Beginner With alot of questions ! ( Very Long )

[ReefKid]

Hi,
I myself am new to reefs but my dad (im only 13) has two reef's ! I am looking to set-up a reef tank but need some ansewers ! I am looking at either a 40 gallon ! For filtration i was thinking for a 40 gallon a Bak Pak 2 ? For lighting I was thinking of the T-5's ? The ones i am looking at come with a throw away ballast every six months ( not sure how that works ) but for the bulb and ballast that last at least 6 months its only like $20 per bulb/ballast, so pretty cheap ! My dad doesn't want me to get Metal Halides but im not sure what else i can get where i can still grow hard and soft corals ! I was going to do a 3-4 inch live sand bed with around 50 pounds of fuji live rock ! All imput is appreciated !

Thanks alot,
Nick

[ssgibby]

I dont know too much about the bak pak skimmer/filters, but I am sure someone else will chime in. the t5's sound good, but I dont think too much about disposable ballast???? I would go 4 to 5 inches on the sand bed. What do you plan on keeping?

[ReefKid]

I dont know to much about diffrent corals and stuff but one of my all time favorites since I was about 4 years old was the brain ! I want to make it mostly a reef tank with diffrent corals and invertabraes ! I am in the process of learning diffrent corals and stuff ! The disposable ballast looks decent . They are using one at the pet shop and it is super bright and the ballast has already lasted like 1 month or so .

Thanks for replying,
Nick

[ReefKid]

This is Wastwage's Tank ! Its a good example as far as corals that i want ! What kind of lighting would i need on a 36X18 inch tank to keep corals like that ? Heres the link : http://www.reeflounge.com/forum/download.php?id=184

Thanks alot,
Nick

[Travis]

ReefKid, good to see young reefers :D . T5's would make good lighting for brains, softies and other LPS corals... No clams or SPS IMO.

Never heard of the throw away ballasts?? If you could swing it a good quality lighting system would be better. What are the diminsions of the 40g? Will it have a canopy?

I don't know much about the Bak Pak but I would go with the Bak Pak 2R if you were to buy one. It does not have the bio-filtraton part... just a skimmer.

Good Luck,

[RazerCorals]

Well again I am assuming that you want a 40 gallon breeder. Ok with this I would not go with a 4" DSB as it takes up a lot of space, about 1/3 of the tank. I would consider 2-3". Also beyond 4" doesn't serve very much purpose. There is also a debate going on whether or not DSB's will be able to last for a long time. I would just go with what look in proportion to your tank. It's your call.

For lights I would go t-5 or power compacts. I am also unfamilar with this throw away ballast. Why not get a workhorse for 34.95.

[nanoman123]

ya, for a 40g, u could get away with 250 watts of pc. but, i dont know if u can keep the brain under that. i dont know a whole lot about corals and stuff. u would be ok if u had like 400 watts of pc.

[RazerCorals]

With PC you would be able to keep an open brain alive. Considering the depth of the tank isn't very much it should be fine providing that your other perimeteres are fine.

[water8safenomore]

you guys are crazy. PC's are great. i have a 55gall with Coralife PCs and have tons of thriving corals. brain corals, sps's, lps's, etc. maybe clams wouldnt be too great in it, but you can put anything in a 40 gallon tank with that coralife PC setup. my tank has been doing awesome for almost a year now.

[underwaterexotic]

I have a 20 gallon long tank with 2 clams toadstool and various other creatures with 1 65w pc. My choice from this experience from now on is pc's. If someone would let me know how to post pics, i would be happy to share this reef with everyone

[thomas1102]

when you make a new post or reply click the add an attachment square and then browse your computer for the pic you wanna post :D