Major lighting frustration !!!!!! RAWR

[Littleswimmer]

Last summer my LFS GAVE me a saltwater aquarium after someone gave theirs up. Very sweet of them to doI know !! THe tank is a 30 gal tall with what I would estimate to be 30 lbs of crushed coral, one powerhead, and a "filter" that fits on the top of the tank.
like so :

Unfortunately the lighting system is shot( only one bulb can work at a time). While trying to find a lighting system to work with this tank it has become apparent that i could simply buy a used complete tank setup on craigslist for only a little more than a new light fixture. Unfortunately I live in a small town in the middle of no where (durango, co) and really cant travel to pick up such a tank anytime soon. Can anyone recommend me a good decently priced lighting system?( I think I would need a T5 HO?) The tank also has no protein skimmer so I will likely need to invest in one of these as well.... any ideas of a decently priced skimmer? Any advice would be very appricated since the LFS has been no help (selling me corals and anemones that require high light and telling me they will go well in my tank)

-A very frustrated Amy

 

[revhtree Verified Admin]

So do you plan on removing the hood?

Also what kind of stock do you plan on keeping?

 

[Mr bigolsworth]

Good luck finding one. I was just in pagosa springs all last week.

 

[Littleswimmer]

I was going to leave the hood and remove the "lights section" of the hood. If I put plexiglass down I should be able to fit a 24" light fixture in the opening. Unfortunately it would only really allow for a light fixture thats 6-8" wide. Would a Metal halide work in this set up ? I have room to suspend it above the tank. I would like to buy something that I could use later in a bigger tank after I purchase it. It seems a mH is really the only thing i could transfer to a bigger tank.( at least from my understanding)

I would like to have some LPS hard corals,maybe some mushroom corals, and eventually venture into SPS corals (althought I think I have a long way to go before I'm ready for that). Right now I have neon green trumpet coral, 1 condy anemone, 1 black/white clownfish, 1 flame angelfish, 1 Hawkfish, and then various hermitcrabs and snails (and whatever was left in the sand from whoever had the tank before).


Mr. Bigols-
Yeah, I'm pretty screwed. Looks like I'll be taking a trip to Denver or Albqu to pick up a bigger tank.

 

[ReeferBob]

Here is a nice little $99 light.

also you should remove the top. You can make a screen top to keep jumpers in the tank. SW tanks benefit from open tops. The plexiglass will block a LOT of PAR from reaching you corals.

Current USA 24" Nova Extreme T-5 Fixture 2x24W 10K/460NM, (1124) - AquaCave.com