i'd try a maxima

really? hmmm. guess ill try not to be so afraid to by one in the future.

haha nothing wrong with the forum, but doesn't hurt to post on many forums. also that forum has 3 really really ... really good clam keepers that have priceless info. just another source:)

but truly i use this site alot more:)

i also wouldn't use a top it traps to much heat in the picos. just me

i dotn want to get one if its not going to live. not into killing livestock for a test

The lower light species are Derasa and Squamosa. Either of those would do fine under 4xHOT5. The real question is how quickly will they outgrow your setup. I personally had a 20g that could only hold them for about 6 months before they outgrew the tank. They certainly do grow fast given the right conditions.

You could also try Hippopus. They tend to grow slower, requires much less light than the other species. Trick is getting your hands on one... They are harder to come across these days.

I would reserve the Maximas and Croceas for 6xHOT5 if you really want them to thrive and keep their color full pop.

figured as much. when i set up the 30 i wanna use 8x39 t5ho. i thought about 2x175 halides but dont like heat. i think i may wait on a clam until then.

That sounds like much more than enough
You are going to have a ton of fun mixing and matching bulbs in that fixture to get the best possible combo! I loved playing with my 6xHOT5 fixture.

that will be the part that frustrates me. im such an indicisive person. im hoping that soon they will start making an assortment of 18" t5ho's. its only a matter of time since nanos and picos are becoming so popular

Agreed:)

im hoping they come out with some 12" t5 lights! that would be wonderful!

i believe they have 12" t5's they just arent HO. pet smart carries some. thing is, most 12" tanks are shallow so i dont see why you cant get away regular t5 just over drive them. honestly if i had a 12" i would hit evil up on some led's because for the buck you definantly get a BANG. i would love to have some of those new 3x?'s that hes got. those are perfect for picos with sps and clam.
ok ive been bitten by the sps bug. i recieved an porange digitata yesterday. man this thing is nothing like i thought. they all look brown but this one is bright orange under my lighting. and all i have a is a current usa extreme 2x18 and sub actinic t8 which i belive i will continue to use even when the new t5 shows up and i do the lighting mod. its a true03 which i believe is 420nm. it seriously changes the color of my tank to just be one bulb.. then again i love the crisp, and i do mean crisp, white with blue hue that actinics add.

Today to my suprise my Viper came. Naturally I was very excited and imediatly set it up. Here are a couple pictures.

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Heres my set up.

how often are you changing water/filter pads? I'm just looking at the cyano you got goin on.

maybe a tad more flow from a super small powerhead

I'm doing weekly water changes, but I havent been changing filter pads that offten. I always thought that clams didnt produce a significant bioload. Any powerheads in mind?

A microjet would work.. this particular one is adjustable from 32 - 73gph.

http://www.marinedepot.com/Micro_Jet_Power...-FIPHCP-vi.html

There is definitely some excess nutrients in the water for that to feed off. Instead of the pre-made filters would you be able to use polyfil? It would be cheaper to go that route and be able to replace it more often. I dunno what the insides of that filter look like.

I think if you bump up the flow, that will knock it out. Notice there's more cyano the farther you get away from the filter.

The shape of the filter is terrible for making using your own pads. I think I will order that up because it looks like your right. Im planning to put some coral in so it should help with that too. Thanks for the advice.

what about a k nano? Those are pretty small and will give enought flow for SPS in that tank.

Id be concerned thats too much flow for the clam. It also is pretty big for such a small tank (2inches by 3 inches). I would like to be able to to SPS though.

I'd be concerned with available food. I don't think you realize how much those things can actually filter through. You need alot of life in your tank to make sure those guys grow big and strong.

I am adding Phytofeast everyday. What kind of life are you suggesting I put in?

I know you already decided to go with the 70w Viper (good choice). And I think this thread has taken a much more proactive direction.

What i was going to suggest was that you get two of these $30 15W LED spot light lamps from ecolamps.

http://www.eco-sell.com/services/eshop/mai...15W&lang=us

I just bought four of them for a frag tank I will be setting up. And since you had those two 18W fixtures lying around i would have suggested you take them apart and build a little hood to house the LED and PC lamps and replace all PC bulbs with actinics. I think this would have kept it under $100. But you have your Viper (which looks pretty nice over your tank) now anyway.

Just thought i would mention this to anyone who is interested. I will be setting my frag tank lighting up using 4 of these lamps and 2 - 18w PC actinics. (60w of led at $120 aint bad... at least i dont think it is )

the k nano won't be too much flow at all. my maxima love my vortech.

the k nano would be perfect in that tank.

$200 for an ATO?? Mine didn't cost more than $20 to make. You don't need an ATO to run a pico but it sure makes life a whole lot easier. I know you already got the Viper but I'm a big advocate for LED lighting especially on picos. You get the same PAR as metal halide but without the heat issues which in a small tank can be a problem. I'm also looking into keeping a clam in a pico so I'm interested to hear about other people's experiences.

I was a bit under the gun and had to get a new light fairly fast so I went for the Viper. After checking out your Pico I was definitly more inclined to go with LEDs but I didnt have a place to get them that fast. How did you go about making an ATO for under 20 bucks?