Advice on Lighting for a bigger Aquarium

[djnevstar20002004]

I currently have a 60litre aquarium with Live Rock and a firefish, 2 cleaner Shrimp, 2 Clownfish, 1 Cardinalfish.
I am upgrading to a 330litre aquarium, It has lighting built into the hood, which i have got the details here,
2 white Bulbs 39watt T5
1 Blue Blulb 39 watt T5
The tank is 4ft and the 3 bulbs run the length of the tank,
What i want to do is to add a few mushroom coral, to start off with. I am hoping to add an anemone at some point in the future when the tank is ready.
I have a basic knowledge of lighting for a tank, but i just want to be sure that the coral will grow healthy and the fish will be happy with the lighting aswell,
The shop assure's me that it will be ok but i will need a second opinion as i know that all they want to do is to make a sale.

If anybody can advise me on what lighting i would need and also what coral are best to start off with i would be very grateful.

 

[carey]

In my opinion that lighting would be ok for some soft corals but if you want anything else you would have to add some more strips. especially if youre thinking of a nem in the future, they require pretty intense lighting.

If it were me, I would get another t5 strip to keep a more varied selection of corals. Then if you wanted a nem I would either add another strip or two OR go with 2 led panels.

 

[djnevstar20002004]

Thank you for the advice, I really trust the opinions here,
I won't be getting an anemone for a while so until then i won't worry about it,
LED's are probably the best, I've heard good things
I will only be adding soft corals, Mushroom or something similar

 

[djnevstar20002004]

I have another question, I have been thinking about this for a while but can't find much info online,
I have two Clownfish that were purchased from the same shop and introduced into my aquarium at the same time 8 months ago, I know that they are best in pairs and if you want two they are best bought together and introduced together otherwise they can be hostile towards each other,
With the size of my tank increase, Would it be possible to introduce another 1 or 2 clownfish during the changeover?
They are Occelaris clownfish, I dont know if it would make much difference if i could add another breed.
Let me know your opinion on this, I dont want to do anything that might cause fighting or aggressive behaviour in the tank.
I only ask as clownfish and firefish are my favorite types.

 

[carey]

I tried two pairs of oscellaris on a 6 foot 125g tank and it didnt work out. It was fine for a few months and then BAM one day the orange ones just wanted to kill the black ones. Out of no where. My advice would be no. There are some people who claim to have done it sucessfully but I can't vouch for how long.

 

[djnevstar20002004]

Ok, I dont like the sound of that, It say's on most websites how territorial they can be, I won't risk it.
The reason for my upgrade is so i can add my first tangs to the aquarium,
I'm most interested in the yellow Tang and maybe a blue,
Not sure if 75 Gallons is enough room for two, They get pretty big.
Thank you for all the advice btw

 

[Phranque]

a 4ft 330l (87 gallon) isn't big enough for one tang....

 

[djnevstar20002004]

Oh, I read that a yellow tang is best kept in anything bigger than 75 gallons :/
what is the minimum for a yellow tang?

 

[Phranque]

Minimum length for the smaller tangs is 6ft. They like to "sprint", and 4ft is just not enough room.

 

[djnevstar20002004]

Thank you for the advice,
I have decided against getting a tang for now, Until i get a bigger aquarium.

 

[djnevstar20002004]

Is there a section in this site about sumps?
I am thinking about turning my old aquarium into a sump to hide my filter & skimmer and get better filtration and water into my tank.

 

[carey]

In the general equipment section you can find tons of diy sump threads