phils514

is 6.9 watts per gallon ok? or is it too much?

alexfevery

are you talking about light or heat?

phils514

light, for my 20 gal tank

Tommy Gun

Usually yes, that would be a good light condition for most tanks based upon what I have recently learned when buying my new light set. The watts per gallon rule is not the best, but it is usually the one that most people can identify with. In a 20 gallon tank, I would think that it cannot be all that deep so the penetration ability of the light would not be a humongous issue. You could probrably keep most any coral I would think with the higher light 'needy' type corals just being closer to the surface than the others. The only thing I would wonder is if you would end up having too much light for some corals and end up with some bleaching problems.

phils514

ok thanks. i'm thinking of getting the 24 inch jebo odyssea compact light 110watt to go with my 28 watts t5. is the jebo good?

phils514

theres also another version that is 130 watts. but that will put me to 8 watts per gallon. I think that might be way too much. right?

Radom

A bit too much specially in a 20gl. Your salinity might be going up and down each day from evaporation and dont forget about the heat generated by the lights your tank temp might also be over 80F if lights too close to surface. Do you have glass top? With glass top you will cut down on evaporation but the heat issue might still be there. Also dont forget that too much light is as much damaging to coral as not enough.

phils514

is 6.9 ok?

Radom

6.9 is ok specialy for a reef tank. You really do not want to go much over 130w if you can avoid it for that size tank

phils514

ok thanks, i do have a glass top, should i keep it on? or take it off?