starting a tank

[fish_man]

well i am gonna be gettign a 90 gall from work. i was wondering how many wattage would i need for a coral tank? how big of a sump will i need? how many crabs/inverts can i put in this tank? i am planning on a few clown fish, yellow tang maybe and what ever i feel looks nice enough. i have a few items so far,

-protine skimmers

-chemicals

-power heads

[delphinus]

90 gallon huh, not bad. Well in answer to your lighting question .. the answer is "it depends." It depends on what kind of corals you would like to eventually keep. Because some are more tolerant of lower light levels, others are not so.

The typical 90g is 48x18x24. 24" high is a little bit tall so you may wish to be steered towards a little more intensity. Personally I'd probably go 2x250W, maybe with a little actinic supplementation (2x110W probably) for the dusk and dawn effect.

It's really a hard question to answer easily though because there are myriads of choices out there, light colour temperature, and ballast choices, and wattages and so on. Double-ended or mogul socket. Etc. Etc. Etc. Probably the best thing to do is look at other examples and see what sort of things you like best.

Just a couple things to remember - the bluer the light, the less intense the light overall. The higher the wattage, the more heat you have to deal with (as well as electical bill at the end of the month). In general, colours tend to "pop" more under bluer light. Some people like a blue tank, some people like a white tank. 14000K can be a suitable compromise however.

Another thing to consider, a reflector choice can make a HUGE difference. PFO makes a nice reflector, as does Sunlight Supply which have a parabolic shape to bounce more light downwards into the tank. If you really want the shiznit though, look at the Diamond Lumenarcs from Pacific Garden Supply (as far as I know you can only get them via mail-order from their store in California). But their multi-faceted design is capturing a lot of attention in the reefing world. A little more pricey but probably well worth it.

I know, I know. So .. many ... choices!!

[Cap'n]

i was wondering how many wattage would i need for a coral tank?

As above, the most variable component of a marine system. Go on any salt forum and start reading. You could be there a while.

But don't get too worried about making the wrong choice. Whatever you get, something will grow. It's just matching what lighting you have with what corals you want.

And what fish you want that won't eat those corals or the other fish you want. If you have the luxury try picking what inhabitants you want and build the system around them.

Edited September 10, 2005 by CptCleverer