ok well i have a 55 gallon cichlid tank which i am keeping tank but getting rid of cichlids. i am going to convert it into a tropical amazon tank and then i will have my 29 gallon for a small salt water tank. i dont no anything and so i want to learn it before i even attempt it. (hope to start by december 28, just like starting it no fish yet, have to cycle) so anyone who is willing to give me detailed steps to a very successful nice lookking reef with corals and stuff please do. i am open to all suggestions and stuff. also what type of fish and how many can i get in the saltwater, and is a hang on back 60 gallon filter good for slatwater tank in my 29? and what lighting will i need, and other supplies? i thank anyone who replies.

well there is so much info and so many variables and so many different steps you can take, ok, you want a reef tank, what fish do you want? What type of corals etc, i would suggest you reading the stickies, and doing individual research, when you get the jist ask us specific questions and we can help you with those. Since there are quite a lot of variables you may feel overwhelmed with people saying all these different ways of keeping them and biasedly saying that there way is the best.

yes i want a reef tank with coral that looks like this http://www.melevsreef.com/pics/0504/29g_051804_900.jpg so i really like that, will the filter be good that i have a 60 gallon hang over bio wheel? also i want to put clowns damsals jaw fish and some bigger fish like a trigger if i can. also i need to know what snails and shrimps to get, and lighting and all the equipment i will need. money isnt a problem beause im selling my holey rock which i have like 500 punds of to a friend for 700 dollars

well if you want a tank like marc (aka melev) reading his logs on reef central and on his website is a great start.

Anyway, that tank of his is a 29 gallon. If you want a tank like that, its perfect since you can follow him, doing the same thing another sucessful reefer did or something similar, can help with sucess

Of course, we can still help you a bit

There are 2 main things in a photosynthetic coral reef tank that is needed, corals are different so they like different needs. Number 1. Lighting, this applies to all photosynthetic corals, but different corals want different lights, so take a look at a few corals around on the web, come back and ask us if they are easy to take care of etc. Personally, i like LPS corals the most (large polyp stony coral) but it all comes down to individual taste. Number 2. Flow, again depends on the coral, there are many ways to get flow into tanks, just to name a few there are impellar powerheads (cheapest) propellar powerheads (i think these are the best for smaller tanks) closed loop (no comment, ive never used these, these are probably the best looking cause if done well, you wont see the pumps etc).

I hope that gives you an idea of corals, so, first things first, go to your lfs or go to online fish stores or you could just check out a few of our members reef logs. If you see a coral that catches your interest, write down the name and if at all possible, a picture maybe. After you have picked your corals, pick your light and flow. After light and flow find a place where you can get live rock. Once you know what you want, and you know where to get it, youve done your research on things youve chosen, then you are ready to get started. Oh and btw, when i say "pick" i mean just write it down for remembering it later, dont buy it yet lol. Ask us plenty of questions about the products and life you have chosen, google it as well.

It would be great if you wrote out a log on this site for people to see so what you did can help other people out.

Final word, for saltwater reef tanks with a substantial amount of live rock (1-1.5 pounds) doesnt "need" a filter. Of course having a filter is great but there is a responsibility to it. Dont use the bio-wheel. If you will clean the mechanical filter once every 1-3 days then use it, there are great benefits to using it, but if your not going to clean it, dont use it. Put your chemical media in the filter.

Anyway, good luck with everything

then what about my regular cartridge 50 dollar 60 gallon filter?

use the filter, mechanical filtration is great, one of the best IMO, but if you are going to use mechanical filtration, make sure you clean/change it often since the junk that accumulates there with constant water flowing through it can cause nitrate factories. Or you can just put your chemical media in there like a phosphate removing product or carbon or something like that, you could also make it into a refugium, stick some chaeto in the filter, put a light over it and ta-da. There are many ways you could use the filter, heck, you could just have nothing in the filter and use the filter for flow lol.

would basic filter carridges be good enough with the carbon inside of them? and what type of lighting will i need and an estimated price?

yes, the regular cartridges are fine, again, if you are going to use mechanical filtration cartridges, clean it every 1-3 days

Hmm, i cant tell you what light until i get a general idea of what corals you want. Check out this sites pictures http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/categ.c...&pCatId=597 and tell us what corals you are interested in.

The three most common lights are PC (not that good but it does the job, if you want easy photosynthetic corals this is plenty) T5 (without individual reflectors they are about just as good as PC, with individual reflectors they can be good as MH) MH (Very strong light in terms of PAR and lumens per watt)

Metal halide is also the most wasteful since so much heat is produced. However, after using them just once, I probably won't go back to power compacts.

Not true, Metal Halide uses around 24% of its energy for light while fluorescents use less than that. And unless im mistaken, watt for watt metal halide and T5 fluorescents produce the same amount of heat, its just that metal halide concentrates its heat into one spot and fluorescent lights spreads it throughout the bulb.

I must be mistaken. Is it perhaps that metal halides use more of their energy but take more, proportionately, than flourescents? I read somewhere that T-5's are the "most efficient" for some reason or another.

I have read that also about the t-5's that they are the most efficient lighting available. Maybe they mean in home lighting applications though?

LEDs are most efficient that i can think of, there probably is more efficient lights but its probably only for the secret services and highly top secret navy seal missions...... T5 HO arent the most efficient. On terms of PAR they can be just as good as MH, but it is a highly argued topic.