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What is the recommendation for wattage of light per gallon of saltwater in a marine tank2007-11-24 23:41:53

My local petstore says that you should have 5-6 watts of lighting per gallon of saltwater to keep anemones, coral and liverock, therefore I would need 375-450 watts of light for my 75 gallon bowfront. Drs Foster and Smith say I should have 2-3 watts per gallon for a total of 225-375 watts of light. So I should be able to get away with 260 watts of light right? 2-65 watt daylight bulbs and 2-65 watt actinics. Does anyone really know?

Answers:

This question is pretty loaded -- there's really no way to answer this one corectly, in part because the exact science isn't there.

First off, watts are actualy a poor consideration for the strength of the light -- it is simply a measure of energy usage, not light output. Compact fluourescent bulbs use less energy than even standard fluourescent bulbs, yet put out more light. Lumens would be a better measure.

Regardless, assuming you are looking at similar bulb types, your answer lies mainly in what you want to keep in the tank. Some anemones and corals require very little light, while others need a lot of it. Figure out what you want, and then your answer will be easier.

If I had to ballpark it on your comments it looks like you are considering the compact fluourescents, and that level of light would be fine for most anemones, some coral (mainly soft corals), and live rock -- but any high light demanding animals on the live rock will not make it.

Hope it helps!

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Really fussed, Go for maintaining a room temprature rather than providing a lighting. Many aquarist suggest to maintain a room temprature..