125G

[Czr073]

My tank has been throw a 6 month cycle and i think is ready for some coral.. My tank is 6ft long so lots of stuff can be put.. what should be the first corals i put into this tank?

[Ace25]

Need to know your lighting first.. then flow rates/pumps you have to start to give you an idea of what corals would work best for you.

[fsn77]

And, what kind of corals do you like?

[Czr073]

the lights were given to me from a friend. but i think its over like 15000k but not positive..

[OgreMkV]

What kind of lights? Power compact, T5s, metal halide?
Wattage?
How much live rock?
Current readings? (esp. salinity and calcium)

[Czr073]

actually i think its way over that but how do i find out..?

[Czr073]

like 160lbs of live rock..

[OgreMkV]

Easy way is to take a picture of the fixture and we might be able to figure it out. Also, take a picture of the bulbs (with the lights off).

A point of note is that six months is about the run time for PC and metal halides so you may need new bulbs soon.

[Czr073]

you cant tell anything with the lights off.. theres 3 white and one blue.. when he gave me the lights he said i needed to get another blue one.. but the only reason he didnt have one was because he had a extra white..
http://i33.tinypic.com/ir18jd.jpg

[Ace25]

Looks like an Icecap ballast running 4 VHO bulbs (Pre-T5HO bulbs). First thing, I would definately recommend rewiring the lighting setup so it isn't so dangerous. I would mount the ballast on the outside/back or top of the canopy and just have the wires for the lights come through little holes drilled in the back so you keep the ballast/power connections on the outside of the tank so they wont corrode from the saltwater.

Next, your lighting would be considered low/medium so that would limit you to softies and LPS corals and low light SPS corals like Monti's which is fine for a beginner.

[OgreMkV]

OK, they are florescents. Now, what's the wattage and size and color? THey really don't look like T5s to me.

[Ace25]

VHO are T12 in diameter vs T5 size, so normal floro bulb size you see in ceilings, except these are Very High Output floros and run at 110w for the 46.5" length (4ft) vs the normal 40w. They also have internal reflectors inside the bulbs. They are what people used to use as supplimental lighting/actinics to MHs in the early days. Reason people don't run them by themselves today is because of the diameter, you can fit 2 T5HOs in the same space as 1 VHO, so you get more light out of T5s especially with good reflectors.

Not trying to sound discouraging.. they are still good lights and no reason to run out and replace it all with something else right now. New bulbs may be a good idea though. Since you are just getting into corals then the lighting you have now is fine to start learning with easier corals.

[Czr073]

So what would you recommend to do now?

[Czr073]

and a friend broke my protien skimmer today and its leaking water now.. what would be a good ps for my tank?

[fsn77]

Replacing the VHO bulbs would be all that you need to do now, but you may want to consider a lighting upgrade in the future depending on how your plans evolve for tank inhabitants.

I would definitely relocate the ballast and wire connections to outside the canopy. The ballast will last much longer if it's not exposed to all that humidity.

Where is the skimmer broken? It's probably not all that difficult to fix, and certainly won't cost as much as buying a new skimmer. A few pix would be helpful.

[Czr073]

the guy i got it from had bought it broken, he put some stuff to seal it back together that was white.. it was working fine then a friend wanted to mess with the water in my sump and knocked my ps over and now it leaks water everywhere...

[Czr073]

im looking to built a new top with upgraded lights and add moonlights to it.. where would i need to start with that? and the budget isnt a problem right now..