Another question from me, lighting for my 20g

[mike22cha]

Well I was going to sell my 20g, but then I decided, you know what, a reef wuold be pretty cool. Well I got my 20g up and used it as a QT, and I added the sand back into the tank a couple days ago. I'm going to wait a month before adding any fish/invert/coral so I can make sure that my parameters are stable.
Well I got a 20g tall and I'm wondering what kind of lighting I should get.
I want to spend less than 200$ if possible, but I've seen some nice lights for 250$.
How many watts do I need in a 20g tall to have unlimited options? (meaning I could have clams, anemones, or SPS/LPS if I wanted too?) 100w's? 150w's?
Here's some lights I've been looking at:
-150w Aqualight Advanced Series HQI Metal Halide Fixture (one of those clamped on the back types). Only problem is that it costs 250$ not including shipping.
-Dual Satellite Compact Fluorescent Fixture 24" 130w for 130$.
-Hamilton Magnetic Super Power VHO System 24" 2-75w(150w total) for 180$. Only problem is that I'd have to buy the bulbs seperate.
What's your thought?
I still need some money for some more live rock and I want to have some money so that I can buy some corals once it's all set up. I like the Compact Fluorescent because it's cheap, but is 130w enough?

 

[mike22cha]

Bump

 

[wangotango]

Out of the choices you've listed, go with the halide especially since you want more light demanding stuff. I'd suggest against the anemone though since it is such a small tank.
-Justin

 

[mike22cha]

Originally Posted by WangoTango
Out of the choices you've listed, go with the halide especially since you want more light demanding stuff. I'd suggest against the anemone though since it is such a small tank.
-Justin
Yeah I don't want an anemone, I just want lighting that could support one. So why the halide opposed to the fluorescent? It's only like a 20w difference. Is there a difference between strength of lighting and wattage?

 

[wangotango]

Watt for watt, the halides will give you more light and more penetrating power than the pcs.
-Justin

 

[mike22cha]

Originally Posted by WangoTango
Watt for watt, the halides will give you more light and more penetrating power than the pcs.
-Justin
Ok, well I guess I'm going to have to keep on saving.

 

[mike22cha]

I think I'm going to use my T-5's for a refegieum. What I'm going to do is get an old HOB Power Filter (the big two chamber ones) stick that on the back, get some live mud and some cheato and stuff and use that for filtration. I like the more natural filtration types opposed to mechanical, so I figured I'd test out the natural way of filtration and see how it does for myself.

 

[wangotango]

Originally Posted by MIKE22cha
I think I'm going to use my T-5's for a refegieum. What I'm going to do is get an old HOB Power Filter (the big two chamber ones) stick that on the back, get some live mud and some cheato and stuff and use that for filtration. I like the more natural filtration types opposed to mechanical, so I figured I'd test out the natural way of filtration and see how it does for myself.
Sounds good. It'd be nice to go T5 with the tank, but there aren't a lot of good 24" fixture out there.
-Justin

 

[mike22cha]

Originally Posted by WangoTango
Sounds good. It'd be nice to go T5 with the tank, but there aren't a lot of good 24" fixture out there.
-Justin
Yeah it's realy hard to find 150w 24" fixtures, most fluorscent or T-5's are only like 48w or 24w.