Lighting my First Reef Tank

[stdreb27]

I have a 45 gallon corner tank, and I want to turn it into my first reef tank. I don't know much about coral. I'm probably going to put a tomato clown in there. I'm thinking about getting simple stuff, it isn't going to be an sps tank or anything,
What kind of lighting am I going to need?
I want to hand a some sort of hallide fixture.
What kind of filtration?
I have an old wet-dry that I'm probably going to convert into a sump. And I have a aquamedics skimmer lying around.

 

[rcoultas]

You can make use of what you have for now and maybe upgrade later - but as for the lights... IMO you don't need MH's - there are very few specimens that require MH lighting so you can save $$ by getting a nice T5 fixture. That extra $$ can be put to far better use. Then you will also avoid the added problem of overheating and the extra power consumption.

 

[stdreb27]

Originally Posted by rcoultas
You can make use of what you have for now and maybe upgrade later - but as for the lights... IMO you don't need MH's - there are very few specimens that require MH lighting so you can save $$ by getting a nice T5 fixture. That extra $$ can be put to far better use. Then you will also avoid the added problem of overheating and the extra power consumption.
What about the simple size of the tank. It is a corner tank, so there simply isn't very much room for a 24 inch T5 or PC fixture.

Right now, (it was my qt before all the rock and sand) it has 2 6500 k bulbs with one of those clip on fixtures you can get at home depot.