Hello All,
I have recently gained an interest in delving into this hobby and was leaning toward a 90 Gallon Tank. I guess my main question would be what would be a good lighting option for a 90 Gallon Reef Tank, as well as the size of a sump that I would need?
That is a loaded question for sure. Ill start with the sump as that is the easiest to answer. At minimum, it needs to be large enough to hold a return pump, skimmer, and a refugium if you want it as well as the draw down from the display during a power failure. Bigger is better because the more water volume you have the easier it is to maintain water parameters. For a DIY sump, I would look into a 40b if it will fit i the stand.
Lighting is another matter all together. It depends on what coral you want to keep, whether or not you want to propagate coral, how you want to color to look, and price. I personally run Metal Hilde lights on my 210. The bulbs are 250wt Phoenix 14k HQI. I am planning to add LED actinic supplementation. Bulb replacement can bet pricey at $60 a pop every 9 months and I have three. There are great LED options and T5s certainly have their place.
