10-31-2011, 01:42 PM
Depends on what you have in the tank.
From what you mentioned above, I'll assume it's not a reef tank and probably not even a salt tank, so that
opens up your options quite a bit - and if you're willing to spend a little money, it will pay for itself on
short order (in energy savings) - if you were to do the same upgrade via fluorescent.
It's been a number of years since I have had my reef tank - but I pick up a copy of the magazine for salt
heads every now and then. There are a few places that I always look to for general supplies and a few
brands I always look to for reference (even though I may have mediocre opinions of their stuff).
Marineland is probably the foremost for general products. Take a look at this as a starting point, and
be sure to read the user comments. They are typical for Marineland goods - a good product with some
obvious fault designs, that you'd end up being the writer if you were the first buyer.
http://www.amazon.com/Marineland-Double-...B0032536R4
I learned that from their first canister filter in 1981 or so -- went through many of them because the
polycarbonate wasn't thick enough - and it flexed, and I went back to Eheim and tossed the idea of portability.
In college I used to do some high end restaurant maintenance on their aquariums and bought a few of the
Marineland Magnums - set up in different modes, because there was nothing like them out at the time
and they were cheap ($65 each) and one had diatom powder, one had a megaload of ChemiPure in it, and
I could create artwork with those two elements once the glass was cleaned. Nothing like a canister blowing
a gasket at 300 gallons per hour though... or a lid.. or cracking. For all their faults, if I had just let them
run under the cabinet, they probably would have been fine, despite their claims of portability.
Here's their latest in lights as a place to start. I'd use mail order prices in Aquarium Magazine to decide
how much you're willing to pay for lighting.
http://www.marineland.com/MLCatalog.aspx?taxid=1903473
http://www.ledgrowlightsoutlet.com/led-a...ights.html
http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/LEDLights.html
From what you mentioned above, I'll assume it's not a reef tank and probably not even a salt tank, so that
opens up your options quite a bit - and if you're willing to spend a little money, it will pay for itself on
short order (in energy savings) - if you were to do the same upgrade via fluorescent.
It's been a number of years since I have had my reef tank - but I pick up a copy of the magazine for salt
heads every now and then. There are a few places that I always look to for general supplies and a few
brands I always look to for reference (even though I may have mediocre opinions of their stuff).
Marineland is probably the foremost for general products. Take a look at this as a starting point, and
be sure to read the user comments. They are typical for Marineland goods - a good product with some
obvious fault designs, that you'd end up being the writer if you were the first buyer.
http://www.amazon.com/Marineland-Double-...B0032536R4
I learned that from their first canister filter in 1981 or so -- went through many of them because the
polycarbonate wasn't thick enough - and it flexed, and I went back to Eheim and tossed the idea of portability.
In college I used to do some high end restaurant maintenance on their aquariums and bought a few of the
Marineland Magnums - set up in different modes, because there was nothing like them out at the time
and they were cheap ($65 each) and one had diatom powder, one had a megaload of ChemiPure in it, and
I could create artwork with those two elements once the glass was cleaned. Nothing like a canister blowing
a gasket at 300 gallons per hour though... or a lid.. or cracking. For all their faults, if I had just let them
run under the cabinet, they probably would have been fine, despite their claims of portability.
Here's their latest in lights as a place to start. I'd use mail order prices in Aquarium Magazine to decide
how much you're willing to pay for lighting.
http://www.marineland.com/MLCatalog.aspx?taxid=1903473
http://www.ledgrowlightsoutlet.com/led-a...ights.html
http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/LEDLights.html