lighting and filtration help for a 90g

[g8rorchid]

Hello,

I am thinking about upgrading from a 65g to a 90g. I have a few questions about lighting and filtration.

Lighting: What would be the best(yet cost efficient) combination for lighting a 90g? I was thinking about doing a combination of VHO and actinic, T-5 with actinics, or MH with actinics. Any thoughts? Clueless in terms of wattage. Is retrofitting something of this size easy or at least not very time consuming?

Filtration: Would a sump or wet/dry filter be necessary for a tank this size? Could a hob skimmer and hob filter do the job? Other alternatives?

Thank you!

 

[bertoni]

You might want to post in New to the Hobby with this question.

Wet-dry filters generally aren't necessary except for tanks with a very high fish load, and such filters often seem to increase the nitrate level in tanks.

Lighting has a lot of personal taste. MH and T5 both will work well, but you might like the looks of one or the other. What are the dimensions of the tank?

 

[g8rorchid]

Ok, thanks, I'll go ahead and post it there. The tank is a standard 90g I believe at 48" long.

 

[avp]

If it was me...

I'd go with a six bulb t-5 setup. It would let you keep most of the entry level stuff and give you room to expand into higher difficulty critters.

As for filters, if you are going to go with a 90, buy an in sump or external skimmer, don't do a hang on back model. Also, go with a sump and/or refugium. As to which, sorta depends on how heavily you stock the tank with fish and how you feed the corals.

Of course, this is all my experience and opinions, so others here might have other ideas that will work.

-avp

 

[g8rorchid]

I thought an external skimmer was a hob? What kind of external skimmer is there if you don't have a sump?

 

[theatrus]

A recirculating skimmer can be considered external. They're notably much pricier.