How much lighting do I need for my 55-gallon saltwater tank?

35 gallon saltwater tank...NEED HELP!!!?

• i know a saltwater tank should be 55 gal +...anyways here is my setup, i want to know if im missing anything? how many lbs of sand should i put in? -35 gallon octagon tank -salt -40 lbs live rock -hydrometer -tap water conditioner -2 power heads -reverse osmosis/distilled -protein skimmer -carbon -flourescent light(do i need special lighting or can i use flourescent light since i don't have corals) -3 clownfish, brittle starfish, 1-2 shrimp, 1 crab am i missing anything? i heard u don't need a filter just the protein skimmer, live rocks, and sand will act as filter...is that true? any advise on my setup will be appreciated. thank you

• Answer:

  saltwater tanks don't really have to be 55 gallons... there are people who have 12 gallon nano cubes... You can buy half dead/dry sand and half live sand so you can save money. The dead sand becomes live after a while. You want either a shallow sand bed (under 1.5 inches) or a deep sand bed (3-5 inches). Nothing in between. So buy accordingly. Buy live rock (as much or as little as you want) but the more the better. Buy a heater. Don't mix your own saltwater since you are a beginner. Buy some pre-mixed saltwater from the fish store. Make sure you ask the store if the water is RO (reverse osmosis) or DI (distilled) water. If they use tap that will lead to problems. Never use tap in your tank. When the water evaporates, don't put in more saltwater, it is a very common mistake made by beginners. When the water evaporates, the salt stays in the tank, only the water evaporates. So the more the water evaporates the higher the salt level (salinity) will get. Get a HYDROMETER to measure the salinity. Always top off with freshwater (also RO or DI). Ok I have told you what you need, now I will tell you what steps to take to start your tank: Put the rocks in the desired formation ON THE GLASS. Never put rock on the sand bed as it is not a stable base for the rock. Then put in the sand. Then put in your premixed saltwater. LET THE TANK RUN FOR 1 MONTH. This is called cycling, Do not add fish until your cycle is complete. Ask your fish store to check your water parameters to see if your cylce is complete. If your parameters are all 0 (except for pH which should be around 8.2 or so) then your cycle is complete and you can start adding easy to care for fish. After another month you can sell those fish back to the fish store if you don't want them and get whatever fish/invert/cleanup crew you want (that can live in a 30 gallon tank). Ask your fish store for advice but don't let them try to sell you stuff you don't need. I prefer to have a canister filter AND a protein skimmer. A canister filter is mechanical filtration and will remove the large pieces of waste like uneaten food, the skimmer removes dissolved waste in the water. But most people would tell you that unless you stay on top of the maintenance of the canister filter, it will turn into a nitrate factory. change the screen and carbon regularly (once a month if not sooner) if you decide to get one... As for your question about the sand, yes, live sand is a form of filtration. it is called biological filtration. the bacteria in the sand help keep nitrates low and eat uneaten fish food.