I picked up a used aquarium and am working on setting this up for a saltwater reef aquarium. That is what the previous owner had used it for as well.
I’ve been searching the forums for as much information as I can find and still have a few questions that I’m unclear on.
1. This is a 72x18x20 tank (120 or 125), currently the canopy is set-up with metal halides and (2) fluorescent fixtures (I’m guessing these are 40 W or so). The metal halides are one on each end and one in the center. The ones on each end have bulbs and are 250W. The ballast is well labeled on these as well. The center one does not have a bulb and is labeled on the ballast as 165 W (MH). Is there such a thing as a 165W metal halide? Do I need this center light even with 500W, plus the standard fluorescents? Depending on the true wattage of the fluorescents, this should give me roughly 580W, and over 4.5 WPG. The main concern I see is that the metal halides are on each end, so the center of the tank may not get what it needs for light (I could space the corals so they are towards the ends I suppose??)..
2. It has a fairly large wet/dry filter with skimmer that currently is full of bio balls. I know many prefer sumps, but I figure I’ll start out with this anyway until I get some experience. I was planning on replacing the bio balls with small pieces of live rock as I read on this forum. Is this a good idea? Do I need to add a light fixture to the wet/dry compartment then for the live rock to stay “alive”?
3. The pet shop here wants $10 a pound for live rock. Is it a good idea just to bite the bullet and get live rock locally so you don’t lose life with the shipping / curing process? Or should I order from some place like live aquaria for much cheaper. Would 90 pounds be enough to get started for live rock? Maybe add some base rock to that??
Thanks in advance,
Howdy
I’ve been searching the forums for as much information as I can find and still have a few questions that I’m unclear on.
1. This is a 72x18x20 tank (120 or 125), currently the canopy is set-up with metal halides and (2) fluorescent fixtures (I’m guessing these are 40 W or so). The metal halides are one on each end and one in the center. The ones on each end have bulbs and are 250W. The ballast is well labeled on these as well. The center one does not have a bulb and is labeled on the ballast as 165 W (MH). Is there such a thing as a 165W metal halide? Do I need this center light even with 500W, plus the standard fluorescents? Depending on the true wattage of the fluorescents, this should give me roughly 580W, and over 4.5 WPG. The main concern I see is that the metal halides are on each end, so the center of the tank may not get what it needs for light (I could space the corals so they are towards the ends I suppose??)..
2. It has a fairly large wet/dry filter with skimmer that currently is full of bio balls. I know many prefer sumps, but I figure I’ll start out with this anyway until I get some experience. I was planning on replacing the bio balls with small pieces of live rock as I read on this forum. Is this a good idea? Do I need to add a light fixture to the wet/dry compartment then for the live rock to stay “alive”?
3. The pet shop here wants $10 a pound for live rock. Is it a good idea just to bite the bullet and get live rock locally so you don’t lose life with the shipping / curing process? Or should I order from some place like live aquaria for much cheaper. Would 90 pounds be enough to get started for live rock? Maybe add some base rock to that??
Thanks in advance,
Howdy