how much light?

[chadski]

i have a 10gal tank and am deciding to buy a 95watt pc for it. i think this is alot of light for it but i just read about a girl that had 200watts for her 110gal so i don't know anymore. i think it has to do with how much water there is and what i'm planning on keeping. i'd like to start with a bubble tip anemone and maybe some shallow water corals. and thoughts on if this is enough light?

also, are simple hob filters good enough to for the 10gal tank? it is a penguin bio-wheel 150

[Geoff]

95w's on a 10g is plenty. 200w on a 110g is very little. when i had a DSB in my 125g i had over 1100w of light. if you have a sand bed then there is no such thing as too much light.

HOB/Cannister filters are not the best way to go with a reef tank. they tend to actually make your water quality go down. the bio-wheel option is main culprit also. it would be better to get a good HOB skimmer like a Remora or even a Bak-Pak.

if done right you can just use water changes to keep the tank clean. if this route is taken you must get all of the detritus out every week and siphong off the waters surface is also recommended.

G~

[chadski]

id like to add a hammer coral to my tank now and im thinking i'll just get rid of my hob filter then. but i heard hammer corals spread rapidly. also, how long would i leave my light on once i get the coral?

right now i leave the light on about 7 hours and it makes the tank water evaporate rapidly. since the salt is left behind, can i just add fresh water straight into the tank to bring the specific gravity back to stable?

[kyrie_eleison]

95 watts is alot for 10 gallon. Almost 10 watts a gallon. Anemones are alright for that kind of setup; come to think of it, you could add a few derasa clams. Not that it's a bad thing but you're water temperature could get out of hand; even for PC lights.

I have an 8 gallon that only has 40 watts and that's plenty for a generic LPS tank. 7 hours should be fine; do you have actinics? It's nice to have those if you don't already. A skimmer is great (if you have room) but IMO your biowheel is FINE...just keep up with the frequent water changes and tests. As for adding freshwater directly to the tank, what I tend to do is premix a 5 gallon bucket with a slight bit of buffer to raise the pH to 8.2 and use that anytime I see the water level drop. AND yes, I add it directly into the tank water column (some may not agree but you'd be surprised how fast water dillutes).

[Twitterbait]

I have a single 150w HQI on my 10g tank so you should be fine!

[Loverotties]

That's plenty.

[Mindsgoneawol]

i have a skilter 250 in my 10 gallon.. water quality stays good for me.. its a protein skimmer power filter all in one.. just replace the mushroom cap on the air intake with a valve.. takes forever for it to get going but it does work.. i have 2 10 gallon tanks set up like that.. i think rio makes one like that too.. just don't know the name of it.. if you order one from aquariumguys.com i think its under $50 delivered..