lighting for custom 30G

[kimber45]

hi all.

I'm still in middle of planning my new mini reef. the problem is i sold off all my old mini reef parts so now i need to start all over and on a limited budget.

I'm having real problems finding a good lighting system on the cheap.

i guess first off i should mention my tank is going to be a custom rimless with dimensions of 30x14x16. since it's rimless there is no hood so a diy lighting system would be a major undertaking for me.

i plan on keeping shrooms,lps,leather, and possibly a clam or small anemone and of coarse a couple fish. so i don't think i'll need real intense lighting but i don't want to under do it either.

my budget on a lighting system is around 200-250 so that doesn't leave me a lot of choices.

i'm leaning more towards t5 because they are cheaper then mh and cooler running.

my first choice is the current usa sundial t5x4.
http://www.marineandreef.com/Nova_SunDial_T5_Current_USA_p/rcu01151.htm

i was planning on ordering a workhorse5 and overdriving these. the fixture comes with 2 ballasts(2x24") so i was going to use the stock ballasts to overdrive one bulb each and then buy a workhorse5 to overdrive the last 2 bulbs.

i'm not to sure the stock ballasts will overdrive so i may need another workhorse5 if they don't.

does anyone know if the workhorse7 would drive 4 24" bulbs instead of buying 2 workhorse5's?

second choice is the 30" current usa sunpod

http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_ViewI...y~FILTFIMHMMMDMLM4~category~30in~vendor~.html

i guess first off would a 150w mh be enough lighting for my setup?

do you think this would cause me to need a chiller?

this fixture would probably put me over budget once i include the mounting hardware and what really worries me about mh is the possible need for a chiller. that would really put me over budget. lol

any help appreciated.

 

[Ben1]

I bought the sundial a few months ago, I am not a fan of the current bulbs so replaced the bulbs. I had it over my frag tank that has SPS frags on eggcrate about 5" inchs under the water. For this small system it did fine, I dropped it in the tank though so only got a to use it a few months....

The 150 watt MH would probably do fine as well, I would get a good bulb for it though and replace the current one. If it gets a bit hot you can add a fan, or a small 1/15 hp chiller.

 

[kimber45]

did you overdrive the t5's?

and how are the reflectors in that fixture?

i found another 4x24 fixture from aqua medic in my price range i'm checking into. but to be honest the the moon lights and timers on the current usa have my interest. just hoping the reflectors are decent.

i really like the effect of a mh but for now i think overdriven t5's are hard to beat.

 

[Ben1]

Well its one contoured reflector, and I doubt its Ice Cap SLR quality but for what I needed it for it was decent enough. besides the bub change I ran it stock.