[Twan013]

alright, i was in the LFS today, and i think i've FINALLY found the lights i want, but i need input first... all i know is that its an Oddysea 48" compact flourescent system, with 12000K something or other, plus an actinic 03 bulb, PLUS 4 blue LED's... each kind of light is on a separate switch, (3 switches in all)... the price is 399... i was wondering if this sounds like a good deal or if i need to find something else? OR, is the system good, but a bad price? i almost bought it today, the only thing that stopped me was that my debit card was declined... the guy also tried to sell me a used skilter 400 filter/protein skimmer (rated for up to a hundred gallon aquarium).. but we were talking for about 30 minutes, and i was trying to decide which i needed the most at the moment (mid-cycle, only 15-20 lbs of liverock, which, its my goal to have about 80)... he said that i needed both of them right now (obviously a scam to make money... hehe).. anyway, here's the point that i'm at now...

as i said, mid-cycle, i've got to get WAY more liverock, i need some lights, a protein skimmer, i've got a single small aiptasia and bristleworms and some sort of pods supposedly all over the place and i want to get rid of them... so, my very next step should be what? the aiptasia will be taken care of by means of a peppermint shrimp, and the bristleworms and pods, by arrow crab (i read that those are good for them, along with any other parasites on fish, etc.)

so should i get the lights, skimmer, rock, or shrimp/crab?? i'm talking about my very next step, as in tomorrow afternoon... so i need the answer post haste

[RyanG]

Wellll, Im glad your debit card got declined. I would have gotten upset if you spent money on just PC lighting, you wouldn't be able to keep SPS corals, mainly just softies...you know this right?

Also the skilter filter is an piece of junk...STAY AWAY FROM IT. I seriously do not understand why they even sell those. You want to look at a needle wheel design skimmer. If you are on a tight budget then look at a Octopus skimmer.

Octopus Skimmers

With regards lighting I would suggest a T5 lighting system, you will be able to keep most if not all SPS corals.

4ft 6-Lamp Sunlight Supply Tek Light High Output Fluorescent Lighting Fixture

That unit is only $348 plus shipping, MUCH BETTER LIGHT. It doesn't come with "Moon lights" but you can get add ons that clip to your tank, or make your own (Look at the DIY forum for a cool moonlight trick one RB member used)

You need to have patience and plan it all out, if you don't you will flush your money down the drain.

[Twan013]

i'm not necessarily on a tight budget, but i don't want to spend the money for something that i won't use... i just thought that skilter deal was good because it was only 80 bucks.. its a used system... i was just like "hey, good deal, i'm already saving money!"...

about the lights, i'm assuming the one's you're talking about are coming from marinedepot? i'm looking at their catalog that i got when i ordered my 2 maxijet 1200's.... that setup you mentioned says that the bulbs are not included... but i did find this, right above the ones you're talking about... "current USA t5 fluorescent nova extreme fixture"... 48" 4 x 54 watt t5 HO, plus 4 lunar lights... its only 256... another thing, the tek light is too wide for my tank, 15 inches... i don't want to hang the lights from the ceiling, and i don't want to have any overhanging the tank... i don't know the measurements of the nova extreme, but i'm about to check that out..

ugh, but i forgot, i still need to know which i need first!!

[Twan013]

oh, and that octopus skimmer, those are for in-sump applications only, correct? i'll need a HOB skimmer... unless i can have one just standing alone in my tank stand, with tubes coming out the back and to the top of the aquarium... shoot, i was looking more along the lines of the red sea prizm skimmers... but then again, i don't know enough to say "hey, this is better than that"... that's why i'm here asking the questions

[volitan_fa]

The current you're looking at is still better than the PC you were going to buy from the LFS. You'll be kind of hard pressed to find a HOB skimmer that will work well...I will look for some and get back to ya on that one....

It's good you're asking questions. You can easily blow a lot of money in this hobby if you're not careful.

[Twan013]

all i can say is thanks... i know a lot of my questions are those that have been asked over and over again, some that i've even asked over and over... its just that every single time, i get a different answer, and i'm just trying to get a definitive "yes" on a setup...but i guess, as with all hobbies, that won't ever happen...

ok, back to the skimmer question... if the HOB skimmer isn't any good, then what can i get to go along with my stand-alone tank? everything that i've seen is either hang-on or in-sump, but i don't have a sump or anything like that.......

[crazygator]

sorry i haven't found your post till now. like you said many different answers from many different people, here's another one. i would say the rock and lighting, then your skimmer, the skimmer is not needed til you start adding corals. you might want to take care of your aiptasia prob first before it spreads in your tank.

[volitan_fa]

Well I found a HOB needle-wheel skimmer, but I am not sure how reliable Coralife's skimmers are. Someone help with that one. Here's it is:

Super Skimmer with Needle Wheel

How big is your tank? If it's 48" long, it's probably big enough that a sump would be very beneficial for you to have. You may look into it

[grneyes3x]

go with a deltec mce600 skimmer they are the best. they are costly but worth every penny. I think you can find something better in lighting than the nova system. go with MH

[ericwebster]

I had that exact unit (I paid ~200 on ebay) and 2 of the PC bulbs and the moon lights died in about 5 weeks

Dont buy it if you have options.

I would reccomend getting a hood (canopy) and buying a retrofit kit from hellolights.com. You can slowly add more bulbs as you need them and keep the cost in control (at least a little) and get good quality lights.

[ericwebster]

eBay: AQUARIUM LIGHT 48" JEBO 260 POWER COMPACT W/ FANS LEGS (item 250083731034 end time Feb-18-07 19:50:03 PST)

about $100

[ericwebster]

Like I say, don't buy it.

At a 100$ its even a shaky deal .. some people had decent luck, I didn't