lighting for an 18g tall

[bendavis]

i built a top for our 18g tonight that is 14 inches tall and will house a 175w MH, anyone think this is overkill? or perhaps not enough? we plan on having a few sps in there and a haddoni as well, for our clowns... and because i think they are beautiful. no flames about the carpet, please, if it grows to big, we will either; frag it (yes, they can be fragged) or put it in the 500g reef. anyways, just curious what you guys thoughts were on the Mh, to much or to little? or just right.

-Ben

[stewie24]

With a depth of 14 inches, i think a 150 watt would be just fine with the lower light loving corals on the bottom of course.
Good luck!
Stewie

[Cutiewitbooty]

yeah 150watt should be perfect, i have a 150watt over my 25 gal which is 20" deep

[bendavis]

lol. the tank septh is close to 20 inches, the top i built is 14 inches tall. still working on wiring up th elight, since i have tomorrow off, i will probably get it done then.

-Ben

[gundo50001]

Sounds good. post some pics.

[bendavis]

http://xf1.xanga.com/c8cb902b4833542909397/b29109791.jpg

keep in mind, this is just the beginning. a 10 gallon fuge will be added w/ skimmer. still researching Nano's. our main tank is a 29g which seems to be a nano by many people standards? but we consider to be our large tank. the main reason we started this tank, is Jodi wants to breed clowns, and we already have a pair of clarkiis, but she wanted some orange clowns as well. still not sure how much coral will make it into the tank, we werent really planning on a reef. but after a long conversation with my roomate, i decided to put a carpet anemone in. we already have a few BTAs and his though was to keep one of the anemones that i couldnt really have in a reef. and i feel that the carpet is one of the most beautiful available. and since we decided on a 175w MH, i think we may try a few SPS as well, after the carpet has settled. no idea when we will be getting the carpet, deffinatley not until the sump and skimmer are up and running, but who knows how long after that. so would this even be considered a nano reef? a) since it is 18 gallons, which isn't really all that small, and B) not really going to have much coral in it.

oh well, i will keep you guys updated, this is my first thread outside of the reef clun forums. so if i forget to visit often, i am sorry ;)

-Ben

[bendavis]

got the 175w wired up today, looks beautiful. first tank without actinic light, so the colors are very warm, i'll have to get used to that. thinking about adding some DIY moonlights. anyone have moonilights on their nanos? and do you have them for night time viewing, or to actually simulate nature? mine would be for night viewing. anyways, seems like i ramble a lot. i am just really excited about finally starting this tank.

-Ben

[bendavis]

http://x07.xanga.com/e8ab70423073343117668/b29237214.jpg

a pic of it lit. someday, there will be something other than clowns in it. lol.

-Ben

[Cutiewitbooty]

I have moon lights, they came with my fixture, they are really awesome. If you can get corlife ones go for it, they look really cool.

[bendavis]

okay, finally got the sump, top off, and resevoir figured out. cant wait until the whole system is up and running. the MH raises the temp quite a bit, so i am trying to decide if i will install a fan in the hood, or just use a clip mount... cheaper and quicker is probably the way to go there. still thinking about moonlights. gonna try a D.I.Y. skimmer sometime soon before spending tons of money. and thats about it for now.

-Ben