Enough lighting?

Discussion in 'New To The Hobby' started by Amass78, Feb 16, 2004.

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  1. Amass78

    Amass78 Plankton

    Joined:
    Feb 16, 2004
    Messages:
    16
    Location:
    San Leandro, CA,California
    Hello everyone, I finally bought all of my equipments to start a reef tank.  I got a 29 gal w/built in overflow.  A 10 gal sump.  Euro-reef ES5-2 Skimmer.  Rio 14HF return pump.  And a CSL 130 watt with moonlight,  One 65w 10k premium day-light and One 65w Ultra Actinic.  My question is...Do you think I have enough lighting to have corals? And will that pump be too strong for my tank?
     
    Im gonna go the safe route and buy Saltwater, live sand and live rock from the store.  Do I still have to cycle the tank this way?  The water i'm buying supposed to be filtered ocean water, in the future if i go with regular mixed saltwater for water changes, will that hurt my tank?

    I'm planning to have everything set up in about two weeks when i have some time.  I guess what Im worrying most is my lighting.  Please Help.  Thanks!
     
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  3. Malachi

    Malachi Sea Dragon

    Joined:
    Nov 25, 2003
    Messages:
    507
    Location:
    Erie, PA,Pennsylvania
    What type of corals are you look at? I know it would be fine for Shrooms.

    I would say yes on the cycle, just be patient and do frequent water test.
     
  4. Matt Rogers

    Matt Rogers Kingfish

    Joined:
    Dec 31, 2000
    Messages:
    13,466
    Location:
    Berkeley, CA
    That's a pretty nice setup!
    The light works out to 4.4 watts per gallon, so I think that would be good for most stuff. Assuming your water quality becomes perfect, I don't think you will have too much trouble there, just put the light-hungry stuff near the top.

    I'd still give the setup time to 'break-in' even with all the live sand, rock and water from the store, you'll probably have a mini-cycle.

    There is a post on the review board about the Rio Hyper Flow pumps, please keep us posted there on that, I'd like to know it that's better than their standard pumps - I hope so! ;) :)

    And thanks for joining 3reef!
     
  5. Amass78

    Amass78 Plankton

    Joined:
    Feb 16, 2004
    Messages:
    16
    Location:
    San Leandro, CA,California
    Thanks everyone for the replies. I can't wait to set it up but the weather here in the bay area, california has be bad lately, so ill wait til it becomes sunnier.

    As for the corals, I guess I could only have softies??? I'm still learning the names of corals so I don't really know which is which, I know i want some hammer corals, polyps...and maybe something more advance if my lights allow me to. I will go with metal hallide in the future but since i bought these I might as well use them and practice.

    What about the water I'm buying...will it hurt if i go from filtered ocean water to mix saltwater? Thanks everyone!
     
  6. Malachi

    Malachi Sea Dragon

    Joined:
    Nov 25, 2003
    Messages:
    507
    Location:
    Erie, PA,Pennsylvania
    Well good luck, my Metal Halide should be in today. Only 3.5 weeks late! Upgrading from PC.
     
  7. Matt Rogers

    Matt Rogers Kingfish

    Joined:
    Dec 31, 2000
    Messages:
    13,466
    Location:
    Berkeley, CA
    3 weeks late? YUK.

    @Amass78 - I think you should start with the corals you mentioned until you are comfortable with what's going on. You have a great fish store in your town - 'Tropical Paradise,' they can assist you with corals down the road. They have tons.