Ideas for mounting 150w or 250w HQI

[bsk997]

Hey guys,

I'm setting up a 30g cube this weekend and was hoping I could get some ideas on how to get some halides over the tank.
The Oceanic 30g Cube's dimensions are 20.5" x 18.5" x 21.5" so a single halide should cover it quite well.

One option is to mount a 250w HQI pendant above the tank using some type of L board. The only thing is I don't know how good it'd look and don't know how stable it'd be. I've comtemplated using either wood or some metal posts for this idea.

http://oregonstate.edu/~maili/Tuan/Tank/idea2.JPG

Another idea is to build a reverse U out of some thin wood boards and then add an additonal piece of wood at the two ends to hold the piece of wood up and mount the pendant to. I don't think this would be the best looking option but could be the easiest.

http://oregonstate.edu/~maili/Tuan/Tank/idea.JPG

The third option is to use my current 36wx2 via aqua hood and mount a 150w hqi in it since it'll be closer to the water. This would probably be relatively easy to mod and put over the tank. There's a glass top for the tank and I could easily put the hood with it's legs on top of the glass. It'd be about 4-5" above the water. I thought 150w hqi would be good enough for this option since it's closer to the tank?
I also have a 96w hood that I could do this to also.

I would ideally like to get the 250w aquaconnect 14k bulb but they're sold out and not likely to get any in for awhile. My 2nd choice would be the 14k hamilton setup with their pendant and ballast. I would like to choose a setup that doesn't need actinics. Just want something simple. I'm not that handy of a person and don't have a lot of tools available so keep that in mind. :)

Anybody have ideas or thoughts?
Thanks

[Sloth]

I've heard of someone using a coat rack from Bed Bath and Beyond. Its just 2 posts on wheels with a bar connecting them, that you hang your coat hangers on. You could position that above the tank, and the telescoping bars would allow you to adjust the height of the light.

I think if you don't want actinics, you will want a fairly blue light. IMO a 20K 150 watt DE gives off about half the brightness of a 10K 150 watt DE. What I'm getting as is you should go with 250 watt if you want a blue-ish bulb, because a 150 will be surprisingly dim.

[sharkdude]

you are welcome to come see how I did my 150w HQI 20k ReefOptix III over my 30 gal cube zoanthid display tank.

http://community.webshots.com/album/123989700PLeNGg

I'm in Garden Grove near brookhurst and katella

[bsk997]

Nice setup sharkdude!
I really like it.

[opihi]

i did something similar to your first pic. unfortunately, my wife has our digi cam, so i'll try to explain what i did.

i used 2 pieces of 1-1/4" ABS piping. i used an elbow fitting to connect the 2 parts. to secure the piping to my tank, i secured the piping to the back of my stand using 2 "one-sided pipe clamps" (anyone know what the real name of this part is?).

i know a picture's worth a 1000 words, but it's really cheap, easy, and clean looking, especially with the black abs.

[AReeferIsExpensive]

http://www.griplocksystems.com/GL/lighting/practical_examples/practical_examples.html

[bsk997]

I'm staying away from drilling into wall or ceililng.
Reading some of the responses on here, it seems like a better idea to build a hood for it vs hanging it. My tv sits about a foot or two away from the tank so I'm afraid the hanging pendant will cause glare into the tv? I've seen pendants before but there didn't seem that bad of light spillage.

I like the idea of building a 6-8" hood, cutting a hole the size of the pendant, and mounting the pendant right on top of the hood. That way, it's further up, and it would have plenty of ventilation and wouldnt get so hot. I dont want it too high since it's a 20.5" by 18.5" tank so I dont want the light to spread out that much to the sides. I'll have a chiller to keep it cool since it's close. I don't want the hood too high since I feel that would make the tank look funny. I have a feeling it'll come out looking ghetto though. LOL. Plus to make it look like the Oceanic stand(still yet to buy) will be a little difficult.
Hmmm...decisions decisions....