I've been looking into setting up a reef tank. I've been all over the net looking things up and I learned alot. I'm completly overwhelmed with filters and lighting though. Which filter is the best? Which kinds of lighting are suitable for a reef? Also what kinds of fish would be good to start with? what should I avoid just starting out? If you want to throw anything else in there please all the info I can get will help me greatly! Thanks!
New here... have some ?'s
- Thread starter miss_lissa_2002
- Start date
for filter the best is the refugium. they are easy. lighting all depends on what you want to keep. Im just setting up my big reef. Im using a refguim, and 2 250watt mhs. the MHs will allow me to keep anything. Dont worry about adding fish for a while. look for easy corals only for the first 6 months to year then move up to the more harder ones.
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What size tank are you looking at? That will determine what fish you can have...But I also think it's really important for you to look around, see what fish you like and want to have. Otherwise, the tank won't be as appealing to you.
For filtration--I'm a big fan of live rock and sand for biological filtration and 'critters' for mechanical filtration. Works great, low maintenance, more attractive and natural looking. It will work for just about any setup--but some fish will reduce the number of cleaners you can add.
For lighting--really does depend on what you want. For a reef--you want a minimum of 5 WPG, with more being better. I will never setup another reef with anything other than MH mixed with either PC or VHO for actinics--there's just no comparison to the appearance and perfomance.
Best thing to avoid--trying to move to fast. You'll probably see this statement a lot, because it's true: Nothing good happens fast in a reef. Things can happen fast, but they are bad things! Being patient will help you more than any other piece of advice I can offer.
For filtration--I'm a big fan of live rock and sand for biological filtration and 'critters' for mechanical filtration. Works great, low maintenance, more attractive and natural looking. It will work for just about any setup--but some fish will reduce the number of cleaners you can add.
For lighting--really does depend on what you want. For a reef--you want a minimum of 5 WPG, with more being better. I will never setup another reef with anything other than MH mixed with either PC or VHO for actinics--there's just no comparison to the appearance and perfomance.
Best thing to avoid--trying to move to fast. You'll probably see this statement a lot, because it's true: Nothing good happens fast in a reef. Things can happen fast, but they are bad things! Being patient will help you more than any other piece of advice I can offer.
My wallet won't let me move fast lol. I have a 75g high aquarium... nothing special just rectangular. I've been reading on here for a few days and I have learned SO much. Is there any kind of special bulbs that are better for reef aquariums? I'm mostly interested in coral, anemones, and inverts more than the fish themselves but I do want to have a few clown fish. When I think I'm ready to start my tank I'm going to start with LS and uncured LR (I like surprises 
) then move slowly from there.
) then move slowly from there.you can also go with flourecent lighting. This is alot cheaper and easier to maintain and start up. Thay are alot cheaper than MH too!
The only problem with florescents ," n.o. anyway", is you can't grow many inverts at all under them. Yes there are some that don't need light but, most of them are REALLY hard to keep alive under the best of conditons or aren't availiable. Shrooms are a maybe but, I'd still have some doubts.