Hello Teeka01. Let me start by saying welcome to Frag Outpost!
You should really only run a wet/dry filter if you are keeping a fish only tank. The reason for this is that wet/dry filters do a very good job a promoting the growth of the areobic bacteria that produces nitrates. People often refer to wet/dry filters as "nitrate factories" for this reason.
When keeping a hard/soft coral reef you should consider the use of either a sump or a refugium or both, and a powerful oversized protein skimmer instead of a wet/dry filter. When it comes to purchasing equipment, it is best to do as much research as possible so that you do not find yourself needing to upgrade in the future. If you make the right purchases to begin with you can save yourself some headaches later on.
Live rock is an important part of your filtration process too. Living deep within the live rock is anaerobic bacteria which has the ability to process nitrates. Hard corals especially will have a difficult time surviving in a high nitrate environment. You can save yourself some $$$ by purchasing dry base rock to use as the foundation of your rockwork and then placing the nice decorator rock on top. Keep in mind that it will all become "live" rock within due time and within a year you probably will no longer be able to tell what was the dry base rock and what wasn't.
If you are planning to keep hard corals then you will probably need halides. Not to say that you can not grow sps corals without them because I've seen successful sps tanks lit by vho's and T5's. Metal halides will give you the most bang for your buck and the most lumens per watt.
If you do decide to purchase metal halides then your wattage options include:
- 175 watt single ended
- 250 watt single ended
- 250 watt double ended
- 400 watt single ended
The 250's are a good choice because they will be able to sustain most any high light requirment hard corals and the initial/replacements costs are only a few dollars more than the 175's.
When choosing halides you will have many options when it comes to kelvin rating or color output of the lamp. Most halides designed for reef keeping are rated between 10,000 and 20,000 on the Kelvin rating scale. A basic rule of thumb is that the lower the kelvin rating the whiter/yellower the light output but the higher the PAR. The opposite is true with higher kelvin rating lamps. As a rule of thumb, the higher the kelvin rating the bluer the light output but the PAR becomes lower. In case you are unfamiliar with PAR, it stands for photosynthetically active radiation. This is a basic measurment of the light output that is usable to the photosynthetic process, the process of turning light into nutrients.
If you choose lower kelvin halides then you might want to consider the use of actinics to increase the visual appeal of your tank.
Here are some links for comparison purposes -
http://metricksystem.com/chris/250wcolour/
http://www.cnidarianreef.com/lamps.cfm
http://www.coralreefecosystems.com/ltg_bulb_color.htm
http://www.diyreef.com/lcomp.htm
Other factors to consider when planning a sps reef tank is calcium and alkalinity supplements. You have a wide array of options here.
Are you familiar with the process of cycling a new tank?
I would not worry about a chiller right now. Make your decision about your lighting first and then check your temps. There are many ways to lower your temps without the use of a chiller.
- Make sure to have ample air flow within your canopy to exhaust the heat produced by your lights
- Increase air flow at the water's surface to increase evaporation
- Point a powerhead at the water's surface to create agitation which will increase evaporation
- Include a sump in your tank setup. This will increase the water's surface area which will increase evaporation
- If you try all of these suggestions and are still battling high temps then you might want to look into a chiller
SPS corals can be difficult to keep, especially for a beginner. Please read as much as possible on the subject before rushing out to buy a bunch of expensive corals. Hard corals can be finicky and require more precise water parameters than soft corals. Patience is a virtue in this hobby. Be sure to take it slow. Start with some easy to keep soft corals and work your way up and make sure to learn as much as you can along the way.
I hope this helps. Please feel free to ask any other questions you might have. Or if you need some links to resources of good reading then I'm sure we can point you in the right direction.
- FragOutpost
I am a newbie
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