Nooob <--- Question on equiment

[i2go]

Hey,
I am thinking of starting a 40gallon tank, i have a 12g nano atm. I want a tank that can keep the colors of montis, small hardy SPS, clams, etc. What would be the watts per gallon? And what kind of light, i heared of PC(which i have in my 12g), ballast, etc. Also, i am planning to have a sump/refugium. I am not SO fimiliar to a skimmer, but im just wondering what it basically does. And i heard people having calcium reactors? or something would do those do, dose your tank with calcium?
Thanks

[druce]

to be honest if you are planning on buying new lights, just get MH, I shifted from PC to MH about 6 months ago and there is a huge difference in my coral and all around my whole tank. I don't have any experience with T5's so I can't tell you if they are comparable but I hear on many posts on here they are just as good.

as far as a sump/fuge - that will help with the chemistry stability and allow you to grow pods and macro algae, good idea I think for any reef tank. - probably best to build one yourself or have one custom built to fit your stand and equip.

skimmer pulls out all sorts of nasty gunk, think of this as your main filter for the fishtank, don't skimp here, and in this instance you get what you pay for, so buy a good one to start or you'll spend more money later to upgrade

calcium reactor I have no experience with, but I would hold on this until you get your tank established and see if you really have a need for one, but until then you can dose b-ionic or kalkwasser in your top off.

hope this helps.

[i2go]

thanks so much!

[AndyB4784]

you're going to want MH in that tank if you want to keep clams, i've heard of people keeping clams in tanks with t-5s but usualy they put them in the rocks near the top of the tank. For light penetration though it's tough to beat a MH.

[Sk8r]

You can do by hand what a calcium reactor does. If you have corals, you need to supply them with sufficient calcium for them to grow their skeletons. They eat up calcium and also dkh buffer---whether that they use it or it depletes at the same rate.

MH lights are requisite for some stony coral and crocea clams.
T5's I believe will do for montiporas, mushrooms, lps, softies in general.

My advice would be a 50g with a 10-20 gallon sump. That gives you enough room [corals grow] and 50 is convenient because most of the stuff you have to dose reckons doses by multiples of 50 gallons. Easy to measure. A sump is where you put the messy lot of equipment [skimmer, heater, return pump, autotopoff float] that would otherwise clutter the back of your tank.

When you set up, set it far enough from the wall that you can use a hang-on refugium or other hang-on options you may decide you want.

The particular kinds of corals you cannot keep without mh are: acroporas, stylophoras, pocilloporas. Look those up on a site like ReeferMadness or LiveAquaria and see what they are. MH is expensive and produces so much light that you do have to create a light shield around the top of your tank to protect YOU from the glare. But it does produce a pretty ripple effect on the sand and rocks. T5's are cheaper but just don't go that extra bit that those few types of corals need.

Do quite a lot of research before you make your choice: shop the online reef shops to get an idea what corals there are, and how important to your vision of the tank you want these particular corals are. Figure how your tank is going to be lit, and remember when you get specimens like bubble coral or galaxia, you have to allow room for the 'sweepers' or nighttime-tentacles that can reach up to 6 inches and more. Corals have their own brand of politics, just like fish, and it's a good thing to plan.