Tank cleaning & Lighting

[RUSH2112]

I have been keeping a fresh water aquarium for quite a while and I use a Magnum 350 to vaccuum the gravel at least every 3 weeks. In marine the substrates tend to be so fine (sand) I can see where this task would be very difficult. My question, do you rely on a clean up crew to eat the uneaten food? What about the poop? Do you just let it get taken care of by the biological filter? In freshwater this practice would tend to overwhelm the biological. Of course the sand has a lot more surface area than my gravel.

What is the best specimens for clean up crew?
Is there a rule of thumb on how many you need/gallon?

What is the best spectrum of lighting for reef and corals (metal halide 10K,15K, 20K....actinic)

How many lunars do you need ? Do corals have to have lunars?
Is there a rule on wattage relating to depth or do you have to purchase a meter?

Thanks RUSH2112

 

[OrionGirl]

Yes, critters are the primary mechanical filtration. There really isn't a problem with the fish waste--I can honestly say that even with my predators, I've never seen waste accumulate on the substrate like I see in the FW setups.

Species will depend on what all is in the tank--some work well, others may be seen as a snack by some fish. I prefer a variety of snails, stars, and worms. You'll see lots of 'rules' about how many are needed per gallon. I don't like them, since they tend to put in a huge number of animals, when the system is new, and doesn't produce enough food to support them all, resulting in die off. I'd start out with a total of 2 cleaners per gallon in your tank, and then build as needed as the tank matures.

For lighting--depends on what you want to keep. Personally, I won't start another reef with MH--they provide great lighting, even in deeper tanks. But, if you're only looking for some mushrooms or polyps, you could likely go with T-5's or PC and be okay--just aim to have at least 4 watts per gallon, in the 10K spectrum. Actinics are good, and will help corals, but aren't required. If you can get 1-2 watts per gallon of actinic, and then 3-4 of 10K, the tank will support a variety of low light corals happily, and some medium light corals with careful placement.