Beginner

[Cari]

I love TRT, but admit I'm still a "fish out of water" when it comes to reef tanks..but I'm learning all I can. I would like my tank to be as good as an amateur can get it before I try corals. How about skimmers? and lights? (power and run time?) Currently, no skimmer and 2/48" Flour and one 36" actinic. Thanks.

[Casey]

Originally posted by Cari
I love TRT, but admit I'm still a "fish out of water" when it comes to reef tanks..but I'm learning all I can. I would like my tank to be as good as an amateur can get it before I try corals. How about skimmers? and lights? (power and run time?) Currently, no skimmer and 2/48" Flour and one 36" actinic. Thanks.

Hi and welcome to TRT the first thing I would say is read read read all you can,then decide what you want to keep and study up on it reef tanks require good name brand skimmers and good clean water like ro or ro/di water
and strong lighting to keep a wide variety,now this is all my opinion remember please read,now tell us more about your tank and what you want to keep and maybe some of our good ol
experts around here will chime in.You have done the first part right by coming here enjoy your stay. Casey

[wildthings44]

From one amature to another....
I started with 4 no 40w bulbs in a shop light from home depot And my skimmer is one of those really cheep wooden airstone driven pieces of junk, but hey everything looks great, even the flowerpot, so why mess! The tank is a 60 gal with about 150lb of LR.
The only update was a 220 pc light just a couple of weeks ago.
(run for about 9 hours)
I do lots of water changes,1 20% about everyother week, and I think that's part of the trick.
It's not the equipment that makes the reef, it's the love.
(also a lot of really good advice from the fish guru...)

[Cari]

I'm not sure how to use this post/reply but here goes..i have a 72 bow front, with the following: 3 crabs, 2 shrimp, 3 feather dusters, hippo tang, 2 percula clowns, flame angel, (and a partridge in a pear tree!). Superking filter, Maxi-jet powerhead, lots of live rock (all fish enjoy the algae and broccoli treat), Take readings once a week (unless I suspect something) with consecutive zero readings, except for phosphate (less than .25), pH runs about 8.3, with specific gravity about 1.024-1.025. I do water changes of about 1/3 every 3 three weeks or so. Have had lots of I believe copepods on the glass (slow time right now). Have had 2 55 gallons in the past (1 fresh, 1 salt) but were fish only. Looking to eventually have a few more reef compatible fish with some splashes of color around my tank. Any suggestions? Thanks for your help!

[Alice]

Hi Cari; welcome to The Reef Tank

As for lighting, you'll probably want more. I used to run 4 110 watt Very High Output (VHO) florescents over my 55. I'm wondering how much room is left under the canopy of the bowfront? I think your best bet would be a pair of 250 watt metal halides. You could keep anything you wanted that way and they'd not take as much room as more florescents.

As for your phosphate levels, are you using tapwater? If so, an RO/DI or other water purification system would be in order before going reef. High phosphates can also be the result of processed fish foods, especially flake food.

You've probably got about as many fish as I would add in a 72 gallon reef, although you could maybe add a couple of small gobies or blennies for interest and color.

Read, read, read is as good advice as any. Take a look at other tanks about the size of yours and see what they are using for equipment. Take all that information and then turn your system into one that works for you and the animals you want to keep.

Have fun!

Alice