer. I think if you read enough you'll see the benefit of ditching the HOB and using only power heads, you could get away with out the skimmer and do more frequent water changes.

[cichlid]

The rule of thumb is 1 watt per gallon is the obsolute minimum, how acurate is this? Im not sure. When i was looking to setup the 15gallon, I was told I need 450$ worth of LED lighting at one shop, another ( I deal with regularily) said 1x coralife 10,000k is suitable for softies.

LED's cost way more up front, but they are cheaper in the long run than replacing bulbs.

[Cichlid2010]

This is what my long 20 gallon tank used to look like under a 20" Power Compact (96Watt). Light is too short for the tank. Coral grow at the same rate after I upgrade to T5HO.

[Acipenser]

I think led would be fine this one is what I had planned on using but it was back ordered and is again, and I ended up picking up this from another member for $150 - it's a kick ass light with built in timer functions. I think your unlikely to save much on bulbs or electricity on a smaller light such as this but maybe on larger ones. The leds are bling though and you may need more than 1 srtip. So about $500 led's vs picking up soome ones older but still decent T5HO.

[SeaHorse_Fanatic]

On such a shallow tank, really most any decent light will do. HOT5 or T2s (if you can find them) would be plenty of light over a 12" deep tank.

LED and Metal Halides are more suited for deeper tanks. If this is a "starter" or "get your feet wet in sw" tank, then save your money and buy an inexpensive light. If you decide to go more hard-core into reefing (be forewarned, is a very expensive addiction), then you can look at getting higher end equipment and lights for a bigger tank.

[cichlid]

Yea exactly, i put a 10$ bulb in a fixture in already own,