setting up my 72 bowfront

your use that metal halide on aquatraders? anyproblems with it and what corals do you grow

 

no my light is not the one from aquatraders.

I use this set up of halides:

Galaxy Dual 250W Metal Halide Retro Kit with Electronic Ballast - AquaCave

 

t5s will be your best bet for lighting. Expect to spend around 200 for a 4 bulb fixture. I would say stick with the 4 bulb for now. You should be able to grow damn near anything with that. It will be 4 54watt bulbs totaling 216watts. Odyssea is not the preferred brand, but if thats what you can afford, so be it. Just swap out the bulbs when you get some extra cash. You will also eventually need more flow. 1 majijet is not going to cut it.

Building your own rock....don't. Takes months to cure to make it safe to put in your tank. Coralline algae will grow when its ready. It took a couple of months for mine to start. Make sure you get a couple rocks with some nice purple on it already. Take a razor and scrape it off. Also, get rid of the bio balls. Pop some chaeto and macroalgae in the sump.

 

sorry just a few questions
why get rid of the bioballs? they build up nitrates you clean them off then there good again right? plus im building a refugium for some lr rubble and cheato, and as far as flow would a maxijet sureflow mod work?

 

I'm one for natural filtration that is found in the ocean. The bioballs don't really do much except allow nitrates to build up on them, no different than crushed coral. If you are going to constantly rinse them, fine. But I would prefer not to do that. Keep your nitrates down by water changes, small feedings, and the help of a refugium. A skimmer will help control nitrates and macroalgae and live rock and will also help keep levels down.

 

if i take out the bioballs could I just fill it with lr

 

yes or lr rubble works well