[whhhhATT]

I'm planning a new tank I'm new to marine although my mom had a few setups when I was younger that was a long time ago ('83-"88) technology has changed alot since then. I've kept many freshwater setups with alot of success and a few learning expiriences but I'm ready to move up to the salty stuff. I plan on starting with a FOWLR setup then in a few years moving on to corals. My plan is for a 90gal tank with a 75gal sumpw/refugium I need to know how much liverock I will need for this setup?(buying by weight is confusing they should mention approximate volume so you can account for different densitys of different rocks) and what do I need to look for in a skimmer? I was planning on having a panther grouper and my wife is dying for a moorish idol I dont really want any smaller fish and couldn't keep any thing too small with a grouper prowling about/ What other fish are good candidates for this type setup? I plan on power compact lighting to start out with then adding metal halides when I'm ready for corals( I really only want a few sps corals and a couple of anenomies)will I be able to cultivate coraline algae with power compact lighting till I upgrade? any help would be much appreciated and I would be glad for you to rip me apart if I am totally off thanks in advance

[whhhhATT]

I also need to know how big of a pump I need to run this setup

[bguile]

I can't answer all your questions but I can give you some suggesitons on what I've done. An MR-1 with a Mag 12 pump should handle your skimming needs. I followed suggestions here and went with the best and it's phenominal. Your return pump depends on how high you plan on pushing the water. For a 90g I would suggest starting out with a Mag 9.5. If you are pushing higher than 3 ft get one with a higher rating. You're goal is to get about 10times the water volume to the tank per hour. As far as LR goes, most recommend anywhere from 1 to 2lbs of your TOTAL water volume. In your case 165g would yield between 165 to 330lbs of rock. Also, corraline can grow under PC's if your water quality is good. HTH

[whhhhATT]

thanks that gets me started in the right direction