Lighting and general setup for 37gal

[batmanavich]

Hi, I am not necessarily new to saltwater. I had an eclipse 12 gallon for a couple years till a four day power outage killed of a couple fish, and then I gave my tangs and live rock away b4 heading off to Iraq for a year.

So, what I have is a fish free 37 gallon tank with glass top. I am considering purchasing an Eheim wet/dry model 2227, as I am very pleased with the eheim I have for my 125 gal african cichlid tank. I just plan on putting in the tank some live rock, crushed coral and then probably a yellow tang, some clowns, and then an anemone or two with possibly a starfish or urchin.. not too much as it is a small tank. I don't want to use any of my 55 gallon tanks, as this would be coming up from the basement to be a true display tank.

The main question I have is how much light I would need for this tank. Being that the dimensions of the tank are 30X12X22, on the high side of tall, I am assuming that I would need a bit on the higher side.

Thanks in advance,

Mat
_______
125 gal cichlid tank
55 gal cichlid tank
55 gal baby cichlid tank(from the breeding pairs)
55 gal fresh angel fish tank

 

[Fishieness]

a yellow tang will get way too big for a 37 gallon as well as any other tang. not sure how many you had in that 10 gallon
if you want to keep anemones id get at least a 150 watt HQI MH and since the tank is 30"s wide, also some PC/T5HO/VHO for supplimation. but since the tank is so tall, i would recomend at least a 250
also, i wouldnt get the crushed coral. you have to clean it all the time to prevent buildup but in reality, you cant reach everywhere. your nitrites will be pretty high. the same thing may happen with a wetdry. they are good setups for a FO tank, but if you are looking to have any corals or anemones, i would jsut suggest a sump/refugium

 

[batmanavich]

Thanks for no help

Wow this forum is sooo helpful. only one response, and this isn't any help. Get a sump filter, c'mon help is more than one response so I know it is not a biased answer

 

[Fishieness]

calm down. sometimes threads go down before many people can respond....
and you are more likely to get help the second time around if you ask nicely for it with a simple "bump" or "thanks, any other opinions?" instead of getting all upset

 

[fsn77]

Save your money -- don't buy a wet/dry. Especially if you want to keep corals long term (no mention of it, but it seems most people end up with some interest in them). It's much easier and cheaper to turn an old aquarium into a sump. If the sump is going in your basement and you plan on plumbing it up to the first floor of your house, you could even use one of the Rubbermaid Stock Tanks as a sump (if you want a 50+ gallon sump, but many people use them for basement sumps). You can put a skimmer (hope you're buying one if you're getting an anemone), heater(s), and live rock / live rock rubble down there to help with filtration. There is little to no need for a wet/dry, canister, or hang on the back power filter for any saltwater tank if an adequate amount of live rock is used in the system, the tank is not overstocked, and there is sufficient flow within the display tank.

As for lighting, if an anemone is your goal, I'd suggest T5 HO or a metal halide (MH) set-up. Anything less than that will likely lack the intensity needed to keep an anemone alive long term.

Tangs need space to swim -- a lot of space. Most recommendations are no less than 75g for even the smallest / least space demanding species just to be sure that there is enough swimming space for them once the tank is stocked with live rock.