one more ?

[harleydude]

I was sold an Emperor 280 BIO-Wheel Filtration Sys, "up to 50/gal". I also have a heater, a cheap one keeping the h2O - 80-81 degrees durring cycle per their advice as well.
And whatsa the gig with the lighting. I was sold a light for a "fish tank" a thin fluor. tube but I would like to do a combo tank, fish / some coral (cool coral). "They" told me I needed a compact fluor. Oh and did I say I am poor and was wondering what a good cheap light might be? (size, watts, color, ) Tank is 36X12X24
TIA
Harley

 

[mudplayerx]

Unfortunately there is no "cheap" way of keeping corals alive. For a 40 gallon tank you are probably going to need at least $250 in lighting for some of the soft corals, and around $400 in lighting for the hard corals.
Metal halide lighting is necessary for hard corals, but you may be able to get away with VHO lighting for some soft corals.
There are plenty of really cool things you can keep with less expensive lighting. Most new hobbyists think that all of the neat-looking things are corals, but many cool things are not corals at all. Some examples are feather dusters, mushroom polyps, yellow polyps, shrimp, crabs, starfish, urchins, etc.

 

[snipe]

You could go as cheap as PowerCompact and VHO for corals I wouldnt go anyless. And that is for soft corals you can get them online for around $100. Then you if you want clams and hard corals "SPS" then you will need metal halide probly a single 250 watt light around $200 that is without antincs that would be around $300.