Noob Lighting Suggestion

[Dastank]

I just started setting up a 12" by 12" by 12" tank at my office. I was looking for suggestions. I would love to be able to keep anything I want, clams, zoos, sps, etc. Anybody have any suggestions for lighting this tank? Recommend any fixtures in particular?

 

[Wryknow]

The problem here is that your tank is actually too small for most standard high-output lights (metal halide or T5) that I'm aware of. The smallest MH fixtures are 20" and there are not many of those to chose from.
I guess that you could use a small, single ended metal halide pendant if your office situation allows it. A single 150W bulb will be more than ample light for anything in a tank that size but may cause problems with over heating. There are a great variety of these to choose from in a range of designs and colors.

 

[sandiegan]

You're only real possibilities are 150 HQI's ore 70W MH, demo I'd go w/ the 70w. If the search function ever works, someone had a cube just like yours and retrofitted the mh bulb into a standard desk lamp and it worked very nicely. Goodluck with the cube, but to be honest you probably won't be able to keep clams in there due to water quality fluctuating (espcially CA)

 

[fly2cast]

I'm in the planning stage of doing exactly what you are doing for my office except the tank will be 14X14 by 10 inches high. It will be hooked up to a 20 or 30 gallon sump which will be hidden under the desk though. I don't know about keeping a clam because as someone said the water quality issues (unless you can incorporate a sump). As far as lighting, the other possibilities would be overdriving some T6's from Big Als Online. These lamps come as small as 12" and should be pretty close to as bright at T5's. You will need to use a larger T5 reflector such as an Aqualux reflector. Grimreefer has written a lot about these lamps and he liked them. Unfortunately, he is no longer with us.