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BrooklynsReefMan1

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I for now have a 20 gallon long

130 watts

want a 37 gallon soon to upgrade to...

whats good wattage for that???

250 mh clamp?
pendant

whats good wattage for tank size
 

RyanG

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Cuba,NY
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It really all depends on what you are interested in keeping? If you are going to want to keep anenomes and SPS you need to be up around the 7-8wpg, LPS and softies 3-4 and up. It would be helpful to know what you would like to be able to keep.
 

House of Laughter

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Ryan,

Be careful on the whole wattage per gallon position - I agree with you 100% with the "what are you going to put into it" position, though.

My sps system has 750w on a 150g tank - thats 5 wpg and defies the general recommendation of 7-8

Agree with Ryan otherwise - figure out what you want to put into it in relation to the depth of the tank and said inhabitants then determine lighting suited for those facts.

also, what would the dimensions of the 37g be? and of course what would you want to keep in there?

House
 

nanoreefer22

Live Sale Pioneer
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Brooklyn,

If you don't mind me making a suggestion I wouldn't get that tank. The height in comparison to the depth is going to make it difficult to get a nice aquascape. Maybe you could look into a 37 cube, which would be a much better choice and the 250 watt halide you have on the way would work much more efficiently over a cube :).

I understand if you can't do the cube, but those tanks are narrow and tall and just make it that much more difficult to make it look nice:eek:

I've tried, back in the day.
 

nanoreefer22

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Well id love to take your advice but id need a new stand.. thats why id get the 37. it fits on the stand.

you think i can sell the stand?

Never hurts try :).

If you're gonna stick with the stand I would do a 29g. The dimensions are better for scaping. Later on when you can get a new stand, I'd go with a 37 cube or a 40g breeder. The dimensions are very nice for a smaller tank :).

As i said a 29 would be a better choice than a 37 IMO.:usa1:
 

BrooklynsReefMan1

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cool article to nanoreefs i think i will go with a 29 for now and i have a 40gallon fw tank and i plan on upgrading soon so maybe to a 40 gallon regular?
 
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Huntington
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watts per gallon is old and outdated along with the "inches of fish per gallon" bit. It all depends on what you want to keep, the depth of the tank, and maybe heat issues. Watts per gallon has no relevance anymore due to the number of types of lighting now available and what we now know about their differences. 400 watts of PC is not the same as 400 watts of HO T5 or halides. 400 watts of 6500k is not the same as 400 watts of 20000k. It also depends on what element is used inside the bulb (like radiums). Far too many factors go into it now to adhere to the watts per gallon rule of old especially now that we have more information about our bulbs such as PAR ratings and specific peaks in spectrum.
 

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