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Not sure what your looking to spend but Dr. Foster and Smith has a 96 watt quad light retro kit on sale for $75. I just got mine and it is pretty nice and very bright. Mine is for a 10 g tank too.

It doesn't take that long for the dead rock to become live with bacteria but it does take some time before it becomes really alive with life. The bacteria is the most important thing though as you know.

Just wondering why no PC lights? Wouldn't they be plenty sufficient for a tank that deep? I am asking because I am still trying to learn about all this lighting stuff. Last time I was in to this hobby PC's where all the rage....lol

Originally Posted by diamondjim The theory I'm trying to work is that less is better. Step 2: Swap out Power Heads for massive air powered pumps with no impellers or moving parts. Explain more. I am interested in what equipment you are wanting to use exactly. I like the idea of less is more as...

I guess the question is, how well is the current clean up crew doing? If they are doing a decent job then no need to add more.

I like your rockscape. I could see possibly adding just a tab bit more LR but overall, even if you don't, looks good.

You really need to place the health of the animal before your wants. Can an eel live in your tank, yes. Will it be happy and healthy, not over the long term. Do what you want but I think by not listening to these guys you are demonstrating extremely poor fish keeping practices. No one here wants...

Yeah, pictures would help. I think that often times if you just randomly place the rocks in the tank without thinking too much about it they turn out better than if you tried to plan things out.

Well, after thinking about it I think I will just get the T5 setup, well, at least half of it. I figure the cost of the PC bulbs will be nearly half the price of a 2 bulb T5 setup so I might as well out the extra few dollars and get the T5 and I can save the PC for my FW tank of even sell them...

It needs to stay in there until it starts to decompose thus creating ammonia in the tank. How long exactly is hard to say, depends on the tank. Algae and diatoms are usually part of a new tank.They usually go away but may need some help from a clean up crew or manual removal.

When you say fake rocks do you mean actual fake plastic rocks or stuff that isn't from the ocean but is still real rock? And yes, you should get rid of the bio-balls.

I have two ballasts and endcaps for PC lights that I was going to use on a FW planted tank a few years ago but never followed through with the plan. So they have been sitting around collecting dust. Well, I have decided I want to do another SW tank and I am debating on a 20L and a 29. With the...

You can get a retro kit for about $200 if you don't mind building your own hood. That is four 48" bulbs and individual reflectors.

What size tank and what are your goals for the tank? That will pretty much dictate what lighting needs you will have.

I am personally not a fan of the 55 gallon tanks simply because of the lack of depth (front to back). If you want a 48" tank I would highly recommend a 75 gallon. I like 90's too but for me they are a little too tall for easy maintenance (at least with FW that requires weekly vacuuming, SW might...

Just do a water change and start a cycle. Do like monk said and ghost feed or use the shrimp method and get your cycle started. First take out all the live stock and return them to the LFS so they don't have to suffer. Once your tank is properly cycled ad critters. Stay away from chemicals as...

You can get some stuff called Texas Holey rock that looks like chunks of Swiss Cheese that is very light and I would think should work as base rock. I have seen it on the internet for pretty cheap.

You could also get an AquaClear 110 HOB filter and turn it in to a HOB fuge and fill it with same macro to help with the nitrates. Good call though taking out the crushed coral and replacing with sand. Also, is the current HOB the only source of water movement? If so that could be part of your...

Oh...lol...ok. Them as in the bacteria

By ghost feeding I think he means adding a small amount of fish food which will go uneaten and cause ammonia to form in your tank which in turn will cause more bacteria to form to eat said ammonia which is a good thing. So you are basically starting a real cycle to grow the bacteria colony that...