What are the basic requirements for a reef tank?

[Clown Monarch]

I thought a reef tank was one that needed no external filtration (besides a skimmer/UV sterilizer), yet I'm reading here about sumps that are almost the size of the tank itself, so here are my questions:

1. Filtration?
2. How much live rock?
3. How much water circulation?
4. How much light?
5. How much coral? (I'm assuming there is a limit to coral population)

 

[revhtree]

A sump is not nessecary. I do not currently have one with my 75g reef. I will however in the future set one up for a few reasons:

1. The more water capacity you have the better.
2. Also it keeps your tank water consistent at one level, to where you just add top off water to the sump.
3. You can hide unsightly hardware such as skimmers, heaters, ect...
4. You can house a refugium.
5. The water that fills the sump from your main skims of the surface of the water.

I am sure there are many more, but these are the reasins I will be doing one in the future. You DO NOT HAVE TO HAVE A SUMP FOR A REEF SET UP. HTH!

Here is a link for the sump:
http://aquariumadvice.com/showquestion.php?faq=2&fldAuto=12

 

[malkore]

1. this is covered by the live rock, and a good skimmer, and often a refugium (many times a section of hte sump is the fuge)
2. 1-2 lbs per gallon...the closer to 2lbs, the better
3. minimum of 10 times per hour turnover, up to 20 times per hour. (using powerheads)
4. this is dictated by the types of corals you want, but 4 watts per gallon is a good 'minimum' amount for most soft corals (shrooms, xenia)
5. no idea...my tank's not ready for corals.
some corals put off toxins to kill other types of corals...survival measure. using carbon in your sump/skimmer helps absorb toxins, reducing the bio-warfare in the tank.

 

[revhtree]

The amount of coral depends on what kind you want, and how big it can get. I have seen tanks jammed pack full of coral, and everything is fine.

PS. Some coral can hurt each other through chemical warfare.

I think there called Iraqi coral orsomething like that. JK!