So I've been reading alot on lighting in reef environments. They say for softie tanks you need 3-4 WPG ( watts per gallon ) for SPS hard coral tanks you need 5-7 WPG, and for FOWLR tanks you can get away with like 3 or less WPG. I only have 2.95 WPG in my softie tank at the moment. I do have some LPS corals in the tank, and everything is thriving and growing nicely. Not all my lights run at the same time my 2 T5 VHO's only run eight hours during the day. My two T12 03 Actinics only run an hour before the main lights, two hours during midday to simulate afternoon peak light, and an hour in the evening when the main T5's go off. I do run LED moonlights after all the main lighting is off till 2:00 a.m. SO am I using a correct lighting regiment? Should I upgrade the T12's to another dual T5 VHO unit?

i know those numbers are "rule of thumb" probably to compensate for different tanks haveing different hieghts - - -- a 20 inch deep tank with 6 inches of sand baed and 10 inches of live rock with a coral on top will require less lighting {to a point} than the same tank with 2 inches of sand and 5 inches of live rock - - -i would say if your corals are happy and healthy, then you have the proper lighting, if they are lacking a little, then they could use a little more - - - you know your tank better than anyone and their "rules"

lol

Boss

those rules dont really apply anymore its more about intensity than wattage or lumen see asking this question means that your ready to progress to next next under standing of lighting like for example i have 6 54 watt t5 bulbs for a 120 under the old standard i only have 2.7 watts per gallon but with the reflectors putting back 98% of the light back into the tank i have way more than i need get a par meter and find out what your par its at

I'm not sure what a par meter is but I would use a Lux meter like the one in this http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/p ... =14821link

Thanks Delta I did not know that. What wave length do corals grow best under?