Thinking about starting a reef tank, need suggestions.

[arthurc]

Right now I have an Eclipse 12 which is a freshwater community tank. I had a friend feed my fish while I was gone and they were fed way way too much so I want to buy a filter to get the tank clean again. I was thinking about a Magnum 350 Pro. So what I am wondering is what would be the best way to go about creating a reef tank.

Here is what I was thinking.

 

10 gallon standard glass aquarium

3 13W CF's ?What would be the best mix of bulbs??

Magnum 350 Pro with the Bio Wheel

 

I was going to buy the live rock and sand and just let that run for a month or two, is that a good idea or do I need shrimp and stuff.

With that large a filter will that decrease my need for water changes? My end goal is a few corals and 1 maybe 2 fish.

 

Also is 39W of light enough for a 10 gallon tank?

 

Is there a better filter than the Magnum 350 Pro?

 

Thanks

AC

[Glenn]

Are you using the stock canapy or are you going to DIY one? I think (don't know for sure) that Custom Sea Life makes a retro that will fit inside your existing light fixture (a 1x32w I think). Two of these would be good for a softy tank, one daylight and one actinic. If you are interested I think I can give you a few sites that sell this light (around $50). I also had friends feed my fish while I was gone (I have about 5 tanks total). I bought one of those pill dispensers (you know the ones that have the days [Mon, Tues, Wed, etc] and the times [morning, lunch, evening, night]), anyway when I came back my Seahorse was dead, I can't find my blenny, and my Yellow tang is pale all the time, I'm never going out of town again! I would like to help you more but I am still new at this too. I am just relaying info. that experienced people have given me. The Magnum might be a bit much for a ten IMHO. Good Luck.

[Metznreef]

instead of that filter, invest in a skimmer (i'm partial to prizms because of my good experience with them) many people on this board will disagree with me on this one though. IMO, the 39 watts is good for softies and LPS in a 10. if you want 3 bulbs, i say go with one actinic, one 10,000k day light, and 1 50/50.