[Davisjm04]

I have a 40 gallon tank that I want to put soft corals in. What would be the recommended wattage per gallon for this setup? I have heard anywhere from 2-5 watts/gallon which seems like a pretty big variance in terms of light fixtures?

[SweeTang22]

3-3.5 has always worked well for me. the thing with softies is the more light they get the less they seem to open. being a "low light coral" (not sure if thats the correct term) they dont need a whole lot of light to thrive. i wish i could dig up the article that i read in a magazine, but it said some hobbiest are using less light to get them to open up more creating a better look of the aquarium. this brought up some issues though as they discussed in the article. no need to go into detail. anways, im a fan of the t-5 HO. nativeman will have some good fixtures for you to chose from so lets wait till he chimes in.

[wesley6610]

Originally Posted by Davisjm04

I have a 40 gallon tank that I want to put soft corals in. What would be the recommended wattage per gallon for this setup? I have heard anywhere from 2-5 watts/gallon which seems like a pretty big variance in terms of light fixtures?

If you are sure that all you want is soft corals, I would aim for 3 - 4 watts. But, if you can do a retro in a hood, that will leave you room to upgrade later.

[Krazy]

I have a 36" Current Fixture over my 40.

Its 2x96 power compact for my actintics and a 150watt Hqi metal halide.

I love it as it gives me enough to put pretty much whatever in the tank.

The 40 in my case is my temp holding tank til Im back online with the 210 but after I planned on doing a propagation tank or a mini-reef display.

I also run a cpr overflow model cs-90, with a mag 7, two seio 820's and a 10 gallon sump with phosban reactor for carbon and a aqua c skimmer with mag 5.

it turned out to be a nice lil setup.