Need some advice, thanks

[Shipwreck]

Watts per gallon is no longer used in marine aquariums. More important is the spectrum of the lights and the PAR of the light. Normal output fluorescents, VHO and Power compacts are all old technology and I would not wast money on buying any fixtures for those. On a tank your size a T5HO fixture would work great or a MH if you really want, or if you have money a LED system.

Here is an example of the Sunlight Supply wave T5HO fixture (a cheaper fixture) and here is an example of a more expensive Tek fixture just to give you some ideas.

[Matt]

First, welcome to Canreef, and welcome back to the hobby!

Adding in on the lights issue, speaking from experience. An organism that uses light for photosynthesis has no idea how many gallons of water it is in. It only 'knows' how bright the light is. In a 25" deep tank, you have a lighting challenge if you want to keep light-loving corals or clams near the bottom. Eventually, it will become a trade-off between light and heat.

Tank might also be too small for a scooter blennie. They have roughly the same requirements for live rock volume, healthy pod populations and tank stability as a Mandarin.

The final note I'll make on the 45 tall is that you're minimizing surface-area to volume with that setup (again, this is my experience with a not-too-different effort). That leads to dificulties with aquascaping, access (how long are your arms?), water flow, heat control and oxygen exchange. If I were doing it again, I'd be looking to reverse the ratio, and go for a longer, shallower tank.

Cheers,
Matt

[smoke20ster]

Originally Posted by Matt

First, welcome to Canreef, and welcome back to the hobby!

Adding in on the lights issue, speaking from experience. An organism that uses light for photosynthesis has no idea how many gallons of water it is in. It only 'knows' how bright the light is. In a 25" deep tank, you have a lighting challenge if you want to keep light-loving corals or clams near the bottom. Eventually, it will become a trade-off between light and heat.

Tank might also be too small for a scooter blennie. They have roughly the same requirements for live rock volume, healthy pod populations and tank stability as a Mandarin.

The final note I'll make on the 45 tall is that you're minimizing surface-area to volume with that setup (again, this is my experience with a not-too-different effort). That leads to dificulties with aquascaping, access (how long are your arms?), water flow, heat control and oxygen exchange. If I were doing it again, I'd be looking to reverse the ratio, and go for a longer, shallower tank.

Cheers,
Matt

I can just touch the bottom of the tank as the stand is only 29" tall. Had to be that way for me to reach. worst case, I go with a different tank.....Ive got 36" length for where the aquarium goes, so its leaving a few options......thanks for the reply !