Just got really excited!! but need to know if its doable...

[Fishycreations1]

So I now have been browsing for days and have found myself right here in this forum section.

Here's the story-
Just a few days ago I finally decided that upgrading my 22 gallon cubed tank into a long and narrow 55 gallon was a bad idea. And then I made another decision and bought a 30XH, or tall as some may call it. At this point I have the aquarium sitting in my living room and I am now SO COMPLETLY indecisive. Until starting this thread I thought that my reef tank may fail, and I would be stuck with just a FOWLR aquarium. Can someone please help and inform me is this is doable or yet again another possible bad idea??

With the live rock that I currently have, I was thinking of aquascaping the rock (if anyone can picture this and understand) something simular to a cliff or ledge on one side of the aquarium since it is 24" tall. And pretty much an open sand bed. But then maybe on the other side maybe a rock structure about 8-10" in the shape of an arch. and doing the whole non-photosynthetic coral thing. But also what lights do I absolutly have to have?? I currently have, i might add, an old current brand lamp with 2 bulbs. one is a 10k the other atinic bulb. and since I have a 48" tank i have a 48" 20k bulb extra in a strip light. Not much i know but when i read non-photosynthetic like i said I got excited. So again can someone either knock me down or encourage my idea....Thanks

 

[scaryperson27]

Why would you stray away from a Cubed tank? 55 gallon tanks are hard to aquascape with. I would go with like a 50, or 58 gallon breeder.

 

[rehype]

Well if this tank is only for non-photosynthetic coral then it doesnt really matter which light fixture you choose. arrange the rocks in a way that will allow for easy viewing and accessibility for target feeding. Just my 2 cents.

 

[stunreefer]

Just becasue the corals do not require light does not mean they're easy... the money you save by not needing a high energy light, and paying for that energy is quickly trade with buying, and feeding copious amounts of food.

NPS coral needs water like in an "SPS" tank, yet they are more tolerable to slight water parameter changes, however don't forget to feed, or slack, as they'll die. "NPS coral" is as broad of a term as "LPS" and "SPS" and many of the coral require MUCH, MUCH different care.

If you intend to do this, research the care required for different "types" of NPS coral and what goes into keeping them... nutrient export is your biggest issue in NPS tanks as your imoprting nutrients (feeding) in large amounts very frequently. IMO an oversized super efficient skimmer, in combination with either bacterial driven source or refugium is necessary (I prefer bacterial driven for several reasons.)

I don't want to burst your bubble as these corals are awesome and many are very do-able, but they're anything but the "easy way out." A tank fully stocked with Dendronepthya and Scleronepthya species is one of the most gorgeous things possible in this hobby and also 100X more difficult than a heavily stocked Acropora garden.

 

[michael_cb_125]

I agree with Austin's Statement 100%.

~Michael