5.5gallon help

[S.FL Reefer]

Hello all,
I am planning to buy a 5.5gal pico tank..my question is will a 20watt pc light would be good enough for sps?...I will place it up high...if not how many watts should i have for a 5.5?

[Travis L. Stevens]

It depends on what SPS. I would guess that you would like Acropora. This probably wouldn't be sufficient lighting, and if it was they wouldn't grow much and the color wouldn't be good either. I also wouldn't advise doing such a small tank for any sort of SPS. They tend to take up lots of Calcium out of the water. If your tank was stocked heavily with SPS, it would zap the Calcium out of the water far too fast and create a lot of chemical woes.

[S.FL Reefer]

I am thinking about getting like 1 or 2 Acro and maybe a bta if the bta outgrow i will put it in a 55gallon i am planing to get. Do you think a LTA will be good for this lighting. The bulb i am going to use is
http://www.bigalsonline.com/BigAlsUS/ctl3684/cp18361/si1382997/cl0/coralifeminicompact5050lamp20watt

[Travis L. Stevens]

Those are even worse. I used to have them over a 10g tank. I wouldn't keep anything under those except some of the more bulletproof Soft Corals, Zoanthidae, and Corallimorphians. You might be able to get away with a hardy LPS like a Euphyllia species placed at the very top. SPS and Anemones definitely won't be able to survive long under that lighting. FWIW, if an anemone was able to survive under that for a fair amount of time, it's tentacles would easily sting and kill anything that it comes in contact with, including the SPS.

[S.FL Reefer]

how about 2 of those? in a 5.5?

[Travis L. Stevens]

I wouldn't. If you really just wanted to do something like that, look into getting something like a 55w Quad Flat. They are about $10 at Lowe's and burn at 6500K. You'll need a small ballast to run it and a square pin connector, but it would beat those little ones 10 times out of the water. Trust me. The one at Lowe's measures 8" long by about 6" wide. Here is a picture of a Quad Flat, but not of the one specifically from Lowe's

http://www.naturallighting.com/images/prod_image/compact_fluorescent_flatquad_fml2750.jpg

[S.FL Reefer]

o okay thanks i will go on lowes website to check that out

[S.FL Reefer]

couldnt find them but what about this type of light?
http://www.bigalsonline.com/BigAlsUS/ctl3684/cp18369/si1383409/cl0/coralifesaltwater9miniaqualight2x9w
amd maybe with the 20watts

[Travis L. Stevens]

You would be spending a lot of money on something that won't be nearly as powerful. The little PC fixture is a little better, but the intensity on it isn't that great. You'll have to actually go to your local Lowe's in order to find it. In my Lowe's, it is located right next to the T5 NO bulbs.

[True Percula]

bump