[StirCrazy]

Originally Posted by sumpfinfishe

however for a 33gl reef I am 100% positive that you would be able to keep almost anything under HO T5's or PC's.
A tank of this length and depth would reguire no more than HO T5's in my opinion. My tank has a 33 footprint and all I have is normal output tubes-yes a whopping 90watts=3 per gallon. By the time you add sand and rockwork, one should have more than enough areas to keep softies, LPS, and yes even SPS

I'll agree that PC's will keep pretty much any LPS and softies in a 33, but you will not get coloration in SPS unless they are kept higher up. a 33 is 18" deep (which is what my 94 was when you included the sand bed originally and stuff at about the 8 to 12" dept grew very slowly and was unexciting for color. when I went to MH that all changed growth went through the roof and color changed dramatical. SO I can say you can keep SPS under less than ideal conditions and you can ever Use NO if you keep them about 2" below the water surface (I think that is what yours are?) but you are not providing them the best conditions in your power.

Ryan, Rich's tank is an exception to the rule and is deceiving because of the placement of his corals, for the most part if you can afford MH do it, if you can't go VHO or PC.. If you want to try T5's go ahead but they are still new and a few tests I have seen show them to be over hyped. In an 18" tank you should have enuf light to keep anything alive, the only difference will be growth rate and coloration, but slow growth isn't a bad thing in all situations.

Oh, by the way I am going to shoot the next person that useses the watts/gal thing.. it is useless and doesn't mean a darn thing. say I got a 90 watt light on a tank that is 10 gal but only 5" high and I have a tank that is 10 gal but is 36" tall. is this 90 watts of light having the same effect at the bottom of these two tanks? nope but they are both 9 watts per gal.

Steve