possible new tank

[cMidd]

12g cadlight w/ the optional 40g skimmer and the 2x lights, states it has 142PAR@4". would make this a BB tank - anemone + SPS. i'd use water and rocks from existing system to start it. this would be a slick tank

[jestep]

I had an 8G cadlights. I'm assuming you're referring to the 12g in the same series.

First off, I love the tank. The curved starfire is incredible. Hands down one of the cleanest nano tank's I've ever seen. The only reason I got rid of it was that I did not like having a tank in my office. I thought it would be great, it was PITA. KimP here on Arc has it now, and there may be some pictures online. She made a really cool LPS tank with it.

Besides that, I would not use the stock lighting or flow for an SPS tank. The LED lights are decent, but they're just not there yet for high end stuff. The flow is also just not there for SPS or similar high flow corals. There was a PAR comparison online that I cannot find now, and this light was not sufficient for high light requiring coral.

If I were to make a 12g version of that tank, I would order it completely stock. Apparently you can order tank only for a significantly reduced price, but you probably need to call them. Go with a innovative marine, JBJ, AI SOL, or other higher output LED system. Put a small pump in the back and an MP10 in the tank, and you have a pretty amazing setup. I would not order that tank stock with the intention of a SPS or Nem tank at all. It may be possible but it's nowhere near the PAR or flow you are going to want for good growth.

[Drew Mendez WTR]

are these the best nano tanks?

[cMidd]

jestep, appreciate the feedback! that's the input i wanted to hear. after looking further, i found that almost everything you said was SPOT on. that and customer service is iffy using cadlights. I have also looked at the ecoxotic setups, pretty clean. any other recommendations??