Need lighting recommendations-First time post

[SWNewbie]

Hi everyone, although this is my first post, I have been reading this forum for about a month when I decided to get my tank and I would like to thank all the regular responders as I have learned a great deal through there advice.
Anyway a little bit about my tank, it is a 27 gallon hexagon, 24'' deep, I know this is not the ideal tank in terms of volume and surface area for gas exchange , but I live in studio and did not have the room to get a longer tank. I have a 204 Fluval Filter, heater (not sure which kind) and am currently cycling my tank with 30 lbs of live rock. I will be adding a skimmer and powerheads soon so if anyone has any suggestions on which ones would be efficient for my tank that would be greatly appreciated although that is not the purpose of this post.
Eventually I would like to have corals for my tank, and through advice given on this site, it seems a 250W MH light is what I need. I am looking to get a light that I can hang from the ceiling because the standard lights I found on the internet are too long for my tank. Here are four that I have found, and I was just wondering if anyone could give me their opinion of either which one to definitely purchase or which one to definitely stay away from. Spending 300 bucks on something is quite an expense especially for someone trying to make it through medical school, so I'm trying to get as much advice as possible before making my final purchase

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Produ...a_Gen_Page-_-Lighting&subref=AA&N=2004+113352

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Produ...a_Gen_Page-_-Lighting&subref=AA&N=2004+113352

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Produ...a_Gen_Page-_-Lighting&subref=AA&N=2004+113352

http://www.hellolights.com/ocli25hqiame.html

Any opinions would be appreciated, if you think there is a better light that would fit my needs that I did not include I would like to know that as well. Lastly, assuming I get a light I can hang, do I need to get a cover my for my tank?? I was thinking of buying a piece of acrylic and attempting to cut it, but if I don' t need a cover it would save me the hardship and expense. Would not having a cover promote better gas exhange?? I know this can be a problem with hex's. Thanks in advance for all responses, I'm sure you will hear more from me as my tank cycles and I am ready to stock

 

[ryguy]

Hey, welcome to AA.

my advice is to avoid using the canister filter and just increase your LR to around 45 - 50 lbs.

There are sevaral options for a skimmer for this size of tank, the best option is the remora, but you may be fine with the coralifes as well, never seen them skim.

As far as lighting goes, I say just get a PC strip for the diameter measurement of your hex and sit it on top of it with clips. MH halide is overkill for 30G hex. Coralife PC strips would be good for that tank and give you enough light for various soft corals and maybe some LPS.

 

[Brenden]

Do you plan on having corals to justify all the light? If you want MH why not get something like this.
http://www.aquarium-supply.biz/ordering/lighting_Aqualight_HQI.html
It would look good hanging over the tank. Plus it is compact. I think captivereefs carries them.
I agree with extra LR and avoiding the canister.

 

[SWNewbie]

Hey thanks for the replies, maybe I had the wrong initial impression, but I thought because of the depth of my aquarium (24'') that if I wanted to have any type of coral that I would need the 250W MH because the other light choices, even 150W MH, would not penetrate the entire depth of the aquarium. Is this correct? For reference I am planning on adding some of the so-called "beginner" corals from liveaquaria that require moderate light such as candy cane coral, mushroom coral and colony polyps. Also as far as canister filters not being recommended what is the reason behind this? Thank you

 

[tecwzrd]

150W pendent would be fine for medium light corals like you are considering even with a depth of 24”.

Personally I would get the 250W Aqua Medic to keep from limiting your coral selections if you want higher light corals down the road.

The canister traps waste which converts to excess no3 in the tank which is something you want to keep below 10 ppm with a reef tank.

I personally use a canister and clean it weekly when I do my 20% pwc to keep my no3 at <5 ppm

It’s more work then most people want to do with tank maintenance and using 1.5-2 lbs per gal of base/lr along with a quality skimmer will provide all the biological filtration you need with out it.

 

[Brenden]

Also were you place the corals makes a big difference. Place high light corals near the top etc.

 

[AoiGSR]

my advice is to avoid using the canister filter and just increase your LR to around 45 - 50 lbs.

ryguy (or anyone who wants to chime in ),

I was wondering if I should use a cannister as well. Although I am still in research mode, my plans are for a 100-128 gallon size tank. The LFS said I should just do it all as a as rock, coral, and fish and don't do in stages. His reasoning is "it would be boring". My approach is to layer it up but not sure yet. I still have tons to read on here.

I thought I could use an Eheim 2026 to keep the water quality super clean. Maybe this is a bad idea? I would like to try that Berlin system down there so all I have are just 2 tubes in the tank. Intake and the water return portion. I've been reading not to use Bio Balls since the Berlin system will have everything anyway.

 

[tecwzrd]

Stock list and tips for maintaining your SW tank. has all the equipment listed for a SW tank.

If you are considering corals at all I’d get a reef ready tank personally and 1.5-2 lbs of lr along with quality lighting,sump,fuge, & skimmer.

Total cost for a 125 gal reef is going to run $3K-$5K to get started and about $50+ a month to maintain

You could do a FO or FOWLR slightly cheaper. A quality skimmer is a much better investment for keeping your tank clean then a canister is.

 

[Brenden]

A quality skimmer is a much better investment for keeping your tank clean then a canister is.

Definitely