light wattage

[ll62883]

My tank is 120 gallons. what light waattage for reef/fish/inverts/coral do I need.
Also what type of lighting (bulbs) do I need

[jubjubrsx]

i would prob go with MH bulbs....look in the range of 960w-1160w total i would say......

but as far as what type....really depends on what kind of corals you want to keep...

usually what i've read is about 8-10watts per gallon is good...but i went nuts and got 13w/gal (real good deal)

and welcome to reef central..

[ll62883]

thanks for your help--will this wattage of light make a big deiiference in my electric bill

[God of thunder]

Personaly would cinsider some thing less in wattege, I´d go for either 2x400W or 3X250, along with some t-5S you get decent growth(MH), good colur (T-5) lot less of a heat issue as long as smaller electrical bill.

[mdelcomyn]

Hate to disagree, but watts per gallon is not a good way to determine amount of light you need. That's a pretty antiquated rule of thumb. For example, I could put ten 100 watt incanescents over my tank for 1000 watts, but that won't help my SPS.
First, decide what you are keeping (listed in order from least light required to most)--FOWLR, softies, LPS, or SPS and clams. If you want to keep SPS and clams, you should probably consider T5's or MH's because they put out the most PAR per watt burned; i.e., they are more "efficient" than PC's or VHO fluorescents.
It's all about what you want to keep, and your individual setup. You can have a successful tank with 800 watts, or with closer to 400 or 500 watts. Or even less. My personal belief is that people usually go overboard on their lights, killing their wallets on the initial purchase and every month on the power bill thereafter.
If you decide to keep corals, remember that all things being equal, water quality and movement are even MORE important than lighting.

[djcerna]

same Here USE PAR!