Looking to get my first light:)

I say a bit of live rubble, maybe 1 pound, all of tiny pieces so you don't get any hitchhikers, and then 25-45 lbs dry rock. You don't need all live rock, and you'll likely regret getting all live rock because of the hitchhiker problem.

Dry rock is basically rock with nothing living on it, while live has been in a tank. There are different kinds of each depending on where the rock comes from (like Key Largo, Tonga, Fiji, etc), but dry/live has nothing to do with the way it will look after it matures.

Dry rock is also much, much cheaper.

 

I agree with everything he said. Save your money for other purchases and go with dry rock and a little bit of live rubble.

 

Agree about what has been said about the rock. And as for the Odyssea lights, IMO, they are not very good. They've had wiring issues in the past and are made of inferior components, but some people like them. Also, keep in mind that their output is generally much less compared to higher end fixtures.

 

what kind of lighting should i be looking for? t5 like idk what kind of lighting i should use for my 30 gallon breeder tank/ reef

 

Well, first decide if you want MH, T5s, LEDs or PCs, which I don't recommend. The type and amount light depends largely on the dimensions of the tank and what types of corals you want to keep. If you want very good light, but at a cheaper price. i would go with T5s. There are many T5 fixtures out there that will fit your tank. Again, depending on what you want to keep, I would use a 4 or 6 bulb fixture. Tek, ATI, Nova Extreme Pro and Geissemann are all pretty good fixtures, some being better of course. For the money, Tek really can't be beat, but ATI has recently released a new, mid-priced fixture.

 

thanks guitarman89 looking into it