View Full Version : newbie question
paintballgoth
11-05-2003, 2:29 PM
so far i have a 55 gal tank with a fluval 303. Im planing on making it a fowlr tank. just wondering whats the cheepest lighting i can use and the price of it. any information on other apsects of the tank would also be greatly appreciated.
OrionGirl
11-05-2003, 3:36 PM
If you're not worried about corals, a plain old strip light will be plenty. You may lose some of the 'stuff' on the live rock, but shouldn't be significant. Coralline algae will be okay in lower light levels, just not as bright purple.
With no corals or other light-hungry inhabitants to worry about, all you really need is enough light to see your fish.
paintballgoth
11-05-2003, 4:59 PM
With no corals or other light-hungry inhabitants to worry about, all you really need is enough light to see your fish.
If i decide to get some inverts like shrimp and crabs etc. would the lighting have 2 change....and would it be cheaper to make my own hood as apposed to getting any store made thing.
i also have a question about protien skimmers....do i need it to start off with or can the fluval 303 handle it?
OrionGirl
11-05-2003, 5:22 PM
Crabs and shrimp don't need light either--in fact, many of them will hide most of the time in brightly lit tanks.
A skimmer doesn't do the same thing as a conventional filter. Skimmers remove dissolved protiens, before they can decay into ammonia. You don't have to have one, but they are very helpful. A tank that is still cycling should not have a skimmer though--no point, unless there are fish in there.
SimonWoodstock
11-05-2003, 6:06 PM
Originally posted by paintballgoth
i also have a question about protien skimmers....do i need it to start off with or can the fluval 303 handle it?
Alastair explains skimmers very well in one of my posts....
take a look:
http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=18100
paintballgoth
11-05-2003, 6:31 PM
thanks alot guys you have been very helpful. just wondering if a regular hood that you can buy at any petland for the 55 gal would be cheeper than building one myself?
SimonWoodstock
11-05-2003, 9:11 PM
i personaly dont have a clue since ive never diy'ed anything for an aquarium. (except for a newt tank i had once, but thats not the same thing)
try posting in the marine diy forums. slipknottin or someone else in that forum will probably know the price diff. and can help you out.
paintballgoth
11-06-2003, 7:29 AM
thnaks alot..i will be sure to post there. anyone else with any info it would be greatly appreciated.
OrionGirl
11-06-2003, 8:43 AM
A light and hood won't be cheaper than a DIY. As a DIY, you can buy shoplights from Home Depot or Walmart, and build them into a canopy--very cheap, easy to replace if the ballast blows, but you have to be careful to make the shop lights water tight. That's the main benefit of buying a hood--they are already water tight.