Easy care corals and lighting needs

After spending so much money to get setup I figure I'm already in too deep to turn back. So for future planning, what do you recommend for lighting? I have a tall tank. 20x18x33". I reallly have no clue about any types of corals. But I'm a planner..so before I get to that point I want to knwo what I'm doing.

So, lighting? Links of what EXACTLY I should get would be great

Corals: Specific names so I can research the corals before I buy. Also, I want as easy a system as I can have. I have pretty strong flow in my tank and due to the shape I'm imagining I'm going to have to go with low lighting corals for the whole tank.

Thanks a bunch guys.

 

here is a few 24in ones i think that is the smallest ones they make for t5's

ReefGeek > Lighting > T5 Fluorescent > ATI > Powermodule Fixtures

 

I was wondering if I could get a slightly larger light and let it overhang. Not sure how they adjust to fit the tank rim.

Yipes those are expensive! Is that about what lights run? I have plenty of time to save, but wow :shock:

 

I was wondering about metal halides. Do you think at that point I'd also need a chiller? I know those lights are suppsoed to put out a lot of heat.

 

Do you have a Canopy for your tank? If you do then you can buy a retrofit kit and put it together yourself and also mount a fan in there too. If not you can suspend a light fixture from the ceiling or from some anchored "L" brackets in the wall. But take the time and save $$ for a GOOD light fixture. Or later on down the down the road you'll wanna shoot yourself in the foot! MH (Metal Halide) Fixtures are expensive and run hot. I have a T5 HO Fixture and I love it. My water stays at a constant 78-80 degrees through out the day, with a fan blowing diagonally into the tank. Plus, with T5's you can control your Actinics and Daylights separately. I love the blue look!!

 

I don't have any sort of canopy : / Is there anyway I could know if I'd have to get a chiller? My water runs 82 degrees constant now, with a single 18 actinic on it....That's no warmer at all and the AC on constant at 78. At this point I feel like ANYTHING extra on the tank is going to put temps up too much : /

What about something like:
Current USA Nova Extreme T5 HO Fixture

or

Current USA Nova Extreme Pro T5 HO Fixture

Just looking for an alternative that won't have so much heat : / That's all I could find in my recently acquired marinedepot magazine...drool...so many things I just NEED!

 

Your already pushing the temperature at 82* :shock: Sounds like there's no avoiding a chiller if you improve your lighting.

 

:*( That sucks! I'm not sure what else I could do to drop my temp some prior to adding lighting..it's really cool in my house, I'm only running 2 powerheads and my HOB skimmer...damnit, lol. Chillers are pretty expensive aren't they? Grr...

 

Chillers are pretty expensive and put off a lot of heat into the room. Is the top of your tank open now? Wasn't sure if you said of not. Do you have any fans to blow over the top?

 

Adding fans to blow across the top of your tank will drop the temp by as much as 10 degrees. I have two cheapo clip-on fans that I bought at Walmart. I think they were $7 each.

 

Sorry, been a little busy.

My tank just has eggcrate on top. I have a TON of surface agitation too. Only 3 powerheads in the tank total. 2 with sureflow 2100 mods, the other is for my skimmer. I'll pick up a fan tomorrow and give that a go.

Looking at my temps off and on throughout the day, I've seen as high as 84!!! It's very odd, my thermostat in the house is set to like 78, the tank isn't by any windows and the room is cool. The only thing I can think that's increasing the temp so much is the powerheads...

 

thats not odd my temp in my house is set to 70 and my temp is at almost 80 at its highest and i run two fans all day and night. evaporation is the best way to cool your tank if you can run fans do it you will have more evaperation but it will keep the tank cooler. i loose a little over 6 gallons a day of water due to evap but it keeps the temp more stable.

 

Yikes! That's a lot of water loss. I'm amazed how much I'm losing with two "normal" lights. Can't imagine it with lights and some fans. I know a lot of you guys run auto top offs, but if you didn't when did you refill your tank. Just daily add it in when you do your inspections?

Glad to know the temp thing is normal. Man, your house at a constant 70 must rock! My wife has a fit if I drop it any lower than where it's set. It hit record temps here the other day, 106! Summer is in full swing

 

have you tried a fan yet? I got one of the clip ones from walmart my tank is 78 average. Before the fan was 82. I still have the glass top when i get mh lighting im gonna probably have to ditch the top. I add a gallon of top off every other day or half gallon daily depends on when i get home from work.

 

No, still didn't get a chance to pick it up. Was at Wal Mart but it totally skipped my mind. Have family coming in this weekend so been preoccupied. I will have it in by the end of the week for sure though.

 

i use to fill my tank twice a day some time before i went to work and when i got home from work if i forgot to do it just once the pump would be sucking air by the time i got home or when i woke up. evap is a good thing it keeps the tank cool since it is the hot water evaporating it pulls the heat out of the tank

 

I top off my tank by hand twice a day. I lose about 10 gallons a day to evaporation.