Lost in a reef

[clowntang]

All right some talk to me like i am stupid. I don't get all this mh, pc, lfs, ths ect. stuff. I just got a 150g. tank. I have a crp sum running it which has the protien skimmer in it. I got a 6' power compact light running it with moon lights. The moon lights look to be a white color when on. Are they supposed to be white or blue cuz i thought blue. I am feelin so stupid right now. Will coral grow under power compacts or not? Do I have to have metal halides or not? I wanna know what i need to go from nothing to what i need to have like a list. Is there a certain temp i need to maintain. Do i need a uv. what wattts? what watts for the lights? the ones on it now r 2 96w. whites, and 2 96w acintic. Do I need more for that size tank? I want to be able to do anything with it from soft corals to hard to fish to inverts. I do not want to be limited anymore cuz of my equipment. I can say pice does matter but tired of spending money for things that are no what i need in the end. I know the tank needs to cycle and all that. I have been running a 125 for the last 4 years but only fish in it. How meny power heads do i need and where do they need to be put. I just feel my local fish store is not telling what i need so they can sell me things later that i do need. I have read 2 books but they do not really say what u need to make it work. And how hard is a reef to maintain. what chemicals do i need to add to it. I guess i am just lost. thanks for the help. :notsure:

 

[tizzo]

Wooo!! You got a lot of questions!! Lemme try to remember all of them, and answer the best I can.
As far as lights pc's (or power compacts) will be sufficient for soft corals and a select few lps's (or long polyped stonies) like frogspawn, but will not be sufficient for sps's (small polyped stonies) like acroporas or any of the other branch looking corals. If you do not want to be limited, you want to go with metal halide lighting. If your tank is at LEAST 22 inches deep you'd want 250 watts. 1 for each 2 feet of tank.
You do not need a UV, and some hobbiests actually think they are a disadvantage to a reef since they can remove beneficial things as well as the unwanteds.
As far as how many powerheads, that's tough to answer directly. Lemme explain how it works. If you have a 150 gallon tank you want a turnover rate of at least 20 times per hour. So 150 gallons times 20 is 3000 gallons per hour. Your skimmer, your sump pump all that adds to the amount of flow. Powerheads come with a GPH (gallon per hour) rating, you want all of your equipment to total at least 3000 gph.
And as far as chemicals, you should not add ANYTHING that you do not test for. Not phyto, not coral vite not any of that stuff. When you need to add anything it will be to supplement what your corals are removing. Amung these are calcium, and alkalinity.
When you test those things, if they are low then you add them. But ALL those pretty bottles at your LFS (local fish store) you need NONE of them!!
There are way to many hobbiests, myself included, that do not add any of these things to their tank and have a successful, flourishing tank with a wide variety of corals for me to think that you need them. A lot of people add phyto, but a lot of people don't, so it is my opinion that it is not needed.
I think that was all of your questions...
Oh, temp. Your temp can range from 77 to 84 just as long as you keep it steady. If you get halides, 77 will be hard to maintain since they run so hot. My tank is a steady 82. The lights heat it up all day and the heater kicks on at night. Whatever temp you can keep steady is the temp you want.

 

[farmboy]

Nicely done, Tizzo.
Welcome Clowntang! Try to research as much as possible before diving too deeply. THis is a great place for info.

 

[clowntang]

Thank you tizzo for the advice I really do think it helps. I have done research but llike i said the research gets confusing. So then as far as my pc's they are ok but if I want to tbe able to do anything I should get mh's right? just making sure i got it. still wondering if my pcs r working right since the moon lights r a white color not blue? May I am stressin over nothing. Just want to make sure that everything is working the way it should. I just want to get a reef up and running on it as soon as i can even if i have to start with basic coral that is fine with me. I was told though that to have the water ready i needed to add iodine, calcium, and 2 others which i can't remember off my head right now. but thanks again tizzo. BIG HELP.
jason

 

[danedodger]

Hi Jason and welcome to the madness of saltwater addicts!!

So then as far as my pc's they are ok but if I want to tbe able to do anything I should get mh's right?
Power compacts are fine for many different types of corals but not all of them. Different corals are going to need different light intensities so whether or not you need metal halide lights is going to depend completely on what kind of corals you want to keep. For instance, mushrooms are a pretty hardy, popular type of coral that will do fine under power compacts. Just don't buy anything until you've researched it to find out what it needs to stay healthy.
I was told though that to have the water ready i needed to add iodine, calcium, and 2 others which i can't remember off my head right now.
Opinions will vary which can be SOOO confusing!! Your best bet is to educate yourself about everything, listen to everyone's opinions, then do what you think is going to be best for you and your animals.
I completely agree with Tizzo on the advice to not add a single thing unless you test your water first for it! It's good, solid, better safe than sorry advice that you can't go wrong with! For instance, absolutely correct, some animals need calcium in the water but you may have enough calcium already just with your substrate leeching calcium into the system and regular water changes. Too much of some of the things you listed can be every bit as harmful as not having enough of them!

 

[danedodger]

Oh and I forgot to add that if I'm remembering correctly the moonlight in your pcs isn't going to matter one way or the other. They're mainly for "the look" of them and maybe to help the fish feel more at home as some degree of moonlight would shine through the ocean where most of the fish we keep in our tanks are found. As long as the daylight cycle on your lights is good you should be fine. As a matter of fact come to think of it my moonlights look white too. Make sure to change those bulbs out on schedule though since the spectrum of light you want will fade out in time even though the bulb looks about the same to your eye.

 

[clowntang]

ok so is my lights workin right? I got the answer what i need for light but still wondering if the moon lights r working right. And still wondering if anyone knows if jebo pcs r good or not?

 

[clowntang]

How often do i need to change the bulbs. I was told every 6 months. is that right?

 

[danedodger]

ok so is my lights workin right?
See above

I believe they are.
And still wondering if anyone knows if jebo pcs r good or not?
Not sure about that brand of em but I believe jebo products are rumored to be good?

 

[danedodger]

I've heard every 6 months to a year so changing them out every 6 months should certainly be a-ok!

Hopefully someone who knows your particular lights better than me will come along to tell you whether or not you can go a year between changing to save you some money though.

 

[clowntang]

thanks dane for the info. any suggestions on mh's for it as far as watts and brand. cheep ones that work would be good

 

[clowntang]

I think this site needs a instant message system on it or with it or a chat room or something. I can be found on yahoo messanger under clowntanglover if that helps.

 

[danedodger]

thanks dane for the info. any suggestions on mh's for it as far as watts and brand. cheep ones that work would be good
No problem

As far as mhs I haven't broken away from pcs on my tank yet so I'll leave that to someone more confident about it than me.