Changing Existing Lighting for Reef

[soheix]

Hi,
Ive been wanting to put coral in my tank but I think my current lighting isn't strong enough.

My tank is a Via Aqua curved 11gallon the dimensions are roughly (15"L x 9.5"W x 18" D)
Also my current lighting is the one that came with it which is Compact PL.
Dimension: 15"L x 7"W x 2"D
1x18w Daylight 7100k
1x18w Coralstar Ydw18-H (blue light)
Both bulbs are roughly 9.5" long.

Anyone know if its possible to use the existing lighting case and somehow change the interals of the ballast and lighting to fit something stronger? Im thinking I need at least 50w lighting but I'm not sure if its enough for such a deep tank. Any suggestions on what I should do. Right now I have couple live rock and 4 fishy.

 

[Len]

I'd aim for about 60-80 watts myself. A 15" outer length, however, limits what you can cram in there. T5 aquarium bulbs don't commonly come that short, but there is a 13" power compact 28W bulb that might fit. A pair in the fixture will be a big improvement. I'm not sure how much interal room you have in the fixture, and it may be best to scrap it and use a pendant or make your own (bigger) canopy for the tank. If you can mount a pendant, it would be the easiest solution.

Hellolights sells a easy kit for 2 x 28W PCs:
http://www.hellolights.com/2xbalkit1.html

 

[soheix]

which pendant would u recommend? would the 150W be overkill for my tank?