Too Much?
 

Hey guys so im doing a 20 gallon nano, standard tank, and wanted to know if this was to much light. Im planning on suspending it but im not sure. I want to keep a hammer and a torch with a GBTA and a maroon clown. I may in future want a few other SPS or LPS corals but I cant see myself getting any hard corals for this tank.

this is the light its a 150w HQI with two t5 actinics for a total of 174w
http://cgi.ebay.ca/18-Metal-Halide-A...item43a6ea3bab

Thanks:lol:

Sump or no sump?

I put my HQI 150MH over my 20H and in one day it raised 9 degree's to 89... took it off and replaced it with a 4 bulb t5 fixture and it only raises 2 degree's. look into 4 bulb t5 fixtures, you can get a fish need it for $80 before shipping and you can keep what ever your heart desires

There will be a sump under the tank. It heats the tank even with the cooling fan? So basically if I got the one I was looking at for sure hang it to disperse heat

I ran the same light on the 25gal cube with a sump and only had a 3 degree increase, if you have a fan that will for sure help. Water volume for sure played a part

Keep it higher and have a fan bloving across the water serfice, it will cool by evaporation, or have air flow across lamp this will also help.

Okay so if you ignore the heat factor is the light amount okay for the corals?

lighting wasn't my issue. was able to keep milli as a test subject and it did well

I have no idea what you mean by "milli"?

Milli as in Acropora Millipora

I used a Coralife 150W MH with 2x65W actinics on it over a 20G with no sump for nearly a year without issue. As long as you slowly acclimate your livestock to that light level you should be fine. I never used a fan for cooling but it was near a window, so that probably helped.

BlazingArrow here on CanReef is now using this exact same equipment to keep basically the same you are wanting to keep. In there he has 2 candycanes, 2 hammers, a torch, a good number of SPS (which are doing well), an RBTA with two clowns, a wrasse, a goby and a shrimp... no sump. The only heat issue he ever had was when his stealth heater flipped out on him and dropped to cold then to super hot in a day. PM him for a discussion and some pics of his tank.

I have a 250 over my 20g side tank. nobody complained being in there.