watts per gallon / LR per gallon

[ryanrad17]

how much live rock should i have per gallon in a reef tank and how many watts per gallon should i have to have a strong lit tank that wil promote good growth in my corals

 

[bleedingthought]

Both methods of measurement are pretty irrelevant. Unless you're using it as a mean of estimation, I guess.

What are the tank dimensions? What kind of lighting are you looking to get? And what kind of rock structures are you planning on having?

 

[ryanrad17]

i have a Volitans lion fish and a snowflake eel and a yellow tang and i plan on put some acropora and pulsing xenia and i want to maximize their hiding spaces and have suffiecent light for the corals

 

[metalac]

for light the depth is much more important issue than the size in gallons. and as far as the LR goes it depends on the kind of rock, the quality of it, the amount of flow in the aquarium, etc. Most sites say 0.75-1.5lbs/gallon, which is a huge spread, so you better check with people in the know before you make a decision and go out and buy stuff.

 

[SnowManSnow]

Hmmmm will that lionfish eat the xenia???

Sounds like an awefully hostile tank!

.. Never had any of those particular fish though, so I really don't know... just goin on a hunch.

b

 

[Anonymous]

Live rock, I know people that run a very minimal amount, it's not really needed as much as you'd think for "good coral growth"

As for the light levels, while lighting is important there are many more factors for stimulating coral growth. And without knowing the type of corals and depth of your tank suggesting a lighting scheme would be useless.

 

[ryanrad17]

i was planing on putting 3 different types of acorporas in there and the depth of the tank is about 21 inches and im pretty sure a lionfish wont eat my xenia

 

[Len]

I wouldn't mix xenia with Acro as I've found Xenia impedes their growth, not to mention Xenias multiply WAY too fast, eventually taking over the tank within a couple years.

That said, a 21" deep tank should use halides if you want to keep the Acropora at all areas in the tank. If you are interested in keeping them only near the top, about 400 watts of powercompacts or T5 lighting should do just fine.

Live rock is up to you. If you want the tank to be more "open" looking, go with about 1lb per gallon. If you want a more classic reef tank look, go for about 2 lbs per gallon.

 

[ryanrad17]

ya i was only going to keep the acroporas up top but i guess i wont get the xenia and i have about 500 watts on my tank now so i should be fine then

 

[bleedingthought]

I wouldn't mix xenia with Acro as I've found Xenia impedes their growth, not to mention Xenias multiply WAY too fast, eventually taking over the tank within a couple years.

That said, a 21" deep tank should use halides if you want to keep the Acropora at all areas in the tank. If you are interested in keeping them only near the top, about 400 watts of powercompacts or T5 lighting should do just fine.

Live rock is up to you. If you want the tank to be more "open" looking, go with about 1lb per gallon. If you want a more classic reef tank look, go for about 2 lbs per gallon.

Everyone always forgets about VHOs.