99SH Posted August 30, 2003 Share Posted August 30, 2003 I want to run saltwater in my old 10 gallon before switching over my 90 gallon tank, and need some help with the lighting. The tank has an all glass top for the light, with a 15w bulb. can I just put a brighter bulb in there, like a 50w? would 50w be enough? I just want to start off with a clownfish, this tank will be fish only. If I can't reuse the top, where would I even begin to look for a new one? Thanks. Link to comment
Phish Posted August 30, 2003 Share Posted August 30, 2003 If you are going to start a 90g SW tank, dont spend a penny on the 10g, and if the 90g is going to be FOWLR (fish only with live rock) or aggressive/predator with no coral lighting is no problem, I will give you a 'cheap' list of what the bare essentials for your 90g FOWLR tank would be; *90lbs LS (Live Sand) $125.00 at my LFS (local fish store) or $2.50lbs somewhere else (common price) so $125-$225 *70lbs LR (Live rock) $200-$500 (depending on grade) *$200 skimmer *$40 instant ocean salt mix So, for your 90g tank fowlr it would be $450+tax for the lowest price and lowest grade LR you can affor (200 buys a good skimmer) and that is for FOWLR, if you wanted a reef try $1,000 if you get the best deals the world has ever seen... This is an expensive hobby, the actual tank is the cheapest part of a marine tank. Good luck, I hope I didnt scare you away Link to comment
99SH Posted August 30, 2003 Author Share Posted August 30, 2003 Thanks for your help. That actually doesn't seem too bad a price, I just can't decide what to do. I guess what I meant was I wanted to use the 10 gallon as a stepping stone to see if it would be worth switching over the 90, as for right now I didn't have definite plans to switch it. But for ~$450 maybe I should. So what you're saying is if I wanted a FOWLR tank for the 90, I wouldn't need to upgrade the lights? Link to comment
Chamkeeper Posted August 30, 2003 Share Posted August 30, 2003 99, Hit home depot for some southdown play sand. Seed it with LR or LS, in mere weeks the whole mess will be live... Easy to find on our coast. 50lbs = $5 a good way to save a nickel or two.... For a 90 I would get three bags, spend a few hours rinsing it well, and by the time you add it, you should be close to the 90lbs of suggested sand. Link to comment
Phish Posted August 30, 2003 Share Posted August 30, 2003 I always forget about the southdown stuff, 'cuz I cant get it here in CA... Yeah go for that, and when you say stepping stone, it sounds like you dont realize in Salt Water, a small tank is much, much more diffucult to maintain than a larger tank, in fresh water, the bigger the tank, the harder it is to maintain, in Salt Water, the bigger the tank, the Easier it is to maintain... meaning if you can swing an 800g reef go for it, you wouldnt have to touch the thing for a month exept for feeding, There are little changes in a 10g tank that may occur in say a week... in a 90g.... it could take months for that 'problem' to build up, plus you get all of those cool fish you cant keep in a 10g, You could go predator/aggressive (lion fish, frogfish) or you could do a really sweet reef, but it will cost a lot of money for a 90g and Yes, for FOWLR low light is ok, the only reason there are these high lighting avaliable is because of coral needs, think about corals in the carribean, now think of corals in CA... big difference. I had a 40g FOWLR tank that had one actinic 20w light, it made my Fuzzy lion look cool, and my scorpion fish look a little more dangerous, but I just liked the way it looked, like it was deeper water, My point is you dont really have to upgrade the lights for FOWLR and the best part of that is, if you ever want to upgrade its just $400 away. Link to comment
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