Mistake as in the tank was way too big for me. I barely could enjoy it and most of the time, I was tweaking something to keep it going. Not going to happen this time (hopefully). Thanks :) I am happy to be back.

Well I still count that as a win for me. I was happy that I could accomplish that much in such a short time. :) But I did learn a lot from the tank (and from all of you guys), made tremendous amount of mistakes and have become wiser :mrgreen: Hopefully the same mistakes will not be repeated for the new one.

Thanks :D

Thanks. Always appreciate your high compliments :redface:

Haha. I will try not to leave :)

Thanks for your input. I have been thinking of getting an AIO but all the store ones are not enough for me. After seeing you idea about putting tunze inside the compartment, I contacted the aquarium manufacturer and they can make an AIO :D So I am getting an AIO with enough space to put in a tunze 9004. I am going to sit with the design now and hopefully can post it tonight to get more feedbacks :)

BTW I am getting mixed reviews regarding tunze skimmers; do you have any input on how tunze 9004 performs?

Thanks :)

Yes kessil is making a lot of sense to me and I don't think A160 will be underpowered for a 18x18x15. I especially like the shimmer and how easy simple the control ability is. And no disco effect!

:redface::lol::mrgreen:

Awesome! The Tunze skimmers, like any skimmer, are very sensitive to water height so they perform much, much better if you use an ATO. You don't have to use the Tunze, I was using it as an example, there are others you could check out too that have similar dimensions.

Thanks! :D Yes I will be putting in Hydro ATO to keep the level consistent.

So I have come up with the final dimensions for the tank. It is going to be 16"x20"x15". 4" inches will be used up for the three chamber AIO partition and so I will end up with a "nearly cubic" 16"x16"x16".

For skimmer, I have decided to get Aquamaxx WS1. The reef central community swears by it and although it is going to be massively overkill for the size of my tank, I want to make sure I am covered for my bad habit of over stocking. Thanks to Ray @ reef supplies for making it easier to get this skimmer.

For lighting, I am still inclined towards kessil; nothing else is making sense to me yet. I am leaving this open for suggestion; please do let me know if anyone has any better idea for light.

I can't comment on lighting as I'm not a fan of LEDS, but with those dimensions you don't have a lot of choice. If I was you, I'd make that tank 24 x 20 x 15" and use a 24" T5 fixture. :p

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I know. It's a weird size. :redface: Going bigger is not an option and I am disciplining myself not to deviate to bigger tank. Maybe I can get a halide but that's gonna fry everything up + the heat will be too much for such a small tank.

Welcome back!
I just had the same dilemma with lighting a small tank and picked up a used AI prime and am very please with it so far. They're rated for 18"x18" spread and are controllable via an APP for Android or IOS out of the box. If you're buying new they're about the same price as the Kessil 160's. Controlling sunrise/sunset was a huge plus over the Kessil IMO
Good luck with you new build!

Thanks for your input. The thing that concerns me about AI prime is the individual lens around the LEDs and the disco effect. Do you get any disco effect with your light? Both kessil and ai seems to be of same price.

Look into the kelo LEDs. They are just like kessil
http://kelolight.com/aquarium_detail...enuid=125&id=6