Upgrading tank questions

[sfelman]

So I have been slowly gathering equipment and putting it all together.

What I currently have running:
A 20 gallon reef tank running that has about 2 inches live sand and 20 lbs live rock with some corals(frogspawn, blastomussa, mushrooms, acans, kenya tree) and a few fish(2 ocellaris clowns, 1 neon dottyback).
Also have a heater that is rated for tanks up to 75 gallons that will be used with new tank and an AquaticLife Internal Mini Skimmer 115. Also had a Marine land bio-wheel power filter 100 for some extra flow and carbon filtration but that decided to die on me earlier this week.
Lighting is a Current USA TrueLumen PadLite LED.

My new system includes:
46 gallon aquarium
~12 gallon sump with compartment for skimmer/lifereef overflow input/heater, a compartment for reefugium(10"hx9.5"wx15"l), and a compartment for AutoTopoff.com double switch controller and eheim compact 3000+ return pump.

My current questions are:
What kind of lighting fixture should i get? I was thinking of doing VHOs and HOs but am not sure how many. I have approximately 10" by 36" of room to work with on top of tank for lighting.

How much live rock should i get from BRS for new tank as well as live sand?(was thinking of doing 10 lbs tonga shelf, 20 lbs BRS reef saver dry aquarium live rock, as well as including 15 lbs live rock from 20g. 20 lb oolite ocean direct live sand.)

I was also thinking of putting my sand from the 20 g tank into the reefugium with some chaeto and copepods since the sand has a good amount of detritus in it. Is this a good idea?

Also, for the reefugium, should I just use the leds from my 20 g setup? Will they be strong enough to grow chaeto?

Thank you in advance for your input/ideas.

 

[sfelman]

looking at lighting fixtures for main tank and found one that may work:
http://www.aquatraders.com/36-inch-4x39W-T5-Aquarium-Light-Fixture-p/52304.htm
are these any good?

 

[Vorog]

I had the ones with digital timers on my 46 bow front. Swapped out the bulbs for ATI bulbs and it worked well for the coral I had in it. But within a year I went through 2 ballasts. I'd go for a better fixture with individual reflectors if you can. You might even find some used in great shape.

 

[sfelman]

I had the ones with digital timers on my 46 bow front. Swapped out the bulbs for ATI bulbs and it worked well for the coral I had in it. But within a year I went through 2 ballasts. I'd go for a better fixture with individual reflectors if you can. You might even find some used in great shape.

Mine is a 46 bow front as well XD. What happened with the ballasts? Do they just burn out after a while?
This one looks nice but is quite a bit more expensive: http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/36-ati-sunpower-high-output-t5-light-fixture.html (the 4x39W is the one I would get)
Is that the kind that you would recommend?

 

[Vorog]

The capactors on the board, in the ballast popped. Not all at the same time. Just within a year I had to order 2 ballasts. You get what you pay for. But for about the same price you can find a better fixture on here, or craigslist. I just took my 46 down last month, after my anemone walked into a powerhead. Still have the tank sitting around. Might make it a QT in the future lol

 

[IrishTang]

The Odyssea fixtures have a shady past of everything from bad ballasts to starting fires ( fixtures still aren't UL certified). I believe they remedied the fire issue but they are still considered weak as far as ballast output.

Having said all of that I currently have the quad 48 inch T5 outlet with the timer and seems to be ok. One thing you will want to do immediately is replace the bulbs with ATI brand bulbs or something similar (ATI pretty cheap @ FAOIS).

 

[IrishTang]

I should have prefaced that comment by saying I have only had mine for about 4 months! but prior to that I had a used dual fixture from them. I still use the USA Current Orbit LED mostly as moonlights since it isn't very powerful. You may consider saving up for a nicer LED set up. I'm personally going to be getting a Reefbreeder photon 48 once I get my 120G going.

 

[Vorog]

Mine is a 46 bow front as well XD. What happened with the ballasts? Do they just burn out after a while?
This one looks nice but is quite a bit more expensive: http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/36-ati-sunpower-high-output-t5-light-fixture.html (the 4x39W is the one I would get)
Is that the kind that you would recommend?

That ATI fixture is awesome! If I was to stay with t5 I'd get one. But I really want to try LED's out on my next tank.