New tank and have questions

[Red3]

So I'm getting a Current USA Solana tank with a Sunpaq HQI light. Tank is 34g. I will be making it into a reef tank and wanted some opinions on sand, rock, and stock, both fish and coral. Let me hear your idea's and also anything else I may be missing and need to look into getting before I set everything up.

I don't understand the lighting stuff much at all so if someone could touch on tank set up it would be nice of you.

Just trying to cover all my bases with this one and not throw some stuff together half ass like I did with my 75g.

 

[sikoko]

lights can range from moonlights too extremely bright it just depends what type of fish you want .
for subtrate you can use playsand from home depot or lowes its three bucks for fifty pounds but it would be easier and better for your aquarium to use aragonite (my opinion would be to use black) you should usally use a pound per gallon i think.
for live rock where ever you get its going to cost a bit depending on how much you want and how big your tank is. i've only ever kept a fowlr set up so not to informative about reef setups lol hope this helps.

 

[Red3]

I have lights

 

[Kevin8888]

If you want a reef it is advisable to have around (for your tank) 35-40lb live rock minimum, and same goes for sand, 35-40lb of aragonite sand.Don't use playsand in a reef, it doesnt do any good for the tank and it will just cause problems, as it doesnt buffer the ph level for one and playsand doesnt add calcium to the water. PH and calcium are two of the most important things to consider besides salinity (which calcium contributes to actualy) in reef systems.

Fish/corals, everything depends on what you want, I could list a ton of fish that are reef safe, and I can list the requirements of many corals but it really all comes down to what you want to keep.

Lighting is important in reefs, as I'm sure you know, but the amount depends on the corals, some more some less, if you have SPS/LPS you want losts of light, others may not need as much. With the HQI light you should be alright with just about any coral that requires alot of light (some have other requirments) the ones that dont need much light may be hurt by the strength of it though, so try to place them where they are shaded a bit, or as deep in the tank as possible.

Water flow is also very important to consider in a reef some corals require high flow to keep them clean, bring them food and nutrients, or to keep little critters off or what ever it is they need, wile with others high flow will most certainly kill them almost litteraly tear their fleash off their bones so to speak. So you have to consider placement of your corals there as well, ones that like little flow place well away from the powerheads (or w/e you are using for flow) and the ones that like high flow place nearer to the stream. I wouldnt suggest placing corals directly infront of the powerhead even ones that like highflow, and the powerheads can put out quite a bit up close.

In the end with reefs there is a ton to consider, but once set up properly is one of the most rewarding systems available, and I highly recomend it haha. Just don't jump in as you said you are trying to avoid, or you may not get the results you were hoping for and risk alot of time and money.

 

[S220G]

Your lighting and tank filtration should be good seeing as you are buying it already set up. As far as the lighting goes you are not restricted in the corals that you keep you must however take into consideration the flow, sps corals demand much more water current and you will need to balance that if you want to keep a mixed tank with lps and softies. I would definately not put black sand in the reef it only will look good for a month, buy good sand and put a healthy 3-6 inch sand bed down as coura mentioned sand works as a buffer/ filter and I would also recommend getting the small sand but not sugar sized granules because they take longer to settle and with good flow it will keep making you tank cloudy. Stock your rock to your aesthetic appeal the more rock that you can get the more natural filtering and the more places to put your corals. Usually a pound per gallon is minimal for decent rockscaping and more then 4 pnds a gallon is hard to fit in a tank to make it look right. You can bust rock with a hammer if it is too big in order to make it fit.
In my best opinion just make it look like how you would imagine an underwater reef with the corals and reef safe fish that you think are the prettiest and/or the coolest then accomidate them to according to their needs. You will love it. Best of luck and post any specific questions and pictures to keep us updated.

 

[Red3]

What kind of testers and such like that do I need? Like the stuff I need to get to make sure everything is at safe levels in my tank

 

[sikoko]

i believe a master liquid test kit would work but i've never used one i used dip strips and they are pretty innaccurate

 

[Kevin8888]

Salfert makes good test kits, as does Elos, both are a little more expencive with elos being the most expencive. Seachem makes some good test kits as well and their cost is reasonable. You will also want a refractometer for salinity testing, as hydrometers are easier to use but rather inaccurate.