First saltwater set up

[hardparts2]

Been doin freshwater for awhile, now I really want a marine tank to.I need some info and some suggestions please. The tank I have made is 84
gallons it is 60x18x18. I plan on a diy wet/dry for sure and maybe a diy protein skimmer if I need it tight budget.This is what I would like to keep
1 Auriga Butterflyfish
2 Percula Clownfish
1 Yellow Tang
1 Blue tang
2 Scarlet Skunk Cleaner Shrimp
1 Blenny
Live Rock
Base Rock
Anemones (Moderate light)
Corals (Moderate light)
The lighting I am thinking is
2 48" actinic bulbs BLUE MOON BULB 40 WATT 48"
2 48"Coralife 20,000K Bulbs 20000 K 40W BULB
will that be enough for Anemones and Corals ? I have a 300gph HOB filter I can use to. Is pool filter sand ok to use as substrate? Am I correct in thinking that the base rock will become LR after awhile? And so will the sand.The return pump on my sump is a HYPER FLOW 17HF 840 gph with 4ft head and spray bar.Is that enough water current or will I need a powerhesd to? I am also going to get a U/V Sterilizer. I know I missed alot but its a start. Sorry so long but I have to ask these things.I dont want to harm the fish.Thanks for any advise in advance.


Thanks Alot
Bob

 

[malkore]

So an 84 gallon tank with 160watts of normal output lighting? No, that's not going to be enough for anemones...and I'm not even sure it'll work for low light corals. The bottom end of lighting for a reef tank is 3watts per gallon, but the more light the better.

Hmmm...looking at your specs, it looks like you're describing more than 4 40watt bulbs...could you repost exactly how many 40watt bulbs you have? The Blue moon bulb is probably useless if its meant for moonlight simulation.

I'm a bit of a purist, so I'm going to say pool filter sand isn't a good choice...much wiser to go with an oolitic/argonite based sand, which will help with buffering the water, and won't be rough/sharp enough to hurt and sand sifting fish or inverts. I'd stay away from crushed coral for that same reason, plus it's a detris trap.

A U/V sterilizer isn't needed...since you're on a budget, you'd benefit from a good skimmer more than a U/V sterilizer in the beginning.
And although you have a wicked gph on that return pump, you'd still need a couple of powerheads to create the random currents desired in a reef tank.

Yes, live rock will seed dead base rock with life, just takes a while, but it is a good way to lower the overall setup price. I'd use at least 25% live rock, so you have the upper hand. And I'd recommend liverocks.com

 

[hardparts2]

Thats what I have 4 40 watt bulb 160 watts total. What does the 20000k mean tho?The actinic bulbs are for that light spectrum I will have them on with the 20000k Corallife day light bulbs 14 hours a day.Heres links to the bulbs the say they can be used for corals and such.
http://petsolutions.com/product.asp_Q_pn_E_96302013_A_Coralife+20,000K+Bulbs_E_
and
http://petsolutions.com/product.asp_Q_pn_E_55301330_A_Blue+Moon+Bulbs_E_
I think im going to use 25 to 30 pounds of LR the rest base rock.Also I am going with the wet dry and skimmer and I will get a couple of powerheads. The poolfilter sand looks pretty good I think my cichlids love it and play in it all the time it doesnt seem to hurt them tho. Thanks for the for the input it helps alot.

 

[first-timer89]

i would not recomend 2 tangs in a tank that size.

 

[malkore]

20000k is the color temperature of the light put out by the bulb. 10,000k is like high noon sunlight.

it sounds like you have blue bulbs, rather than true Actinic03 bulbs.
Also, since you have only 2watts per gallon, no anemones, and only a few basic soft corals could be kept. You'll probably just have to replace the light fixture with power compacts, VHO, or metal halide lighting. I'd look at metal halides since you want to get into corals and anemones. I've never used MH so I can't really comment, but you'll probably want something like 2 175watt metal halide fixtures, and then a single power compact or VHO for the actinic03 bulb (since they cannot make metal halide actinic03 bulbs).