Deciding on a set up

[solarris]

I just got off the phone from a guy with a local company that makes and sells aquariums. I asked about a 75 gal tank and he recommended that I go ahead and get a 90 gal instead. I was told at the lfs that if you move from a 75 to a 90 gal that the lighting requirements are a lot more expensive and much harder to get right but the guy I just spoke with said that that is not true. He recommended that I just start out with fish, inverts, and soft corals, staying away from the hard corals, and I won't have to have such expensive lighting. He also said that hard corals are much more dificult for a beginner. I really don't care about hard corals too much right now and would be perfectly happy to have a tank with just the fish, inverts and soft corals but I was wondering which of these were correct. :notsure: The main reason this has confused me so much is that I was told at a lfs that anemones require lots of light and the guy I just spoke with said that is not true, that it is the hard corals that require the more intense lighting. Any help I could get to straighten this out would be greatly appreciated. :help:
And I almost forgot. I asked about them making me a sump tank that I could use as a refugium and asked if the one they have has a place for the protien skimmer to be placed in the sump. He said no and didn't seem to know much about that. Is there a benefit to placing the skimmer in the sump or do most people just do that to save space?

 

[patandlace]

Anemones require as much light as hard corals. With PC lights you can keep softies and some LPS. If you want SPS, Clams and anemones you will need Metal Halides. I would go as big as you can to start out. A lot of times people end up upsizing down the road it's easier just to start big and save the trouble. It depends on what kind of fish you plan to keep though. As far as the protein skimmer it is put in the sump to remove clutter from the display tank. Mine doen't fit in my sump either. It will do the job in either place.

 

[f14peter]

Just a WAG or two, but I suspect the tank-maker suggested going up to a 90 over a 75 because usually they have the same or very similar footprint, in that they occupy the same (or there abouts) amount of floorspace.
The LFS guy probably said light requirements go up with a 90 over a 75 is because 90s are usually taller and the light would have to penetrate more water to reach the bottom.
It's popular to put a skimmer in the sump because it rids the main tank of its visual presence. Now, a skimmer will work better if it's skimming the dirtiest, unfiltered water and some sump designs only have room for a skimmer after filtration (Like my MegaFlow). That said, even post-filtration a skimmer will do a very good job. With a custom sump, you can design it so that if you want the skimmer pre-filtration, you're able do so.

 

[solarris]

That's exactly what the lfs guy said, that the light would have to penetrate more water on a 90 gal vs a 75 gal. Would that therefore cause me to have to purchase a much more expensive lighting system? Also, I believe I remember the lfs guy saying that with the added lighting on the 90 gal it makes the temp harder to control because of all the heat being generated by the lights. How big an affect would that have on the water temp?

 

[joshradio]

Originally Posted by Solarris
...How big an affect would that have on the water temp?
That's why you have cooling fans...
And I've successfully and irritatingly raised anemones on PC lights... 37g with 130w PC 1x65w 10000k and 1x65w actinic and it moved slightly out of the direct light under the shelf and grew annoyingly huge, and even trying to burn it out was unsuccessful! ...just a side note!

 

[mandarin w]

A 75 and 90 gallon are both 48 inches long, so you would want to look for a 48 inch light set up. There are several choices. The cheaper and more energy effective would be a 8x54 T-5 unit. This would probly cost about $400. This would let you keep clams, anemones, a large choice of corals. This light wouldn't heat up your tank maybe 1 degree if at all.
There are things you can do to off set the heat put off by MH's,
or even other lights that could heat up your tank,
Dont set the light right on top of the tank, Place them at least 6 inches away from the top so air could move under the lights moveing the heat out of the way.
Useing a fan to blow the heat away from the tank.
Don't use the glass covers that come with the tank, if you are concerned about fish jumping out of the tank, use eggcrate to cover the tank.

 

[solarris]

Ok, so MH are definitely the way to go. The company I'm planning on getting my tank from said that they could mount a MH light in the hood which would use 2 MH bulbs. This is sounding like a good idea and I was just wondering on the wattage I would need. I was reading another post on here and it sounds like 14k would be good to start out with and the poster said that he would be getting 2 400 watt bulbs for a 135 gal tank. Does that sound about right for a 90 gal tank or would I need to maybe use lower watt bulbs?

 

[mandarin w]

If you go 75 gallon then go with 250 watt lights, If you go with the 90 the 250 watt will be alright but not great.
If you are going to have them put into a hood, make sure this company really know what they are doing. Putting MH light in an inclosed hood can really heat your tank up. Make sure they put 4 fans two on each end to blow cooler air into the hood and that the back of the hood is open. and the top is vented. Also make sure the inside of the hood is properly protected, not just any paint will protect it from the humidity that will build up inside the hood, the wood will warp and the hood can fall apart. I am not telling you not to get a canopy. I love them, and they give the tank a very nice look. Just make sure it is done right. Save you a lot of headaches and fustration.