coral tank

[mikkr6]

as we all know takeing corals from the osean is a bad idea. i have a 40g tank that is currently empty. if i wanted to set this up specifically to grow corals doesn't have to be pretty what is the absolut bare minimum i would need. i am thinking i would like to only fill the tank half with water. that way i don't need so strong of lights. would i need a filter or just a power head and skimmer. i am really new to corals i have a 125 fish and rock tankl couse i can't afford the lights to do much more.

[Loverotties]

Some Coral don't need alot of light.It depends on what type of Corals you want to keep and grow.

[Geoff]

bare minimum is a tank, no sand, no fish, snails to help with algae, skimmer, PH for circulation, and lighting for the corals you plan to keep. regular water changes and you have a propogation tank!

G~

[Doug1]

Originally Posted by mikkr6

as we all know takeing corals from the osean is a bad idea. i have a 40g tank that is currently empty. if i wanted to set this up specifically to grow corals doesn't have to be pretty what is the absolut bare minimum i would need. i am thinking i would like to only fill the tank half with water. that way i don't need so strong of lights. would i need a filter or just a power head and skimmer. i am really new to corals i have a 125 fish and rock tankl couse i can't afford the lights to do much more.

Responsible harvest is not neccessarily a bad thing, propagation is always a good thing for sure, but thinking in terms of "absolute bare minimum" is no way to approach reefkeeping in general and propagation esp. I have found that its always one more something that I just have to have, the list never ends

[mikkr6]

thank you for your help. any sugestions as to where to start, what corals to start with. does the tank need to cycle? i have never done this before. i am thinking fill the tank half full of water one layer of live rock to put corals on. i will put the skimmer in the tank kinda like in a sump and that will help to circulate the water. and a handfull of snails. if the water is not very deep could i get away with floresent tubes?

[SeaDog]

Originally Posted by mikkr6

if the water is not very deep could i get away with floresent tubes?

Depends very much on what coral you want to keep. You will be very limited if you use NO lamps, not many if any corals will survive for long under them. I would look towards PC lights with the wattage depending on the corals you want to keep and the height of the tank.

HTH

Steve