Hello!

[Louis-210]

Hello to all Maast members my name is Louis and I have a 100 gallon salt water tank that is fish only with Live rock (FOWLR) with a 55 gallon sump. I’ve had this tank up and running for about a year now, and as of right now I’m still in search of a skimmer and a brighter Light. But now I’m very interested in adding coral into my tank, I do know with salt water tanks in general, patience is key. I would like to know what kind of light and skimmer would work best for a reef tank. I’m sorry I forgot to mention my tank is 60in long, and thank you in advance for your opinions and suggestions’ they are greatly appreciated.:wink_smile:

[Pennies2Cents]

Hi Louis,

First let me say Welcome to MAAST> :) There is a great group of helpful people here on this forum and you will get a wide variety of different opionions. . In regards to your lighting.. We have had both Metal Halides and T5's. T5 give awesome color but slow growth, Metal Halides not so much color but faster growth. We have yet to try LED's.. I heard they are the BOMB.. :) But we chose to stick with Metal Halides. Its all really what you will want your tank to took like, in the end all reef tanks are beautiful. Be sure to post some pics of your setup.. Would love to see a new tank thread..

[koa25]

Hey Louis, Welcome to Maast buddy. Like Eve said there are plenty of helpful people with many experiences. I have MH's as well. They grow corals well. Depending on the type of corals you want to get into will help determine the best route for lighting. Any idea's if you want to dive into SPS corals or not? I'm a sucker for the shimmer I get from my MH's. Definitely a plus. Makes it have that natural reef feel to it. As for a skimmer I'm partial to reef octopus and SWC cone skimmers myself. Compact design and awesome waste export. Depending on your bioload of your livestock (number of fish and size) you might want to over shoot your tank size quite a bit. If you have a 150 gallon system including the sump. I would shoot for something that can handle up to around 220 or 250 gallons. Again, just my opinion. I'm sure you will get more. Looking forward to some pics. Take care.

[Mr Cob]

Welcome to MAAST dude. What they said is what I would say. I'm also a MH fan for reef tanks. If I do run T5 I will add a couple LED strips to get the shimmer effect.

Your options on a reef tank are:

Metal Halide
T5 (HO)
LED

Stay away from the following as main lighting sources:
Power Compact, PC, some light fixtures will even say HO for High Output but they are PC bulbs and can easily fool new reefers into thinking they are getting T5 HO. Also stay away from VHO. You can get any of these lights for supplemental lighting to add more color to your main lighting setup or to add actinics (blues).

Have fun.

[reefreak]

finally you joined lol

[Louis-210]

Thanks for the suggestions TEAM, I’m thinking about starting with soft corals and I would love to do the LEDS but kinda of expensive right now :cry_smile:. I’m really leaning towards the (MH). What kind of watts would I need? (I’m assuming 250)… And now I know to stay away from the power compact and pc lights. (Thanks Mr. Cob) Wow and thanks for the advice on the skimmer I will shoot for about 220-250 size …it only makes since thanks.. and I will try real hard to post some pics of the tank this weekend so I can show yall what I’m working with lol…If you guys have anymore more opinions please let me know thanks.
:bigsmile:

[350gt]

250 MH if you want to play the safe route...... If you can deal with the heat, then it's the easiest way to light a reef....


If you plan or eventually want to go led...... IMO do it now, only cause your corals and such will go into shock when switching from MH..... I did, and I lost a few frags but nothing to cry over.... But too me it seems everything is bouncing back.. But for most with $$$ invested in there tanks the risk is too big..1

Eitherway LEDs are close but IMO are not completely there for hard core reefers.... But for softies, zoas, LPS they are great...... I even have a few SPS thriving in mine..... Not growing wildly but thriving...

[350gt]

Oh... 2 things I forgot...

1. WELCOME!!

2. My opinion on LEDs is based on the AI sols...

[reefreak]

Hey louie post pics lol

[ErikH]

I sent you a PM on some used equipment I have, and I agree NO POWER COMPACTS! LOL.

Welcomeeeeeeeeeeeee!

[Louis-210]

Replied to pm, thanks ErikH

[Louis-210]

Question. Do i ever turn off the light in the sump?

[allan]

Most, me included, run the sup lights opposite from the DT lights.

[rrasco]

I've been leaving my fuge light on 24/7, but mainly because I don't have a timer for it. At a minimum, it's best practice to have it run while the DT lights are off as Allan noted, this helps keep PH swings down.

[350gt]

Same here, opposite as the DT.....

[Louis-210]

Will do, thanks for the info guys.