biocube lighting
 

ive decided to turn my biocube 29 into a sps tank,if i can get it to work, im thinking of trying to install a 150w hqi bulb right in the middle and possibly keep 1 of the 36w pc bulbs, can anyone tell me if a 150w halide is gonna be strong enough for most sps and mabey a small clam?.
1 major issue is gonna be the heat, if the hood acually dosent melt the water is gonna be a problem, i think i can increase the airflow quite a bit with just some minor mods but i dont really want to hook up a chiller unless it turns out to be absolutly nessasary.
the other option im thinking about is to gut a 14" solaris and try to mount the 12" led section inside the hood but im worried about how much less heat it will output and if ill be able to get it to work and for around $900 it could be a big mistake.
also does anyone think running a sps tank without a skimmer is a bad idea or will it be ok since ill have a small bio load?

Re lighting
 

Check out nanotuners.com they have the mods that you are looking for. I have not used them but have heard good reports from the work they did on nano-reef.com

Cheers
Geoff

nano tuners only has a mod to add another 2 36w pc bulbs or a 70w halide and i dont think either is gonna be enough even though 4x36w is 144w im unshure that it will be strong enough for an sps tank

The 70 halide should be strong enough. Truth of the matter is BioCubes don't make for the best SPS tanks. Hard to hit the super low nutrient levels that it takes to get the best colors.

so if a 70w halide would do the job, would the 144w pc kit be a better choice for half the money?
if i go with a halide i think id rather try to mod in a 150w and deal with the heat issuse

I have a 175w MH on my 18" high 25g nano. I get good growth and coloration. I would recomment the higher wattage for a MH, as I find I am usually happier with it in the end.

I've never had a heat issue with my lighting, all I have is a pair of fans on my hood and its all good. Granted it isn't a biocube tank, so I can only chime in so much.

heat is gonna be the problem since its in my living room and must keep the hood on it if i dont want to get killed by the wife

Well since you were toying with a $900 lighting option, I assume money isn't really the issue here. So for my 2 cents, if it were me, I'd skip modifying the bio 29 and pick up the new JBJ 28 gallon. By it's features, it's more SPS ready right out of the box. Skimmer, MH lighting, Wave Maker. Just a thought.....

i already have the biocube and stand,money is always an option but im not scared to but a real expencive light if it will work for me, but without seeing one in person i cant really judge if it will work and hiding a $900 light from the wife could be deadly

I guess my point was $900 for a light that might not work, or $800 for the entire tank ready to go. It's your call, but I'd personally budget $2000 because I think you might just end up buying a nice piece of jewelry before this is over. LOL!!