Here is my FISH&CORAL list, tell me what lights and flow I need.

[mhhauser321]

First of I would like to say that this tank will probably have more corals than this in the future, most likely corals just like the ones listed here.

Here is my stocking list for my 15 gallon(24L*12W*12H*) which has a 10gallon sump. The setup is a simple overflow, My pump from the sump to the tank is a MJ1200(295gph) which has not much headloss at all.

Here it is:


Corals-
FrogSpawn Coral-Euphyllia divisa
Sarcophyton Elegans-Yellow Fiji Leather
Ricordea Mushroom, Blue/Green-Ricordea florida
Candy Cane Coral-Caulastrea furcata
Zoa's-Zoanthind Sp


Fish-
2 Percula Clown-(Amphiprion percula) or Amphiprion melanopu-Cinnamon Clown


1 Clown Goby, Brown, Yellow or Citrinis goby (Gobiodon spp.)


I wanted to get one of the smaller MH lights, and hang it from the celing but I don't know if thats entirly neccasiry for my setup. From my studies of these corals I know that most of the corals here are said to have a medium to low flow requirement and the same for the lighting, with little variations. I don't know how to translate medium flow and lighting requirements into actual pump sizes and lighting sizes so some help would be great.

By my estimations, I have about 295-250gph with headloss, then i take that and divide it by total tank volume(25gal) which equals about a 10.9 turnover rate.

Also i might want to add more corals in the future like Acro, Monti, and other stony corals.

If you can't help than just pointing me in the right direction, via a online article would be great.

plz help

matt

[Avi]

The coral that you're planning aren't among the kinds of corals that demand a very high flow rate. Still, I've found that almost all coral does benefit from a good deal of flow. I suggest that you get it to about 20 to 23, or so, times water volume. But, because it isn't a very large tank, you have to be very deliberate in the way you add flow to your tank. You don't want to have a highly direct flow anywhere in the tank, but rather a broad kind of water movement. I think that you might want to somehow get a MJ1200 with a Hydor Flow Deflector into your reef. That would be a good addition.

[mhhauser321]

So you think another MJ1200 would be enought flow. What about lighting.

[mhhauser321]

Can anyone else help

[petoonia]

For a 15G tank a metal halide might give off to much heat. If it were me I would get a power compact, or T5 fixture.

[bigdaddyadam]

let me start by saying I am a HUGE fan of MH...I swear by mine, that being said, in a tank that small a MH would be WAY overkill, T5 or PC will be fine, one of the coralife fixtures with 2x65 watts will be enough light, it will be about 3 watts of 10K per gallon and 3 watts of actinic, which is pretty much window dressing...if you get SPS in the future you could always switch the actinics out for another 10k PC in there

[mhhauser321]

So maybe one more MJ1200 and a light setup that consists of 2X65watt setup.

Do you think 2X65 watt setup that consists of I don't know plz tell me would be enough.

[zma21]

Watts per gallon is absolute crap, bigdaddyadam. It depends on the lighting source.

Back on topic, I believe t-5 lighting fill fit your need. Great penetration and excellent color.

[mhhauser321]

Okay but what type of lighting system should i be looking for.

[dorkfish3]

I dont mean to disagree or confuse you b/c you have many options.. first of all on your flow an MJ 1200 would work just angle it up so it doesnt make a sand storm I also recommend the jbj powerheads. they are identical to mj's in every way except they have an attachment for the water to blow in two seperate directions. I have a 20 gallon with a 10g sump and am running a 150w MH fixture. I think a 70w would be awesome on your tank. I always go overkill on lighting, but MH lights look amazing and I have had them on my past three tanks.. Id personally get a viper clamp on 70 watt light with a 20k bulb, current sunpd makes a nice 70w fixture as well, I am running the 150w version of it and love it. if you get the light 12"-18" above the water you should be good and at worst you might need a fan. (I am guessing yours is an open top by the way). I am going to repeat myself by saying that a pc or T5 light would work great on your tank and would be fine for what you have, but I am a MH guy and thats what I would throw on there..

[mhhauser321]

So i know i like MH systems so maybe i should do what dorkfish says and get a 70watt MH. Then For the flow another mj1200. So if you have anyother ideas plz inform me. Or if you see a flaw in my plan plz tell me.

[dorkfish3]

I have seen 70w mh on the 12g nano cubes at the LFS's without fans. I am almost positive you would be fine if you went that route. I would moniter my temp for the first few days and go ahead and have a clip on fan ready.. you may need to run a heater at night so you wont have big temp drops.. with a couple days of fine tuning I think it would be well worth it..

[mhhauser321]

Will the 70watt MH be enough for the corals i am planning on keeping.

Also if i decide to get some acro, or monti in the future will this lighting and flow be good enough

[bigdaddyadam]

it will be very hard to keep the water quality in such a small tank high enough for acros...

zma21, watts per gallon is not crap, it is a general measure of how much energy your tank needs, yes 1 watt of PC is not equivilent to 1 watt MH, that is not at all what I said, but it is a good starting point for new people to gauge about how much light a tank may need...

and frankly zma21, you're a idiot, your have 5 months experience, I have almost 5 years...gee you think I may know a thing or two? I post on the new tank forum to try and help people starting out, not to get a "lecture" from some retard who doesn't know the first thing about saltwater

[Sk8r]

Best to go zoas/mushrooms; or leather/softies in general; or stony, either lps or sps. Certain corals don't play well together, and softies and stonies have problems with each other. Mushrooms will kill acros. Leathers emit chemicals to discourage other corals. Stonies have 'sweeper' tentacles that come out at night and sting corals too close to them. The various coral forums, lps, sps, and corallimorphians, etc, will help you out on the eternal puzzle of 'how close can it go to....?"

MH is very, very hot and very bright, and I'd recommend it for a tank in the 50g range, but in one smaller than that, I'd say T5's ought to do well for you: certainly any lps [your frog and hammer---which, incidentally, are two of the few corals that can touch harmlessly---and mind, they can grow pretty big pretty fast] and some of the sps like montipora. Just don't let mushrooms near montiporas or other acroporas. LPS can protect themselves, but most sps can't. Candy cane, frog and hammer make a good mix; bubble is good if you can keep its sweepers going into harmless territory. My own recommendation is the lps for a start: light-tolerant, low or high, not so fussy about debris in the water, easy to feed, and pretty exotic-looking.

[Frick-n-Frags]

you could run a nice 150w MH over that tank no problem. put it up high enough to get a good light spread and build in some shaded areas in the rockwork

[mhhauser321]

I am getting mixed reveiws about what lighting system to go with.

Someone says a 150watt MH would work.
Someone says a 70watt MH would work.
Someone says T5's would work.

I understand all these would be okay and i realize what Sk8r says about not mixing some corals, so my tank will most likly be filled with the list above and other more realative corals.

I would prefer to have a MH system, IS THIS GOING TO BE OVERKILL FOR MY MODERATE CORALS and if its not what amount of wattage should i look into for my MH.

matt

[mhhauser321]

Is there anyone out their who might be able to help.