opinions on lighting setup

[saltnewbie]

hi, all i am new to salt and i was wondering if i could get some opinions on a lighting set up im pondering. i have a 55 gal that i am going to set up as a reef tank. tell me what you think of this light set up i was thinking of going with virulux pc
http://www.1000bulbs.com/shopping/shopexd.asp?id=4086
i was thinking of using 4 of these and 2 40 watt 50/50
i am new to saltwater and i appreciate all opinions and suggestions
thanks

 

[ryebread]

Welcome to the board - You have found a wealth of knowledge (not me.....the board)
I would have to say that I disagree with RockinAR. Most reef tanks will start as a FOWLR to get things started anyway. A reef tank is something that involves time in building the set-up the way you want. Having good water quality is a necessity in either case. Nano tanks are not as easy to keep as a larger tank due to the high risk of drastic changes in water conditions. Start your tank with your LR and you will learn what corals you can keep as you go.
I would not reccommend the lights that you have chosen........yes they are cheaper than specific aquarium bulbs but, they do not offer the quality light that a reef-tank requires. Do a search on VHO lighting or Power Compacts for your tank.

 

[iceburger]

NANO's ARE NOT FOR NEWBIES....
welcome to the board...
i agree with rye on this one, the lights you have chosen i would not use, honestly i would build my own canopy (which many here have done) it is cheaper and you can fit more lighting under there than a conventional mass produced lighing system, its kind of a toss-up between PC's and VHO's and it also depends on what you plan on keeping, or you could go all out and get some MH (metal halide) lighting, you can keep almost anything with MH lights
believe me on this one, nano's can be beutiful, but a pain if you're in the process of learning about reef keeping, i think your 55gal will be a perfect beginner tank for you, good luck and feel free to post any other questions,
oh and one more thing, take everyones advice with a grain of salt, what worked for one person may or may not work for you, thats what the whole hobby is all about, trial and error and eventually success (hopefully)

 

[saltywashington]

I was in your shoes about two years ago and I think you have found a great thing early that I have only just discovered with this forum. I currently have a 55 gallon salt tank that I would like to call a reef. I have a total of 320 watts of light(one 110 watt VHO 10,000K , one 110 watt VHO 50/50 actinic, one 40 watt 50/50 actinic and one 40 watt 10,000K). I this tank I have a variety of soft corals as well as a few LPS (large poylup stoney) corals, all of my corals seem to be doing well. I would suggest from my experience that you do a huge amount of research and resist the temptation to go out and buy a bunch of stuff (corals and fish) because that is what you will want to do. I think if you go slow and listen to the people on this board you will do great.
P.S. one thing that I believe is important and you should research before getting corals is additives and supplements. This is something that I have not seen disscused a bunch on this forum.

 

[saltnewbie]

hi all,
thanks for the replies. let me give you guys a better idea of my situation. I have been keeping fw tanks for a about 5 years(oscar and african cichlid) and my O just recently went to the big tank in the sky so i decided to give sw a try. my best friend has a great sw tank and is assisting my education but is not offering any advice as to a specific things i.e lighting ,stocking ect. he wants me to form my own opinon and to do the research as to what i want to keep in the tank and what equipment i will need to support it. being a sw newbie but not new to keeping fish tanks i know that i cant just run out and buy everything i want( thats how i ended up with a 10 gal and an oscar 5 years ago lol : ) i know it takes a lot of time and research to set up a seccessfull sw tank. but enought of my rambling : ) in my tank i am leaning toward going more of a soft approach i.e mushrooms ,feather dusters and of the likes, with maybee 2 or three compatiable fish i am looking to keep animals that require low to medium light. while i got your attention how bout some ideas on filtration. i would if possibale incorporate some of my current equipment. i currently have a fluval 404, ac300,whisper 1 & 4. This is the only area my buddy is insisting that it would be to my benefit to get a wet dry, what do you guys think? i was pondering ussing the fluval the whisper 4 and i have a buddy that has a fluidized bed filter that i can get at a very good price. what do you think? i know i have been rambling on and thanks for taking the time to read all of this
one other question would i need speacial ballast and edcaps to run ho or vho flourecents?
thanks : )
p.s sorry about the spelling its early and im waiting for the coffe to finish : )

 

[aot220]

what is a nano?

 

[oceanjumper]

I think your buddy is a wise man (or woman). It is good to explore on your own. If you are really serious about SW I would recommend you to use a sump. If you are going to get LR and (Live Rock and Live Sand) you don't need the wet/dry filter (with bioballs). Not that it is not a good system, some experts argue that it is actually too good.
I converted my 72 gl some time ago. I also had a FLuval 404 that I wanted to continue to use.... it took three weeks and I tossed it out.... For SW, the thing is only good to be a pump... Well, fo rme took to much space in my stand to be just a pump....
Currently I have a sump under my display tank. In the sump I have a protein skimmer (AN ABSOLUTE MUST FOR SW NEWBEES LIKE US), the heater and filter pads. I have a CAP 2200 return pump that provides ~550 gph circulation. Forr me the main advantages of the sump are:
- increased water volume
- hideout for equipment (I just hate to have all the ugly hardware in my display tank - it ruins the sight of the "reef")
- easy access and control equipment
I am currently also in the process of connecting a refugium to the sump. The latter is not necessary if you only want FOWR (Fish Only With Rock), but I just like to mess around with different tools.
When I converted to SW, I did buy a JBJ Formosa PC (Power Compact) lighting hood ($300). I bought JBJ also b/c of the design.... I don't like the solid canopis (though they are probably better to house addiitonal bulbs & tubes if you like to have MH and moonlight effects etc.). You don't need the PC (or equivalent) if you just stick to FOWR, however if you want (eventually) add corals you will need them.
Advise that everybody will give you: be patient, do research & don't buy on impulses
Good luck & Have fun

 

[saltnewbie]

hey guys i was looking at the ah supply site and i can get a full 2x55watt pc setup (full wiring,balast and deflector) along with a 55watt 10,000 bulb and a 03 actinic for about $100.00 since i am only (at this time at least) interested in low to med light corals would this work on my tank? also on the sump idea can you give me more info on how exactly it works? istn it just like a wet dry without the bio tower? another thing to take into consideration is this 55 gal tank is what im using to (get my feet wet) with sw this tank will be up and running to summer of 2004 . then i will be upgrading to 120 and new equipment for that big mutha : ) (man my girl friend is gonna freak when she comes home from her annual camping trip and see that big tank ) after the upgrade to my new tank the 55 will reside at my moms house where i plan to keep it set up and stocked as if it was at my own home

 

[saltywashington]

IMO if you start out with a few softies here and there you will eventually want to go bigger and better. This could just mean tank size which it looks like you are already planning for. This could also mean that you want to try more types of corals as well. If you do decide to go with the PC option I would stay with only the low light corals. This is due to the fact that the higher light corals might not do well and could die and give you trouble with your bioload. There is nothing worse then getting frustrated early and giving up because of not getting the right stuff for what you want. I am not sure what they are saying for watts per gallon of water now but that is something to look at. Plus the tank just looks cool when it is nice and bright.