[Samper]

I have decided against going with something like a 75g. I'm thinking that for my budget a 40 long would be better, plus my girlfriend offered to buy it so.......sweet. What I could do is use my old 20 for a refug and another 20 I have for a sump. Total water volume if I run this would be 80g so that's a lot better than the 20. The sump will go below and the fug I would like to be beside the main so that I can just light both with my 48"pc. What equipment do I need to look into in order to hook three tanks together like this?

[Reefland]

Samper,

Instead of looking at the 40 long, I would look at the 40 breeder. The 40 gallon breeder offers a 36" length and 18" width; 18" width being the most important piece. The added width to the tank is more aesthetically pleasing and provides better aquascaping options. There's probably not much difference in price either.

Setting up a refugium level with the display causes some unecessary challenges. Setting it up bit higher than the display to have a gravity feed refugium is much better. From the display (or a split from the sump return) water can pump to the refugium and through a hole drilled near the surface of the refugium tank, water can gravity feed to the display. This is the best option for live food to enter the display (without the disruption of pump impellars) and the option that is the least risky regarding functionality.

[Samper]

Would my pc 28w coralife 50 50 be good to light a fug? and if I went with the breeder what am I gonna do with these 48" lights...........argh.

[Sueet]

Originally Posted by Samper

Would my pc 28w coralife 50 50 be good to light a fug? and if I went with the breeder what am I gonna do with these 48" lights...........argh.

Yeah, pretty much any lighting will work for a fuge..... I've even seen some people use a single regular lightbulb! (*I wouldn't recommend this tho!*)

You could/should sell the 48", and use the cash you sell it for to buy a 36" Or find someone willing to trade you... You could probably get a 36" retro setup for less than what you paid/could sell for the 48".

[Reefland]

If you go with the breeder and a 10 gallon fuge sitting right next to the breeder then your set.

I would rather have a light fixture that is 6" longer than my display that is 18" wide versus a light fixture that fits perfectly over a 12" wide display. Or as Sueet metions, you could sell the 48" PC's and pick up a 250w halide to hang about 15" above the surface. The ends of the tank would be a bit dim but that is sometimes desireable depending on your garden species.

[Samper]

Would a 250w halide limit me in any way? I would want to supplement with a 20k I think.

[Sueet]

Originally Posted by Samper

Would a 250w halide limit me in any way? I would want to supplement with a 20k I think.

No I seriously doubt it..... I actually think it might be overkill for a tank that small, but I'm no expert. And..... supplement with 20k? Why? Why not just use actinic for color? Or did you mean a 250w 20k mh, with something else for supplement?

[Samper]

uh, i dont know what I meant now.

the 20k bulbs are blue right? I was going to use the mh and a 20k so I'd have no limits on what I could keep and still have the blue that I love so much.