Watts per gallon means nothing... all three choices of your tank is power compact...IMO the same "power" and usage... PC lights just aren't good either way... either way with any of the mention tank you are going with the same corals... you won't be keeping any SPS..and the LPS will be placed higher in the tank... as for Calms..good luck...
So I would get the biggest tank you can afford... if you are new to saltwater...the bigger the tank the easier for you to maintain...you will just hit a road block with a 8 gallon...
As for sand.. i didn't read the other posts...but sand is added biological filtration just like liverocks... so without sand you will be losing some filtrating power... IMO
|