70 gallon going up...

[equinecpa]

After raising and keeping seahorses for a couple of year I'm in need of a little action...so I'm setting up a 70 gallon for all those fish and corals I can't keep with seahorses.

I'm thinking a lion, maybe a butterfly, ocellaris pair or even a tang. I'd like to have an anemone for the clowns. (note these are fish I desire...they won't all be going in there LOL).

As for coral, mostly leathers, candycane, xenia...nothing very exotic...

How many T5's should I put over the tank -it's 36" long and 20" wide? It seems they come in sets of 2. Could I start with 2 bulbs and add if I need more?

What kind of tank turnover should I strive for? I'm going to use an overflow and a 15 gallon sump/refugium. Is 10 times an hour a good turnover?

I'm really looking forward to this project..

Carolyn

 

[Len]

Two will definitely not be enough for corals. You'll want at least 4 34" T5s, but best to get 6.

As for turnover, 10-20x is good. The more, the better. The goal is to create lots of water movement without excessive velocity. Imagine the to-and-fro motion you see underwater. That's what you want. Pumps that help create this type of flow include the Tunze (nano-stream, for example), Seio, and Hydor prop pumps.

 

[equinecpa]

Hmmm...ok will try the 4 and add if not enough . Thanks

Flow good golly miss molly 10-20X! For seahorses 5X is considered lots! I'm looking forward to all of this movement. Do you all recommend one of those controllers that switches certain pumps on and off to create movement, the rotating hydro style mounts or do most just use strategically placed powerheads?

Thanks

Carolyn