Help Getting Started

[c_scherer123]

Not much SW experience (yet...), but I have spent many hours researching and lurking around this and other forums.

I would skip the canister, and use the money towards a good skimmer (which removes the waste before it enters the nitrification cycle). Do LOTS of research on the skimmer before buying so you don't have to replace the skimmer.

Depending on stocking I would go with a pair of koralia 3's or 4's. SPS like really high turbulence, while mushrooms and other softies prefer slower flow.

With that lighting I would go more LPS and some deeper water SPS.

I would use two smaller heaters, in case one heater breaks the other can pick up the slack until you notice.

It is easier to design the tank around what you are planning to stock. That is how I am planning my 90g - I knew which fish and corals I wanted, and I narrowed it down to those that could coexist in the same area without (hopefully) any problems arising. After that, it is relatively easy to figure out what lighting the corals need, what amount of flow is suitable, and so on. I drew a rough sketch of what I wanted the rockwork to look like, which corals go where, where to place powerheads to direct flow where it is most needed, and so on. The sketch greatly helped me plan and pulled all the pieces together for me.