questions from a beginner

[bill_e]

Do i need a sump to run a 30g ?? can i use cheap lighting from home depot ??
Ive looked the lighting up and dont quite get it can i just plug in with the proper light bulbs and go?And ive tryed to find something about the sump (if i need it)but cant find nothing..any links you can send me or any info would be greatly accepted

[mseepman]

You do not "need" a sump, but when you have one, it's usually easier to control your water parameters.

As for lighting, unfortunately the Home Depot special will probably not work for you, other than help you grow lots of algae. There are some decent low cost lighting fixtures for beginners...take a look at www.aquatraders.com as you might find something that works there for cheap. When you think about lighting, remember the less light, the more restricted you will be for what corals you can have.

Your best bet as a beginner is to come up with a plan, including tank description, livestock plans, equipment plans and then list them here for some of the experienced reefers to give you their suggestions.

Hope that helps.

[mark]

I ran a 75g FOWLR (with macro and some polyps) without a sump and normal output fluorescents for close to a couple years. Added some second hand PC and started mushrooms and Xenia.

That said, sump and MH w/T5s opens things up, all depends where you want to go.

[mseepman]

Here are a few items from other reefers that would be good options for decent prices. This includes lighting and other benefitial equipment.

http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=45337

http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=45520

http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=42220

[Tarolisol]

If you want corals most likly home depot lights wont do the job, maybe for shrooms and very low light corals you could get away with 4 florecents. Thats about the only thing home depot lights are good for unless your really really good at DIY.