New hobby here!!

[jrse7en]

Greetings!

Ok, so I have always wanted my own reef ever since I was little <27 now>. I finally got myself a 55g long tank the other day w/ stand and a ro/di unit to start. I have quite a few questions with the equipment I will need to get started. I want to do things right the first time and not have to replace any outdated equipment in a year or so. That being said cost is not a major issue. I'm not rich or anything I just don't want to have any regrets after I drop a few hundred on an inferior product.
I have a stand with a canopy and plan on getting some bright corals and anemones. I want to make sure I can get any species I want and not be limited because I don't have enough light. I was looking at "TEK LIGHT T-5, 48" Light Fixture 6 x 54W lamps by Sunlight Supply". I was leaning towards this because it has a slim 2.5" profile which would work with the canopy I have, or not?

I chose not to go with the MH lights because I don't want to create excessive head and I really really wanted a canopy for a clean look.
As far as filtration goes I want to run a sump AND refugium but I am limited on undertand space. I know I could fit 2 10 gallons under there but i'm not going to even try a pump to pump setup for obvious reasons. I really do want a decent size refugium if I could have one. Would a canister filter be seperate from a sump? How about a sump that incorporates a skimmer, and refugium w/ return pump. Would that be enough filtration?
I'm looking forward to meeting you all.

I will be around alot since work is ....

 

[flower]

Originally Posted by Jrse7en
http:///forum/post/3114381
Greetings!

Ok, so I have always wanted my own reef ever since I was little <27 now>. I finally got myself a 55g long tank the other day w/ stand and a ro/di unit to start. I have quite a few questions with the equipment I will need to get started. I want to do things right the first time and not have to replace any outdated equipment in a year or so. That being said cost is not a major issue. I'm not rich or anything I just don't want to have any regrets after I drop a few hundred on an inferior product.
I have a stand with a canopy and plan on getting some bright corals and anemones. I want to make sure I can get any species I want and not be limited because I don't have enough light. I was looking at "TEK LIGHT T-5, 48" Light Fixture 6 x 54W lamps by Sunlight Supply". I was leaning towards this because it has a slim 2.5" profile which would work with the canopy I have, or not?&#37;%
I chose not to go with the MH lights because I don't want to create excessive head and I really really wanted a canopy for a clean look.
As far as filtration goes I want to run a sump AND refugium but I am limited on undertand space. I know I could fit 2 10 gallons under there but i'm not going to even try a pump to pump setup for obvious reasons. I really do want a decent size refugium if I could have one. Would a canister filter be seperate from a sump? How about a sump that incorporates a skimmer, and refugium w/ return pump. Would that be enough filtration?
I'm looking forward to meeting you all.

I will be around alot since work is ....

WELCOME!
I have a 90g reef with a canopy and I run MH lights (retrofit). Nothing looks like MH lighting, so don’t settle, if you really want that canopy you can still have MH lights. Heat is not a big issue. Fans, one in and one out works great.
T5s do work for feeding light needy corals and they are slimmer…but they just don’t have that ripple light effect. It has a PC look, and they run hot as well…JMO.
You can run a canister for water flow and a sump…I use 2 canisters and no sump at all on my 90g. Most just run a sump..With live rock your filter doesn’t have to carry as much importance, the rock itself is a filter.
A Refugium is always a plus. Just FYI…They have hang on the back designs, so everything doesn’t have to go under and it won’t take up space on the side. Bottom line…you have lots of choices.

 

[meowzer]

Welcome to SWF....You say you have a 55g long...what is the height?
I have heard T5's will work with just about anything.
Can you filt a 20G long under your stand? A lot of people use them for sump/fuges

 

[jrse7en]

OK thanks for your response! I'm not very familiar with canister type filters. Is it just a hose that sucks water out of the DT then returns the filtered water back to the DT on the other side? If that is the case I would like to use the "to" canister on the same side and the overflow "to" sump. Then "from" canister and "from" sump/fuge on the other side. Does that seem right?
Also I will look into the MH lights and see if they can be used w/ my canopy. Years ago I had a freshwater tank until my mom turned up the heat before we went on vacation and cooked the entire tank. She said they looked "cold"

I don't want to cook this tank, but I really want that shimmer effect so I will look into it, thanks!

 

[jrse7en]

Originally Posted by meowzer
http:///forum/post/3114402
Welcome to SWF....You say you have a 55g long...what is the height?
I have heard T5's will work with just about anything.
Can you filt a 20G long under your stand? A lot of people use them for sump/fuges
I think the tank is 20" high and 13" wide. It's pretty slim and the way the stand is set up im not sure if I could fit a 20g under it. If I can somehow manage to squeeze it under there I defiantely will.

 

[jrse7en]

I found this Coralife 48 Inch Aqualight Pro, 2x150W HQI MH Lamp + 2x96W PC + 3x1W Lunar LED. It's like 900 bucks but /drool!! Anyone have experience using one of these badboys?

 

[dragonzim]

I had that same TEK fixture on my 75. Its a great light and you can't go wrong with it. It will let you keep anything you want in your 55.

 

[jrse7en]

Very cool! Does it lack that ripple shimmer though? Flower was saying they lack that effect, I guess because of the overall design. I gotta sleep on it and see if the extra 500$ for a MH/T5 combo is worth it to me. Thanks for your input!

 

[dragonzim]

Originally Posted by Jrse7en
http:///forum/post/3114465
Very cool! Does it lack that ripple shimmer though? Flower was saying they lack that effect, I guess because of the overall design. I gotta sleep on it and see if the extra 500$ for a MH/T5 combo is worth it to me. Thanks for your input!
That is correct, you will not get the shimmer effect with T5s that you get with MH. Up to you to decide if its worth the money just for the effect. IMO there is no difference in the quality of light other than that. You'll be able to keep anything you want with that 6 bulb fixture and you'll have the bonus of being able to mix and match different spectrum bulbs that you wont get if you have a MH. Also, MH produces significantly more heat than T5 so you may end up needing a chiller to keep your water cool.

 

[bulldog123]

Sunlight Suppy makes a fixture that has 2mh and 4t-5s for around $500.

 

[jrse7en]

I'm so excited I ended up getting the Coralife Aqualight Pro 48", a Vertex 100 skimmer and Eco Tech MP10 powerhead. Did I make a good choice here? I got a great price on everything!