LeslieS,
Did you post in the wrong thread? I don't see a whole lot of advice! :D
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7393426#post7393426 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by LeslieS
That was great advise. Thanks to everyone!
Here is more info about my tank and goals:
dimensions 32" high x 18" wide x 48" long
I would like to keep soft corals, invertibrates, and someday a seahorse :-)
Seahorses are very delicate animals and cant be kept w/ lots of corals and other inverts.
The LFS guy assures me that the T5 units will be adequate. He also reminded me that I asked to keep my tank entirely enclosed as I have 7 cats. If the T5's are no good, is there another option besides metal halides?
T5s should be good enough for most things youre keeping. You can always keep the light hungry animals higher up. It would be unlikely that you could keep clams, most like the bottom.
I really want the TBS live rock so I am still going to add my rock in 2 parts. I have heard great things about the life on the rocks, and I like the idea that it is not scavenged from a reef.
Instead of going into the whole story try reading "Reef Invertebrates" by calfo and fenner. But I will say live rock is not taking directly from the reef. It's a byproduct of the reef itself, renewable at that.
The live sand I have on order is not really from an aquarium or holding tank. It comes in bags and has bacteria in it. Any thoughts on that?
Stay away from that! There's no life in there! Get a fine grade dry sand, aragonite is best(better than other calcerous sands since it will dissipate into water at high PH levels and thus buffer your water). The dry sand will be seeded by your live rock, it will aquire bacteria and creepy crawlies. It just takes time.