Lighting, rock and other new tank questions

[riz94107]

I'm still in the planning stages with a 65g acrylic tank I picked up used for a good deal. I'm putting things together with an eye on the bottom line, so I'm looking for stuff I can reuse (I've been doing freshwater tanks for a number of years, so I have some equipment I hope can tide me over until I can afford better/more appropriate replacements)

Anyway, my plan currently is to do a FOWLR tank initially - I've got about 80lbs of rock I bought very inexpensively about 5 weeks ago. It should be essentially "dry" rock - the guy I bought it from had it outside (dry and exposed to the elements) for about two years. I cleaned it up with a scrub brush and have had it in a Brute with a couple powerheads for a number of weeks now - no heater (water temp is about 67F or so, and pretty steady - the nice thing about SF is how consistent the weather is). I'm also about to get some donated "live sand" from a tank someone took down a few weeks ago, hopefully today or tomorrow. I haven't seen the sand yet, so I don't know what shape it's in. Is there anything dumb I appear to be about to do here? I'm also thinking once I sort out some of my other tank issues (see my "overflow" thread) and get a little closer to pulling the trigger, I'll pick up 5lbs or so of actual live rock from an LFS to help speed things up and maybe get some beneficial hitchhikers.

The other question I have is about lighting: I have a dual-t5 (not HO, I don't think) 48" fixture that came with the tank that I'll use initially. My understanding is that this will not be enough if/when I get any corals (which I wasn't planning on at all before, but gee, reading RC kinda makes me think about it...) So, being the cheapskate that I am, I'm thinking of getting a couple of the Evergrow 165W LED units. My questions here:

- does 2 seem like the right number to plan for given the 4-foot length of the tank?
- can I put these lights in the canopy (it's about 6-8 inches high), or do I need to plan on ditching the canopy and suspending them higher above the tank? How high?

Thanks a ton for any insights. I've been reaaaaallly patient putting this all together for the last few months, but now that getting wet seems in the near-ish future, I'm starting to get excited. It's going to be a challenge to go as slowly as I know I should...

[Kaimana969]

Newbie here but I thought that you needed a heater in with the rock in order to keep the good bacteria alive?

[riz94107]

I'm skeptical that the bacteria will die off at what is a normal temperature in much of the ocean (67F) - it's cooler than a tropical reef for sure, but well within bacterial parameters I would think. If it got any colder where I have the rock, I'd consider it, but I think I'm fine for the moment. In any event, given that the rock was dead (been sitting dry for 2+ years, recall) to begin with, I'm not worried about it yet. Maybe I should once I get some live stuff (rock) in there? Certainly once it's in the tank and I'm ready to cycle I'll be heating.

[Ron Reefman]

I think you'll be OK with the rock. But a heater is very inexpensive and probably worth considering.

No mater what condition the sand is, even new in the bag, I'd wash it. Put it in a big bucket (I use a 7g pool chlorine bucket) and then take a garden hose with just an open end (no spray nozzle) and fill the bucket. Once it starts to overflow, push the hose to the bottom and pull it back up. Do this over and over moving some in the bucket every time. The overflow will either be dark (old detritus) or light tan (fine sand silt) or clear (usable and clean). Just keep moving the hose until your overflow runs clear (or very close to it).

Over a FOWLR almost any kind of light will do.

Best of luck with your new endeavor.

[benjammin03]

Follwing with the same questions.