Starting over

[clark714x4]

Hi all,

I just wanted to start by thanking you for the forum. I didn't have this when I first started my last reef tank.

I'm starting over on my 55gal tall acrylic tank. Dimensions are 36x24x18, I think...

I had two 10k metal halides and 4 actinic blue HVO(s) I had to run 3 fans to keep the hood cool but my tank evaporated about a gallon of water a day and it was hard to keep the water levels topped off. It got frustrating to say the least. The final straw was a bad algae bloom that killed all my SPS corals and anomies. My tank went down hill fast and my wife and I ended up moving soon after that. That was 2001, today we just bought a new house and I've got a perfect spot for my tank. I have a friend that is building a new stand and hood for me to match the cabinets in the new house.

With all the advancements in lighting, I want to change my lighting to something that runs a little cooler so I don't have the evaporation I did before.

I also have an acrylic tank that is pretty scratched up and was thinking of going to glass. Any comments would be great on that subject.

I have a 20gal wet/dry filter with Red Berlin protein skimmer. I won't need a skimmer for a while but I have read some articles about newer EUROskimmers. Sounds cool. How noisy are they? My wet/dry with pumps and fans are noisy and would like to quite my tank down a little since the tank is going in my den. Any comments?

Thanks again for the forums. Keep on keeping on.

Jim