new tank would like some input

[sds]

I am setting up a new tank. It is a 30gallon seaclear system 2 aquarium. It has a built in wet dry filter and the setup looks like a good one. I have never owned one before but I will soon find out how it is. My question is about lighting I am considering a 2x96w pc fixture from coralife. Is this going to be enough light or do I need to run mh? I am not certain on any type of corals yet but I will try to have a good mixture of a reef. I would appreciate anything on the lighting or maybe some comments on the tank

[invertaman]

sounds like you have got a awsome setup :smile:

[motorslave]

The best thing to do would be decide on the type of coral you wish to keep. This will dictate what kind of lighting you need. Build your system around the animals you want to keep. MH are best for SPS and clams and with a 30 you might be good with one bulb along with actinic supplimentation. MH do pose a potential heat issue more so than other lighting so fans would be pretty much a must have. Depending on the depth of the water you could use less wattage on the MH. VHO is another alternative to look at also. HTH

Robert

[sds]

thanks for the input
I am trying to ask the impossible lighting ?
do you know any good source of vhos

[motorslave]

Check with the sponsors here at TRT and hellolights.com. Ice Cap seems to be the industry standard for ballasts and such. I have used both Coralife and URI bulbs on my VHO set up and prefer the URI. I run two ballasts. One running two 110watt actinics and the other running two 110 watt 10000k daylights. This is on a 55. Im not sure what you can find to fit the dimensions of your tank. Just shop around and Im sure others will chime in with advice on places to check. Good luck!

Robert

[VWD]

Originally Posted by sds

thanks for the input
I am trying to ask the impossible lighting ?
do you know any good source of vhos

Yes I know You can get true actinics at Voss electric on Mcleod blvd. West of San Mateo , and I also think they will have daylight and 50'50 , I have gotten Them there when I lived in Albuquerque, You can look them up in the phone book ,Vince

[Doug1]

Like Robert I am a fan of VHO and love my Icecap ballasts, They cost a bit more than the "clones" out there but they work and they stand behind the product.
I like the Icecap electronic ballast because they will drive a variety of lamps(applies to clone e-ballast as well) you can use different lengths within the ballasts limits, as well as drive normal output flourescent bulbs at near VHO levels Might have to replace the NO after 6 months but at about $6 for a 4' 6500K daylight bulb, not a bad trade off
With Power Compact flourescent tou have to use the appropriate bulb for the ballast, PC bulbs generally cost a bit more than VHO equivalent, not as readily available in all hrs at all hrs, and there are a couple pin types so you have to watch for that.
30g is not that big for a reef, and the builtin wet/dry may be a feature you dont neccesarily want or need, but you have it so work around it.
I agree decide on specific corals and plan around that, Better to go with easy soft corals and maybe a nice Large polyp stony coral like a torch or anchor/hammer as a center piece.
Trying to keep soft and small polyp stony corals together in a small tank is going to yield less than optimum results, the animals thrive in totally different areas of the reef and there lighting and water flow needs are vastly different

[VWD]

Originally Posted by Doug1

Like Robert I am a fan of VHO and love my Icecap ballasts, They cost a bit more than the "clones" out there but they work and they stand behind the product.
I like the Icecap electronic ballast because they will drive a variety of lamps(applies to clone e-ballast as well)

I agree here with Doug1, Go with and electronic ballast , and Ice Cap are great , The magnetic ballast have premature bulb failure , Vince