Lighting, FO  11/18/08
Hello to all!!
<Hello James.>
I hope things are going well for all of you.
<Going well here, thank you.>
After a mild bit of weather we are supposed to go down into the upper 20s tonight!! Oh well, it is that time of year.
<Ill stick to the lower half of Ca, a bit warmer!>
I have a question on lighting please. My aquarium is a 75 gallon fish only tank and I have been trying to determine the best lighting to not only make the aquascape as good as possible, but also the fish. My neighbor does not have his tank set up anymore, but said he would recommend a 6500k daylight bulb with a cri at least 85. If this is a good choice should I get 2 of these or 1 of these in addition to a color enhancing bulb as well?
<This will depend on the fish you have. Higher K bulbs are better for bringing out blues, while the lower K bulbs will bring out more of the red end of the spectrum. That being said, 6500K bulbs are good for growing algae and corals, but most find it too yellow for aesthetics. Personal taste though. BTW, any descent 6500K should be in the 90�s in regard to CRI.>
Thank you very much.
James
<Welcome, Scott V.>

Lighting for a fish only tank with artificial coral displays 9/21/07
Hello,
<Hi>
I had tried to find some answers on this in your archives but have only been able to come up with information that didn't quite answer my question.
<Ok>
I have a 200 gallon fish only tank with artificial coral displays, the lighting I have been using is VHO fluorescent tubes, actinic white and actinic blue. Currently I have been experiencing a large amount of algae encrustation on the décor and wondered what type of lighting I should be using on this tank - I have been told to try normal fluorescent lamps as there is no organism that relies on the light - any ideas as to what might be a good way to go?.
Best regards,
Aehsun
<Pretty much here it is whatever looks good to you. The VHOs may not be needed but you may end up missing how bright the tank is if you switch to NO fluorescents. How old are your current bulbs? Over time the light frequency shifts and becomes more conducive to algae growth, maybe its time to switch out the bulbs.>
<Chris>

Re: Lighting for a fish only tank with artificial coral displays. 9/26/07
Dear Chris,
<Hello>
Just one thing here - is there any other type of lighting arrangement that would provide a bright daylight like light in the tank but not encourage algae growth?, as there are only artificial displays in the tank and no photosynthetic organism the light is purely for the visual pleasure of the viewer.
Best regards,
Aehsun Shaikh
<Not really, bright light is putting energy into the tank which algae will attempt to use, while certain wavelengths are better than others, normal daylight lights will encourage algae grow. Better to try to limit algae growth through nutrient control rather than lighting.>
<Chris>
Many thanks, for the answer Chris.
Aehsun
<Welcome>
<Chris>

Light requirements for a 220 FO tank and set up questions
Hi, <Hello Lora.> I have hopefully simple questions for you so I don't take up much of your time.  I have just set up a 220 gal tank, about a 4 inch sand bed
with lace rock and some rubble from my local fish store that came out of their live rock tank to help the cycle process speed up and I have also
seeded the tank with some water and crushed coral from my other tanks. How much light will I need for this tank, my LFS said that I can just use what
came with the tank (2 single 36" 25wat each lights. I just don't feel that this is enough. I set the tank up about 2 weeks ago and I started noticing
patches of dark algae growing on the sand. <Wouldn't run lights till cycling is done.>  I figured that maybe I didn't
have enough current at the bottom so I have added 3 power heads and  can
see the water moving from one end to the other. <Yes, should have a flow rate of around 2,000gph.> Or do I have the algae
because I don't have enough light or is it just the results of the tank
going through the cycling process. <The later most likely.> There are 3 domino damsels in the tank,
2 aqua clear 110, and a penguin bio-wheel 350. I do plan on purchasing a protein skimmer before I add another fish. <Yes.> is there any type of protein
skimmer that you would recommend on a tank this size, I have plans on the tankmates being a dogface puffer, Niger trigger maybe 2, a raccoon
butterfly fish and a blue tang and a clean-up crew. Would I eventually be able to have a sand shifting star fish after the tank matures. or would
the puffer and trigger eat at it. <Wouldn't recommend the star with the trigger/puffer.>Thanks in advance for all your help.  Answers to your questions are easily found on the Wet Web.  Read here:  http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marineSetUp.htm  http://www.wetwebmedia.com/folgtgfaqs.htm  <James (Salty Dog)>

Lighting for Fish?   1/22/06
Hi guys, I recently purchased a new purple tang for my aquarium. I have a 90 gallon with 110watts of compact fluorescent lights. I was hoping
that it is sufficient enough for the tang. I know they like a lot of light.
<While this animals colors are more vibrant under intense lighting, “special” lighting is not requires, just enough to see and maneuver. It is not a photosynthetic animal, does not retain or gather energy from sunlight. >
thanks.
<Sure.>
~Sam
<Adam J.>

I am confused <just needs to read>
The more I read the more confused I get about marine FO tank setup. I amcurrently setting up a 500gal tank. My question is will a wet/dry filter
with protein skimmer suffice or should I incorporate a refugium? Do I need awet/dry? Then what type of substrate do you recommend in the tank DSB or
none. I plan on keeping a bamboo cat shark and a couple of Volitans Lions.Your help would be much appreciated.
<Please read here re marine aquarium filtration: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marine/setup/filtration/marineFiltr.htm
and continue reading through the FAQs and articles (in blue, linked at top). Bob Fenner>

A New Beginning!
Hello Crew,
<Scott F. your Crew member today!>
Hope all is well!
<Sure is!>
I'm replacing my 29gal. FOWLR, with a 40gal. breeder tank. I like the width 36"x18"x16".I currently have 1 Flower Anemone, 2 False Percula clowns,1 Royal Gramma a few snails, and one Emerald crab. (For anyone else reading this, these fish get along very well, if you're wondering what 3 fish to keep in a small tank.) If I bag my fish individually and put them in my 10 gal. quarantine tank, to keep them at a constant temperature, will this be o.k. for 1 day? I don't want to try to catch them twice.
<I understand your desire not to catch the fish twice, but I think that the stress of being netted carefully twice is much better than the stress that they would endure being bagged for 24 hours. You can catch the fish easier in the QT by simply draining some water down so that it's easier to catch them. Besides, you want to make sure that the tank cycles completely before reintroducing them into the new tank.>
Hopefully, this will keep the stress down. I have to add more new sand in both the 40 gal. tank and a small 23"x 4"x 12" hang on refugium I just made, and have to wait till the water clears from the sand. I will add the current 29 gallons of water/40 lbs. LR and sand to the new tank. After testing the water, can I just add my livestock into the new tank, or will I have to wait for a tank cycling?
<In my opinion, the tank will cycle; it's best to wait and test the water for a week or so to monitor the ammonia and nitrite level>
Main question: In a 40gal.breeder tank, with a small DSB refugium, which is more important? A 4 inch DSB in the main tank for nitrate control, or water volume, for temperature stability/ better swimming range/ and overall health of the habitants?
<Well, I like both, actually! Swimming room is important, but so is stability of water parameters and high water quality, which the DSB provides. A "remote" DSB is a good compromise...>
I will have a 4 inch DSB in the refugium with greens and small shards of live rock, for Copepod production . I currently have a 1 inch Aragonite substrate in the 29 gal. and siphon it and do a 3 gal. water change twice a week.
<I like to hear that! Twice a week, that's all I ask! LOL>
I know, I lose all the little critters in the sand by siphoning, but feel it's more important to keep my tank nitrates low/ sand clean. Hopefully, the DSB in the refugium will help with some nitrate control.
<Absolutely, a DSB in remote location will do the job quite well>
Also, if perhaps over a year, I replace some of the Live Rock with new Live Rock, what do you do with the old rock? Keep it clean folks. : )  Thanks, Steve
<Well, "old" live rock is still good rock. If it has been smothered by microalgae, you can place it in a unlit location (like a Rubbermaid or other container) for a few weeks, to help kill off the algae (unfortunately, some of the desirable life forms can be lost by this process, too)...It can and should be re-used. Good luck with your new system! Regards, Scott F.>

Hints for a newbie
Hello                                      
I have been thinking about setting up marine aquarium for sometime now. I already did some research and acquired most of my equipment. With time I would like to have a reef tank but for now I decided to start with a FOWLR system. Until I become a better keeper.  I just recently came across your website. (lots of information).  There a still some things I am unclear about and would love some tips.
I will begin by providing the details of my setup:      
- I have a 55 gallon glass tank (48" x 12" x 20")                    
- CPR back pack skimmer with the bio media on the side.
- AquaClear 500 with the carbon insert and the sponge media
- 200 watts heater
- 2 Aquaclear3000 powerheads for circulation
- Coralife PC lighting 48"  4 X 65w    2 actinics/ 2 full spectrum bulbs
I plan on keeping a yellow tang, couple clowns, maybe a damsel or some other fish. I will also keep crabs, snails and maybe a shrimp.
First off - can you offer any advice as to my general   
setup?  Does this sound like an appropriate mix of      
equipment and inhabitants?  I know that the Aquaclear     
filter is not very powerful but I decided to keep it    
for the carbon. Would this be like a mechanical filter too?
<Your set-up sounds fine. I advise plenty of live rock and perhaps removing the bio-media in the CPR depending on your choice of and stocking level of fish. The Aqua clear will provide some mechanical filtration as well as bio-filtration unless it's maintained often. Do so at least bi-weekly to prevent nitrate production. You may want a larger heater depending on your location.>
I am sort of confused about the approach of cycling this tank. See I don't have the budget to purchase all rock necessary for my tank at once and curing it myself and then cycling the tank with the rock. So at the beginning I am planning to purchase about 15-20lbs of Live Rock from my LFS, fully cured and cycled and adding more with time. I will also purchase 50 pounds of aragonite with 15 pounds of that being live sand.
What are my option of cycling this tank with 20 pounds of rock and some live sand?
<With live rock and seeding the sand with live sand it should "cycle" quickly without fish or wastes. I would be cautious loading this new biosystem as it's capacity is low.>
At my LFS I was told to put my substrate in along with like 8 damsels to cycle the tank and then once the tank cycles. They told me to bring back the damsels and put the initial 15-20 pounds of rock in and then stock the tank with my choice of fish. The guys at the LFS said that if I put their Fully Cured rock at the beginning it will die. What is your suggestion in my situation?
<The rock won't die if the water params are correct (pH, temp, alk, calcium) and no ammonia or nitrites. With fully cured live rock, transported in a bucket or container of water short term, there would be essentially no die-off and the rock and sand would become established relatively quickly. I would skip the Damsels. They can be a problem to catch, introduce or host ick or other pests. I would introduce clean-up crew in new set-up after appropriate testing and feed shrimp/crabs fish food to provide nutrient load while you quarantine your new fish. WHAT, no quarantine? Better head over to WetWebMedia.com and look at the quarantine pages.>
Should I also keep the bio media on the side of the CPR skimmer and in the AquaClear500? Or is that gonna produce an overload of nitrate along with my live rock after the system is cycled.
<You can keep or remove. If you remove them from the start and stock slowly after appropriate QT, then the bio-capacity will grow to accommodate inhabitants as you stock.>
Say that I get the cure rock form the LFS, should I clean it before putting it in the tank or how does that work?
<Nope, if it's cured, just put it in the tank. Cured rock won't tend to have any dead material on it and will smell like clean ocean. You WANT the live materials on the rock, you are starting a miniature ecosystem.>
Sorry for such an overload of questions but I just don't want my fish to suffer if a make bad decisions at the beginning. Thanks for your help. Sincerely Karl
<No problem at all Karl. I suggest a good book and a quarantine set-up for your new fish. Search on each fish by name at WetWebMedia.com for any special requirements. Enjoy!  Craig>

New marine fish setup - 4/14/03
Hello                         
I have been thinking about setting up marine aquarium for sometime now.
I already did some research and acquired most of my equipment. With time
I would like to have a reef tank but for now I decided to start with a FOWLR
system. Until I become a better keeper.
I just recently came across your website. (lots of information) <Ever adding to it>
There a still some things I am unclear about and would love some tips. <Cool. That is what we are here for. Paul at your service. Sorry for the lateness of this reply though.>
I will begin by providing the details of my setup:      
- I have a 55 gallon glass tank (48" x 12" x 20")                    
- CPR back pack skimmer with the bio media on the side. <Like this very much as this is what I primarily use in my setups as well.>
- AquaClear 500 with the carbon insert and the sponge media <I don't think you will need the sponge filter>
- 200 watts heater <About 3 watts of heat per gallon. 200 watt heater is fine but do it with 2 100 watt heaters>
- 2 Aquaclear3000 powerheads for circulation
- Coralife PC lighting 48"  4 X 65w    2 actinics/ 2 full spectrum bulbs
I plan on keeping a yellow tang, couple clowns, maybe a damsel or some other fish.
I will also keep crabs, snails and maybe a shrimp. <OK> 
First off - can you offer any advice as to my general   
setup?  Does this sound like an appropriate mix of      
equipment and inhabitants?  I know that the Aquaclear     
filter is not very powerful but I decided to keep it    
for the carbon. Would this be like a mechanical filter too? <Sure. You can convert space for mechanical purposes too. Although you may not really need mechanical in this instance. See here about basic needs of the marine aquarium if you haven't already. http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marine/setup/index.htm please read through the links and FAQs that relate to you. I think you will find all the necessary information already there waiting for your eyes =)>
I am sort of confused about the approach of cycling this tank. See I don't have the budget
to purchase all rock necessary for my tank at once and curing it myself and then cycling the
tank with the rock. So at the beginning I am planning to purchase about 15-20lbs of Live
Rock from my LFS, fully cured and cycled and adding more with time. I will also purchase 50
pounds of aragonite with 15 pounds of that being live sand. <Not much to be confused about. I would set up a Rubbermaid with a heater and powerhead and throw rock with saltwater from water changes or aerated heated premixed saltwater to it and let it cycle for a few weeks to a month or so. See here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/liverock1.htm read the articles and FAQs again, if you haven't already>
What are my options of cycling this tank with 20 pounds of rock and some live sand? <Much information to be found on our site.> At my LFS I was told to put my substrate in along with like 8 damsels to cycle the tank and then once the tank cycles. They told me to bring back the damsels and put the initial 15-20 pounds of rock in and then stock the tank with my choice of fish. The guys at the LFS said that if I put their Fully Cured rock at the beginning it will die. What is your suggestion in my situation? <Don't get me started. =) First off don't cycle the tank with damsels. No need to put animals through the unnatural stresses that will probably occur with the cycling process. I would study up more about the biological processes outlined on our site in the various articles and FAQs of questions already asked and answered before buying from this store. Live rock will aid in the cycle process cured or not. But if this is a case of the rock being outstanding and so full of life then there is a chance it might die-off a bit through the cycle process. Again, lots of methods here but most people put the live rock and live sand in together and let them cycle together before putting fish in. Read more about live rock at the link I posted above. The store's heart is in the right place but I think they are executing poorly here. You be the deciding factor in you research and education. Then you can walk in there empowered with the knowledge of your needs (budgetary) and the needs of your future inhabitants (fish). You are on the right track! Do read the links posted above. Take your time should be no hurry here. The animals aren't going anywhere>
Should I also keep the bio media on the side of the CPR skimmer and in the AquaClear500? <I would. I am not sure what you mean "by the side of the skimmer"?> Or is that gonna produce an overload of nitrate along with my live rock after the system is cycled. <Well, yes, that is part of the cycle> Say that I get the cured rock from the LFS, should I clean it before putting it in the tank or how does that work? <On all questions please read through our setup links and live rock links that I posted above. These questions have been answered many times before and are posted for all to read. I don't mean to dodge your questions Karl, but many emails coming in and no need to re-invent the wheel so to speak. You understand right??>
Sorry for such an overload of questions but I just don't want my fish to suffer if a make bad decisions at the beginning. <Very good. I agree with this statement whole heartedly. That is why I do this. With your soon to be gained knowledge hopefully you will pass on to others so they too can feel the way you do. I appreciate your questions and am sure you will find the answers at the links posted above.>  Thanks for your help. <My/Our pleasure. Paul>
Sincerely
Karl

Overflow and Sump set-up for FO
Just want to say thanks for the previous help,, but have another question to ask. I have a 120 gal tank with internal overflow and single return, the bulkhead from below tank will flow into one sump with 1.25 pvc inline will be 2-45degree elbows a gate valve and union with a ball valve before the entrance of the wet/dry filter.
<I suggest using valves, etc. on the return from the pump, not on the drain line. Use the valve to control return, not drain.>
The wet/dry will be inline with a 15gal tank which will house my aqua-c skimmer with 700g Sen pump recommended by aqua-c.
<You may want to go with a larger sum to accommodate needed water volume in case of a power outage, etc. See WetWebMedia.com marine set-ups for suggestions.>
Exiting the second sump I plan on having a md-30rlxt Iwaki for the single return back to tank with about 8-10 head with  3/4" pvc. Will this work for fish only.......... thanks for your help.
<Depends on fish you wish to keep and the flow rate and filtration required for these fish. I suggest researching fish wish list at WWM.com and tailoring flow rate/filtration to these requirements.
Much to learn! Hope this helps!  Craig>

Fish Only Lighting
I have looked on your site, which I must say has been very informative for my own tanks, more than my LFS which seems to want to only sell me stuff I don't really need.....imagine that. My parents have fallen in love with my tanks so I'm wanting to set up a 20 gallon FO for my mom. I plan on setting it up and showing her the proper maintenance on saltwater. 
My question is how much light is needed on a tank with live sand as the substrate, power filter rated for a 40 gallon and a powerhead if more circulation is needed. My mom did ask if she could put live rock in the tank but I don't believe she can without buying a bigger light set up. Can I use the existing light fixture and just get a 20 watt Coralife 10,000 or 20,000 bulb for this setup? Also do you feel that she will need a protein skimmer with just fish only, I wouldn't think so with proper filtration and water changes. Thanks for your time and help. I'm glad there is a place that other fish geeks can go and spend hours reading, I know I do. 
<Lora, it all depends what kind of critters are on the live rock. If there are corals and/or other light loving inverts you will need a 100watt lighting system. You will also need this light to propagate any coralline. Weaker lighting also encourages nuisance algae growth.  James (Salty Dog)> 

Fish Only Lighting Follow-up
I'm sorry maybe I didn't explain this well enough. I don't plan on putting any live rock in the tank. Just a fish only. If I can get a 40 watt light for it will that be enough to keep the unwanted algae out of the tank. 
Thanks. 
<Lora, I thought your mother wanted to know if she could put live rock in? Anyway a 40 will be fine. I would try to get 10K tubes though. James (Salty Dog)> 

Lighting For Tall FOWLR Tank (Growing Coralline) - 05/06/05
I have a 96x30x36 (tall) tank which mostly will be FO but I am going to add about 200 pounds of live rock. I have received inconsistent information from various suppliers on this question: Will my 6x96 watt PC light fixture be adequate to support coralline algae (I intend to buy the LR fully cured) assuming PH 8.2+ and the usual trace mineral additives?
<Mostly FO? This statement concerns me...please decide first what, if any, inverts you plan to keep...this will determine your lighting requirements. As for just the coralline, I've grown coralline in a 22" deep tank under 6x40w NO lighting...likely the 6x96w PCs will function the same for your 36" deep system. Regards, Eric R.>

Just how "not important" is lighting not important to saltwater fish only setup? 7/7/05
Hi WWM crew,
First of all I would like to THANK YOU all WWM crew members for being such a great help for all my aquarium problems. I can't think of another better place that helps me so much!
THANKS!!
<Welcome>
Sorry for the long story I tried my best to make it short already.
People had always told me that lighting is not important at all in a saltwater fish only with live rock tank. Some of them even say that the fishes actually don't need any light at all, and the light is just for my own viewing pleasure.
<Mostly so>
I used to have a 136W compact fluorescent lighting system for my 45G tank. It broke down after about 2 months. I didn't have much money with me at that time for me to purchase another compact fluorescent and since people said lighting is not an issue so I used a incandescent hood from my previous 10G tank which only has two 30W mini fluorescent bulbs I'm not even sure if those bulbs are truly fluorescent).
<If not... then what?>
Those two bulbs barely light up the tank. However, ever since my compact system was gone, my tank has been going down hill. First my Regal tang got ich and died,
then my yellow tang and two ocellaris clown died mysteriously, then my totally healthy well eating Moorish Idol died with white patches on his body,
<Rarely live... and a 45 is too small...>
and then most fish I added after that disaster just keep dying without obvious reasons.
<Not likely related>
It just seems so strange to me, the first two months my tank was running perfectly, and then the lighting broke down, and from that moment on my tank has been a constant nightmare. Fish dies easily,(with no problem in water chemistry) all the fish keeps hiding, all the fishes are always scared. Could there be even a slight chance that the lighting has anything to do with it??
<Mmm, perhaps indirectly... some lighting helps promote algae growth... algae help to absorb nutrients, make overall environment more stable, provide some food...>
Could it be that the fishes always think it is night time so they always hide?
<No... get "clues" re day from outside light>
I have this theory because I once notice my Moorish Idol had different color pattern in day time and night time. And after the compact system broke down, it never fully change back into day time pattern even in the day. However, I think I should mention that even with so little lighting, I can still see clearly into the tank in daytime since the room the tank is in is quite bright in the day.
<Bingo>
That is why I can't convince myself that the fish is thinking it is night time. But they somehow act like it is night time, especially that Moorish Idol incident I mentioned above.
<Please read here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/idolfaqs.htm
Thanks any opinion would be much appreciated!
<I would get a better lighting set-up, study re your livestock choices ahead of purchasing. Bob Fenner>