Couple of quick ?'s

[dnj90]

Was wondering is someone could help with a couple of ?'s
1-I have a 135 gallon tank.I just bought 200 lbs of South down,will this be enough for a deep sea bed or do you think I will need more?I will be replacing cc.
2-Eventually I will be adding lr.I just bought new lighting, it is a 2x96 watt Smartlite.Will this be good enough to get some growth on the live rock?
3-Lately I have noticed that my french angel and my pb tang like to hang out towards the top of the tank where the water comes back in the tank.I guess you could say there in the water stream.Then they go back to swimming for a while and go back to the stream.Is this ok or do you think I have something to worry about?
Sorry for so many ?'s but as you can tell I'm new and I just want to be sure

 

[striker]

1- There is a formula that some members have used before. Hopefully someone else can help you out with this.
2- I don't think lighting is a major factor for coraline growth. The two biggest ingredients IMO are water movement and calcium.
3- Not sure about this one. Fish and inverts are quirky. They might like the way it feels. I had a percula that used to swim against the current of my powerheads. Used to make me laugh just watching him.

 

[wrassecal]

1. I can't remember the calculator, but 200lbs will not do it. You will probably need twice that much. Lucky you to have access to Southdown. It took 170lbs in my 55 gal.
2. Yes that enough light to get some growth on the lr, depending on how you define growth. That's only a little over 1 watt per gallon. I'd put about 660 watts vho with that if it was me, but all depends on what you want to keep, coral or just fish or what?
3. Sound OK to me, play in the current, hang out in the water, play in the current, hang out in the water. Give them a beer and you've got me at the beach

 

[elcid]

I think most people will agree that the best way to go is to have 4" of live sand, it will help a lot in order to filter the tank. About the light for the live rock will be OK BUT you will be limited whenever you decide to introduce a coral, that light will be good for polyps and mushrooms, if that is what you have in mind then you should be ok. Your last question (the French Angel and the Tang...)I am not too familiar about their behavior but what I can tell you is to be careful with Angels since they are known to nip on corals.

 

[dnj90]

Glad I dont have to worry as far as the fish go
as far as the south down,I guess it is back to hd for me. guess i am pretty lucky my local hd sells it altough they only have about10 bags left, but before i buy another 4 bags does it sound right to put 400 lbs in? I'm not dobting anyone but that seems like an awful lot of sand.If I do go with the 400 lbs any idea how deep the dsb would be?Thanks again for the help.
P.S.-I think I am going to need the beer after this is over

 

[wrassecal]

If they are running low, I'd buy about 4 more bags just to be safe. You need 4 - 5 inches for deep sand bed. I can not remember how to calculate how much. Do a search on here for dsb or deep sand bed and you'll find the formula. I'm going from a 55 to a 125 long and it came out to like 320 lbs for me.

 

[bdhough]

Lay the sand in and see how it looks. Its more a matter of personal preference than anything.
My fish hang out in the current waiting for food to fly by. Its pretty normal. The ocean has its own currents and quiet spots and your fish probably like them. Your french angel will eventually need space to swim once he fills out. Don't over do your rock....

 

[nightraven]

here is a link for an online sandbed calculator
Sand Bed Calculator
It tends to be a little high so if you use it do not buy more than it says or you will have a lot extra.
I get coraline growth with just 20 watts of NO FLO lighting
I do not have enough exp to comment on your third question.
HTH

 

[wrassecal]

Nightraven thanks it was driving me nuts, I couldn't find that.
If you want the benefits of a deep sand bed then you will need more than 2 inches. click on the deep sand bed link, it's great info on them.

 

[dnj90]

thanks for everyones help.Wrasse thanks for a great article link