Lighting / Sump ?s

jayguad

jayguad

New Member
Hello everyone,
i am currently in the process of moving and while doing so, i am upgrading my tank to a 55g. My brother who is amazing with building things is making me a custom stand w/ canopy.
the question i have is, does anyone have a DIY plan for making the lights? i would like to have them "into" the canopy. i want to have atlest 2 regular lights and 1 "blue light" (please exuse me from not having the correct names).
i was thinking of making them using the light fixtures you could find at a home depot and then modifying them for a salt tank. i figure this would cost MUCH less then buying the whole system.
also, i am looking for a DIY sump where i can add a new skimmer. right now i have a HOB skimmer, but i would like it to be underneath.
anyone's help would be greatly appreciated!!!!!
 
posiden

posiden

Active Member
Well, lighting is a touchy subject.
Would you like to have halides or flouresent lighting. Maybe a combo of both? It sounds to me like you would like to have halides. I wouldn't try to buy something just to have to take it out of the box and mod it. JMO. I myself, am going to have T5's over the top of my 75 that I am slowly building. Mainly because I got the ballasts cheap from a guy at work. T5's and halide lighting is the way to go right now if corals are in the future, if they already aren't. If your looking to do a fish only, then lighting really isn't all that important. Simple lighting is all that is required.
Sumps, just get a tank. New or used, get one as big as you can fit. Then you can kinda go from there. I would however pick out and purchase the skimmer before you buy or build a sump/refuge. The reason is, skimmers have different foot prints and require different water heights. I can't tell you what a good skimmer is, since I don't run one. Have never got into that dept.
Good Luck.
 
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