First Salt tank in 30 Years

[Myka]

If you could find a 24" Hagen Glo with 2x 24 watt T5s in it that will get you started. They have a built in extension bracket that will expand to 30" and come with mounting legs. I think they are $140 new and come with bulbs. I think PetSmart has the best price or look for a used one. They come in a saltwater version and a freshwater version with the only difference being the bulbs included. I use two of these fixtures on my 20 gallon tank and they work well for low light corals. They are a good buy for the price, and are good enough for small tanks (I wouldn't try them on tanks deeper than 18"). You can buy one now, and buy a second one in a few weeks or a few months. If you do go this route, use one of the Hagen bulbs and buy one replacement bulb that is better quality like ATI or Korallen-Zucht.

OR

Sunlight Supply (which makes Tek) makes a fixture called New Wave that is a more industrial looking fixture, but is very cost efficient, and a good quality fixture (much better than the Hagen)! If your local dealers don't have it you can order it from J&L Aquatics for $140 plus the cost of bulbs. The New Wave holds 4 bulbs. J&L has free shipping over $100 and you will receive your items in just a couple days. Bulbs don't ship free, although over $100 the shipping is greatly reduced. You would have to hang this fixture either from the ceiling or a bracket you make yourself. This fixture is not water proof though, so you will have to have a lid on your tank (which means having a sump would become much more important).

If you haven't drilled your tank for a sump yet, I would highly recommend that you do! The quality of filtration (including but not limited to protein skimmers) is much greater if you utilize a sump. The quality of hang-on skimmers is really not up to par (Deltec is the only one I would bother spending any money on).