Nano-cube vs. regular tank

[zackish]

I know this probably a popular question but I was looking at the 14 gallon nano cube or a regular 10-15 gallon tank to start a reef. I think the 14 only has like 60 watts worth of light and with a 10-15 gallon I am sure I could get over 100. People say that is pretty weak for 14 gallons which is kind of true because its only a little over 3 wpg. However.....if you think about it those nanocubes are long and shallow, by the time you get LR in there any coral is only going to be like 6-8 inches from the light source. Do you think the lack of lighting would be made up for with how close the corals will be to the light, vs. being like 10+ inches away in a regular tank with 100+watts of lighting?

[cocoa_pleco]

i would go with a regular tank that you can always upgrade. low light corals need 3W-5W, and harder to keep corals 10W+.

[zackish]

But being so cose to the light source doesn't make a difference?

[cocoa_pleco]

a slight difference, but not a huge one, wouldnt really make a difference.

[Drumachine09]

i would go with a regular tank that you can always upgrade. low light corals need 3W-5W, and harder to keep corals 10W+.

But remember, the WPG "rule" Completely breaks down in small tanks.


I would go with a cube, and just do low lights. Its already got the filter built in, and its was made for saltwater.

[zackish]

Why does it completely break down?

[Drumachine09]

Size of the tank, water volume, depth, its all out of wack. The WPG "rule" (and I use the term 'rule' loosely) Is for tanks around 30-55 gallons.

Lets think planted tanks. 15 watts on a five gallon would be considered low light, and its at 3 WPG. But 3 WPG on a 100 gallon tank would be considered high light.

[cocoa_pleco]

sometimes on smaller tanks you can use smaller lights, like a 5g heavily planted doesnt need 5W/g, just 3W

[Drumachine09]

sometimes on smaller tanks you can use smaller lights, like a 5g heavily planted doesnt need 5W/g, just 3W

Wrong. The smaller the tank, the more light it needs.

[cocoa_pleco]

hmm, thats what i thought i heard from chrona a long time ago. i was going to put 50W on a 10g planted and he said that 35W would be good because of tank size