How big can I go while keeping the same light?

[TheReefGeek]

How well is the flame doing right now in your 20g nano?

I think you said the flame was full grown so you can't stunt its growth.

I do agree 36" would be much much better for this fish.

Bigger is always better.

And if you are going to do 24x24, at least you can help it with some good aquascaping so it doesn't have to swim 24" and turn around and go back the same way. In my 36x18" tank my coral beauty would rarely swim the length of the tank, I had a big arch in the middle, so it mostly did figure 8's.

[TheReefGeek]

If it is in your bedroom and you sleep soundly to trickling water noise, pull your bed out from the wall, and use a stand tall enough that the tank is right behind your head when you are sleeping. So like the bottom of the tank is at the top of your headboard.

You should be able to do a 3 or 4 foot tank that way, if depth is an issue due to room lenght you could do a 48x12inch 55g.

[OCDP]

The flame appears to be doing great... swimming back and forth, grazing on rocks, swimming in and out of the small caves I have..

I do know bigger is better.. obviously if space and some funds weren't an issue, I'd be going all out (trust me) But , I can't... and that's the harsh reality for me. I can't have a big tank.. not yet anyways. This is why I said to hell with it, let me just upgrade to the biggest I can go right now.. while using most of what I have.. (lighting being the #1)

I don't think I want 24" deep... I don't think the light will penetrate that well. I was thinking something like 18-20" max. It's so hard for me to visualize this as well, without actually seeing it.

I think the biggest concers I have right now are :

- Space.. I don't even know if I have enough length to fit in a 36".
- Lighting.. I want to be able to keep sufficient lighting over this tank. 150 HQI doesn't sound like much over 50g??? I can't add any other lighting as it won't work with the PVC mod.

So I want to be able to work around this... and obviously we don't know about the space, I'll measure that tonight though

[TheReefGeek]

What about behind your bed? If you can pull your bed out 1 foot, or better yet 18", even a single bed is 3ft wide I think.

[OCDP]

Heh, that'd look pretty sweet behind the bed. But that would be far too inconvinient for me. I am actually the lightest sleeper ... I sleep with ear plugs in because the sound of the Seios at night keep me up. lol... it's that bad.

Anywhoo... I am thinking now . I am sure I could make 36" work... the width may be an issue though as well, I think I need to measure my room up before I can set anything in stone... heh

[TheReefGeek]

Make it work, YAY! Your flame will thank you.

PM me if you are interested in a 3ft hood and 2x250w 20K PFO MH setup. Or 2x400w if you want to go with a taller tank. I know you wanted to use your 150 HQI, but maybe we can work something out or you can sell it. I also have a basic black stand for a 36x18" footprint tank.

[OCDP]

2x250w over a 50g (ish) tank? Sounds like overkill lol... no?

Thanks for all the offers , wow.. that's awesome. I'd like to make this work... but as I mentioned, I wanted to do this without spending a fortune.. as I know I can do an upgrade without spending a wack of cash...

I'll PM you so we can discuss some of the options.... ?

Thanks.
Scott

[TheReefGeek]

2x250 is what I ran on my 3ft 50g. I'm surprised I didn't get a call from the cops about a grow op It was a lot of light! But 3ft is right between needing 1 MH or 2 MH, so I opted for 2.

Try out your 150 HQI in the middle and see what it looks like, you can always upgrade later if you dont think it is enough light. Or like I said earlier, keep most of your corals in the middle 2 feet, and use some NO fluorescents to brighten up the ends if you think they are too dim.

[OCDP]

Well... I think I am going to try this:

Figure out the size tank I am going to get, and figure out how much room I have to work with.

Keep the light I have... making sure I don't get a deep tank. Test it out, keeping most corals underneath the bulb. I'll make sure the tank will be suitable for a 150w either way though. I really don't want to have to ugprade lights again.

I think in the end, I'll still end up with a cubish tank, anything is better than what I currently have.. I'll try to use more length than anything...

Just seems like the more I get into this, the more I'm confused in the end. haha.. and basically I wanted to do this all without upgrading a ton of stuff and going flat broke. I know I can do it... but I just want to make sure I do it right.

Also, I wanted to ask. When the day comes that I need to setup the tank... I'll have to do it all at once, seeing as it's in my bedroom. How does one go about this? Remove all corals and rock, placing them in a bin... then removing the fish, then the sand. Correct? From there.. I would clean the living hell out of the rocks and sand, placing them into the new tank in the old ones place. Would this cause any problems??? I will also be adding to the current amount of Live Rock I have.

Basically in the end all's I have to purchase is: (please let me know if I am forgetting things, I am sure I will)

- The tank!
- A Stand.
- Few more pounds of Live Rock (depending on what size tank I choose)
- More sand (I might just buy a brand new bag and use that instead, toss the old out)
- Bigger, better heater
- Couple more buckets.
- Possibly another Seio. I am using two 620's right now and doubt that will be sufficient for a bigger tank.

What else have I forgotten?

I know I have lots of questions/concerns, but I am going to address each of them so I do this right from the start. I feel as if I didn't get into this hobby properly in the first place. I want this to go smooth...

Thanks for bearing with me all.


Scott

[TheReefGeek]

You dont have a tank on your list.

What are you currently using for a skimmer? It may or may not suit a larger tank.

If you are upgrading, I always recommend a drilled tank with sump, and a closed loop if you can.

Dont add too much live rock at once, or the die off might spike your tank, add is slowly if you add live.