Lighting and filtration

[halostar9]

Hello all,

I am still a noob to this hobby and have much to learn. However, I have learned quite a bit through reading and asking a lot of questions at lfs's.

We are looking at upgrading our 29 gallon reef tank in the near future (after we have enough $ to purchase all of our necessary equipment, etc.). The upgrade will be to a 72 gallon bow front. So far, I plan on looking into purchasing the following:

-Rena Excel 300W heater
-100 lbs. live Fiji aquacultured marine live sand
-Some R/O water
and possibly a Fluval 305 or 405 filter

I am trying to look into two different things right now and make a good decision; lighting and filtration. The used tank that we bought (72 gallon) came with an Eheim 2215 classic canister filter that was used in a freshwater tank for cichlids, previously. First off, I am pretty sure we can still use the filter for our own tank if it is cleaned out properly, but I must be honest. We currently have a Fluval 205 running in our 29 gallon aquarium and I like the ease of its setup. I am considering possibly getting a different, or an additional, filter for the 72 gallon in place of the Eheim. I know that one should consider the fact that a filter performs UP TO a certain gallon rating. However, I also realize that a lot of filtration can be a good thing for a tank, as well. So, if it is recommended to just go with a Fluval filter, the question is which? The Fluval 305 goes up to 70 gallons and the Fluval 405 goes up to 100 gallons. Which would be best suited for my tank? Or what setup would you all recommend?

The second issue is lighting. I have been told by my lfs that power compact lighting is pretty much an "old school" format of lighting and that T5 HO lighting is much more efficient. I have also read about this fact as well. They have recommended that I buy one 48" T5 light fixture with two bulbs and then a smaller T5 light fixture for the front bowed part of the tank, if I wished for more front lighting for future corals, which I would like to get into, eventually.

With all of these components I wish to buy products that are reliable but yet not spend too much on them. Any suggestions are welcome! I want to hear what all of you think would be appropriate for a 72 gallon reef tank!

[reeffreak]

Here is my suggestion.....

At the very least,get a good quality protein skimmer like an Octopus skimmer.The better setup(and most common) is to set up a sump/refugium with skimmer.You can still use the canister to polish the water from time to time(carbon,phophate remover etc.).

Forget the two fixture the lfs recommended.Any 48'' T5-HO fixture will fit,even on a bowfront.Four 54w for LPS/softies,4 or more plus individual reflectors to be unlimited on corals,clams etc.The Nova Extreme(4x54w/no IR)would be perfect for soft/lps corals.The Nova Pro which has IR for all corals and clams.There are fixtures with better reflectors but they will cost more like the Aquactinics,ATI and Tek fixtures.Bulbs are sold separately,which is good thing IMO,the Nova bulbs are okay but not as good as other bulb companies.

[Bifferwine]

Get a protein skimmer over any other type of filter.

Also, the light your LFS recommended (two T5 bulbs) won't be enough. Just buy a fixture with 4, 6 or 8 instead. He is right that T5s are the way to go, though.