[delaharsha]

Its been 10 plus years since I have had a SW tank. Lots of good products available now which makes it easy.

Here is what i got so far.

20 gal High
Skilter 400 (from the old days will change after cycle)
nova extreme 48 watt
20 lbs crushed coral
20 lbs fiji and tonga

Here is a pic.

Any help or tips would be cool.

thanx

[ianizaguirre]

everything looks GREAT

[delaharsha]

Here is a better pic !

[ianizaguirre]

do you plan on keeping coral ?

[Proud Texan]

Yea if its going to be reef i would get a better light i dont think 2 watts a gallon is enough... you may want to get a clip on metal halide light fixture but only if you want sps or other high light corals.

[delaharsha]

yeah I was going 2 double up and get one more nova extreme.

That should fine I think?

I can't have the top open cause of the cat!

[saltylee]

i would go with a hqi. pendant. i used a 96 watt(2 x 48) pc on a 20 tall and even with 4 plus watts per gallon the depth of the tank played a big role.(the guy at the pet store told me this but i still was just thinking watts per gallon) the bottom of the tank just didnt get enough light. you could get a glass top to keep the cat out and it would help with evaporation.

[ianizaguirre]

umm if you want get egg crate and cut it to the length of your tank so it wont deplete as much light from the fixture like the glass top does, and the cat wont get in.

[saltylee]

that is a good idea i never heard of using egg crate and glass tops do throw off a bad glare

[ianizaguirre]

yep just go to home depot and buy the egg crate its good cause it blocks the cat/ fish from jumping out , and it dosent take out as much light as glass.

[delaharsha]

cool i will give it a shot.

So what is my best choice for adding hgi?

I am sure I can fab one up.
What is the best place to get the parts?

[ianizaguirre]

lol i have no experence with a DIY light for my tank but if you look online like at shops such as marine depot in there lighting section you will see something called retrofit kits those are like DIY lights its like a packaget hat comes with the parts so its cheaper so shop around for those but i think those DIY light are only if you have a hood ontop of your tank so if thats the case i think a clip on or pendent light fixture would be your best bet it would cost around 300$

[delaharsha]

Originally Posted by ianizaguirre

lol i have no experence with a DIY light for my tank but if you look online like at shops such as marine depot in there lighting section you will see something called retrofit kits those are like DIY lights its like a packaget hat comes with the parts so its cheaper so shop around for those but i think those DIY light are only if you have a hood ontop of your tank so if thats the case i think a clip on or pendent light fixture would be your best bet it would cost around 300$

I am going to go to ikea and find a fixture
Thanx for all your help !

[ianizaguirre]

no problem stick around

[delaharsha]

Originally Posted by ianizaguirre

no problem stick around

Will do.
This is where I used to work 15 years ago...

roozenhome

I get everything from them! The best saltwater fish hands down.


Ryan

[ianizaguirre]

good looking site

[reeer250]

thats a good store ,i live in maryland to