Upgrading PC to MH/T5 in BioCube 14 help!

[Prest0nC]

My BioCube came stock with two 24watt PC bulbs. one 10k and the other actinic, i believe. I am looking to upgrade the stock hood to a clip on 150 watt MH fixture, which also comes with 2 12watt actinic T5's.

Is there some sort of wattage per gallon rule that I should go by when determining the intensity of my lighting? I am worried that going from 24watts to 150watts may be too strong for a 14 gallon aquarium. I would love to hear of anybody else's experiences.

I mainly have softies, some frogspawn, and zoo's in my tank right now but would like to keep a clam and some sps someday. If I do upgrade to this newer fixture how do I go about acclimating my corals to the new lighting, so as not to bleach them or burn them?

 

[Cwazy Clown]

When I went from PC to MH lighting on my 10g a while back I used window screen to light acclimate them. I started off with 4 layers of screen and took a layer off every 3-4 days.

Is the fixture you're going with the one I linked you to?

 

[moovinfast]

Or you can cut back on the how long you keep the lights on when you switch. And just add a little bit of time every day until you're back where you want to be. Thats what I did when I switched to MH over my tank.

There isnt really a watt per gallon rule. Because for example 100w of PC light is not the same as 100w of MH lighting. The MH lighting penetrates the water more.

 

[Prest0nC]

When I went from PC to MH lighting on my 10g a while back I used window screen to light acclimate them. I started off with 4 layers of screen and took a layer off every 3-4 days.

Is the fixture you're going with the one I linked you to?

yea its the one you linked to me. the fixture is out of stock so I will order it when they get more. but if im mostly trying to keep lps and softies i hope the light won't nuke my corals