Building a New tank

[verde_ad]

I was hoping that I could get some help on some decisions I am making right now. I am basicaly starting from scratch building my tank and want to do it right. I have a 30gal Oceanic Cube and am wanting to put some halides over the top of it. It is about 18" deep and I want to be able to someday have sps and clams. My question has to do with how hot my tank will get with halides on it. I have never had halides, but I know they run hot. I live in Oregon, so my room temp is about 70 degrees in winter and 80 in the summer. Will fans be enough or do I need a chiller. I would like to put either a 250 hqi over it or two 150's (10k and 20k).

 

[xoxox]

Yea, they can get warm but if you get a pendant you can run a fan over them and the top of the tank. Chillers are expensive and overkill for a small tank IMO. Why not just get a cheap old air conditioner and run that next to the tank?

 

[verde_ad]

Well, I am trying to have a more finished look, so I am puting all the extras in the closet and piping all the plumbing through the wall. Maybe I could put the air conditioning on the pipes or the fuge once they get put in. I would like to not spend the money on a chiller, but I will if that is what it takes to have the lighting I want. The lights will be in a hood, so I will have to vent all the air out the back.

 

[verde_ad]

Are their any other opinions on this? I am going to be buying my lights soon and would like to hear what people's experience is with halides over smaller tanks.