MH Question

[jstoehr]

I have a 30 gallon tank, 10 gallon sump, 5 gallon fuge. I want to go MH in the near future so I can keep anything. What wattage do I need? How tall should I make the canopy from the tank surface? I'm going DIY for this. How many fans should I install? I really need a good bit of info for this. I want to do it right! :D

[DaveJohnson]

How deep is the water? What is the depth of the substrate?

Cheers,
Dave Johnson

[MalHavoc]

what do you want to keep? You don't "need" MH for a lot of things. For a great example of that, check out Mucho Reef's tank from a few Reefkeeping issues ago:

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-08/totm/index.htm

[jstoehr]

I want to be able to keep everything. I want to have options. The tank is I think 14" deep and the substrate is about an 1".

[yunkeraj]

I would go with one 250 and a couple of VHO attinic bulbs

[MalHavoc]

If the tank is only 14" deep, I'd probably go with a 175w pendant. You won't need more than one bulb, and a pendant would solve a lot of the heat problem.

[blkwrxwgn]

A 250W MH or 150 DE MH pendant would work also.

[NIXONNOXIN]

I agree with MalHavoc, a 175w is plent of light for that limited depth. A 250w would be a good choice if you plan on upgrading to a deeper tank someday. Too powerful of light only adds to heat and algae problems...

[johnniazi]

Try posting this in the nano section...there are some people with 30/g and still consider it a nano. You'll find some good information before you decide.
I have a cube 35/g and I'm running a 400/W XM...but it's your choice you can do 175-250-400.

Good Luck,