Overwhelmed

[Jholli90]

Hello all!

Home projects are through the roof right now.

I found a 150 gallon tank for super cheap. It didn't have a stand so we built one. I'm trying to buy all the equipment to switch over from my 90 gallon.
I'm having trouble finding a good match on the lighting. Most of them only reach 24 inches deep. I am gone a lot on the weekends (during normal circumstances) and would like a timer. I'm not trying to spend a fortune but also understand you get what you pay for.
My tank is 48L*24w*31deep.

 

[Webslinger]

Good luck

 

[Hydrored]

What is your budget? With a tank of that size you may want to go T5 and plug it into a timer. It just works

 

[Jholli90]

What is your budget? With a tank of that size you may want to go T5 and plug it into a timer. It just works

Around $300 is possible.

 

[count krunk]

Get some LED black boxes with good reviews on Amazon and make peace with soft corals on the bottom on the tank.

Any old timer will do. I have all my lights on the simple $5-10 dollar timers. They have never let me down.

 

[Jholli90]

Get some LED black boxes with good reviews on Amazon and make peace with soft corals on the bottom on the tank.

Any old timer will do. I have all my lights on the simple $5-10 dollar timers. They have never let me down.

Yea, I didn't think the dimensions through when I bought the tank.... hindsight

Timer issue seems solved but I want coral everywhere. I mostly have softies, with a few LPS. Nothing else like my tank lol

 

[Webslinger]

Buy some Wifi power bars.(it’s a cheap Apex) and Wifi black boxes.

 

[Hydrored]

I would look for a used 6 bulb T5, I can’t help with black box lights. Sorry I couldn’t be of more use.

 

[Brad ward]

Hello all!

Home projects are through the roof right now.

I found a 150 gallon tank for super cheap. It didn't have a stand so we built one. I'm trying to buy all the equipment to switch over from my 90 gallon.
I'm having trouble finding a good match on the lighting. Most of them only reach 24 inches deep. I am gone a lot on the weekends (during normal circumstances) and would like a timer. I'm not trying to spend a fortune but also understand you get what you pay for.
My tank is 48L*24w*31deep.

Plenty of old metal halide fixtures for sale and cheap
They will punch all the way down and work on cheap timers

 

[this is me]

I’m sure there’s plenty of members with 30” height tank that use the typical lights on the market. The light maybe tested and rated at 24” depth but I’m pretty sure that’s bare bottom test. Add a couple inches of sand and you’re left with about 26-28” of depth you have to light which isn’t really that far off from the rated 24”.
You always can pack up the sand to make it higher but that cab look pretty nasty with 6” of sand when algae grows between the glass and the sand. And also, sand isn’t exactly cheap. You can easily spend $300 on it. Personally if I’m stuck with a 31” height tank, I just fill up the sand 3” high and not worry about the light. Just have to observe what does well on the bottom of the tank and What doesn’t.