Brand new to saltwater

jhawk, I was told to keep it around 1 to 1.25 # LR per gallon of tank capacity.

Also, without a 'fuge you have to conside that 100# of live rock will displace as much as maybe 10-12 gallons, so you have 45 gallons of water.... I would seek additional guidance tho, since am still quite the noob.

As for cost, a refugium can be built for less than $50, and I highly suspect you could do it for under $10 if you're good at scrounging and scrapping. A 20G tank from Petsfart is $25-30 or so, $10 on Craigs list or often free to someone who needs one. A few sheets of acrylic or glass, and some aquaputty or silicone and you'de pretty much ready to build.

The return pump would be like $35ish for a Rio 8HF if short term price is the main concern. If thats a bit under powered a 2500hp is about $60 and should perform well for at least a while. To save money in the long run invest in a better pump. I went with an Eheim 1260, like $120 or so, but they're great pumps.

I think if you plan it out right you can build a refugium for under $100 w/ all the fittings and pump.

And from everything I have seen and read a refugium is a pretty sure way to increase the bioload capacity of a tank for the least amount of money. Also, you get to keep a second "hidden" tank. I had a little kid, maybe 5 or 6 in the shop today and he couldn't see in the DT well, but loved the little fuge I had underneath it. I call it my secret ocean.

Anyways, I fully understand firthand how much of a drain a reef can be on a bank account, but I think the fuge is good biological insurance.

Ok, I'm good for now.

-Doug

 

sounds fine to me, you dont need to really make any big decisions right now. most people that start with 55g usually move to a bigger tank eventually(me)

 

Nova Extreme HO Lighting Fixture - 4 x 54W T5HO - 48 in. | T5 Lighting | Lighting Systems | Aquarium - ThatPetPlace.com

Is this good lighting for housing some corals?

 

I looked at T5s, they're great for LPS and photosynthetic inverts. I have a friend with a few select SPS near the top of his tank under T5's but he was saying they don't do too well even there.

Also, as with any florescent tubes you use you won't get the dappled water effect like you do with point source lights (HID/LED) but that's strictly an aesthetic call. The dappling doesn't do anything AFAIK, but I prefer it.

 

im assuming its a quality fixture since its a brand i know. with t5's quality reflectors seem to be just as important as the t5's themselves.

i think will be able to keep most anything with it, sps at the top. i dont want to tell you could do a full sps tank like with some very nice t5 set ups because i dont want to tell you wrong information.

 

What is the dappled water effect?

 

im assuming its the ripples of light, add to the beauty quite abit. if you every see a swiming pool in daylight there are ripples on the bottom of the pool from surface disturbance. t5 can do it to just not as good as halide.

 

OK, do the t5s I'm looking at give off the blueish tint that I always see?

 

any lighting can do that its just using a higher kevlin bulb then 10k. most people get 2 10k and 2 actinics(blue)

 

Alright I think I'll do that, thanks.