New Reef - PC lighting question

[Serpentman]

I am setting up a 92 Gallon Bowfront Corner reef tank. Because of the unique wedge shape of the tank, finding appropriate flourescent fixtures has been a challenge. My solution was to purchase the following PC fixtures:

1 x 24" 10,000K PC (65W)
1 x 24' Actinic PC (65W)
1 x 36" 10,000K PC (96W)
1 x 36' Actinic PC (96W)

Total Wattage: 322W

Do you think this is sufficient for most beginner - intermediate coral species?

I have also toyed with adding a MH fixture in the mix if I can manage the space. Is this necessary?

[tecwzrd]

Welcome to AA

If you haven’t read ”Stock list and tips for maintaining your SW tank” yet I’d recommend doing so. It has all the equipment listed that you will need and maintenance tips to help you enjoy your SW tank.

If you haven’t gotten your cabinet yet checkout BRI Aquatic Cabinets.

Is it 48x34x24? If so the lighting you have so far would only be good enough for low light corals most of which are difficult to keep due to needing to be fed instead of depending on light.

I would recommend adding at least a 175W MH light in addition to your PC lighting considering your tank height which would be enough for medium light corals.

If you put in a 250W MH light it would be enough for some high light corals.

With MH heat is going to be an issue so you will need to properly vent your canopy.

Originally Posted by Serpentman

Do you think this is sufficient for most beginner - intermediate coral species?

The question should be do you have enough light to support photosynthetic corals. Researching the lighting and/or feeding requirements of each coral is just as important as knowing if it’s a “beginner - intermediate coral species”

[Serpentman]

I really appreciate the advice. I have been out of the hobby for about 5 years as my kids were babies and there wasn't much $$ left over! Now that I am jumping back into it and have the $, I am a bit overwhelmed at some of the changes.

Here is what I ended up with:

1 24" Coralife - Aqualight Lunar Delux (2 x 65W PC) 1 actinic, 1 pc
1 36' Coralife - Aqualight Lunar Delux (2 x 96W PC) 1 actinic, 1 pc

I am ordering a MH Ballast kit this weekend for which, I will build my own enclosure. I am still debating whether I should use 175W or 250W.

My intentions are to keep medium light photosynthetic (see I listened!) corals. However, I would like to keep some of the carpet anemonies which typically require higher light.

Any thoughts?

[tecwzrd]

IMO two 250W due to the height and wanting to keep carpet anemones would be much better. Also I wouldn’t keep any but the most basic/beginner corals for the first 9+ months. Carpet anemones can be very difficult to keep.

[Serpentman]

My plan is to start very basic and build up. Although, I have worked with saltwater for over 10 years, I have been on hiatus for the last 5-6 years. Although a lot is coming back to me, I downgrade myself back to beginner level. To follow is my proposed timeline.

I intend to get everything installed next week.

The tank will run basically empty for a couple of weeks to make sure no leaks and all the filters are running without trouble. At the end of the month, I will have 100lbs of liverock coming. I will have about 50lbs of base (non-living rock) to be seeded by the liverock. (I will have also have about 20-30lbs of small lava chunks running in my sump). I plan to do PWC, etc. and let the tank run until late May/early June before even considering adding any animals. At that point, assuming everything tests ok, I will add very slowly letting everything stabilize. I figure I'll have a few algae blooms to deal with, etc.

As much as I would like to run out and hit the ground running, past experiences have shown me that I have an aversion to flushing money down the toilet!

[tecwzrd]

The main reason for recommending the beginner corals is not because of your experience level or lack of and I didn’t mean to imply you don’t know what you are doing.

Tanks take many months to fully stabilize and for the denitrifying bacteria to establish in quantities great enough to reduce nitrate to nitrogen gas (N2) which more difficult corals need. Beginner corals or “easy” to maintain corals are more tolerant to less then perfect water conditions.

Going slow as you stated will greatly help in your overall success of this tank

[Serpentman]

No offense taken as I only know enough to be dangerous! I guess unknowingly I was was implying that I was planning on starting with easier species but for different reasons. Therefore, your advice should be easy to follow.