first aquarium build

[leon1972]

my first tank was bought used so everything came together. now that im doing my own from scratch i have several questions.
my protein skimmer is rated for my size tank but everyone seems to get one rated for tanks three times the size. why is this and am i ok with a protein skimmer rated for my tank size?
i read your sumps return pump should be 10x gph water turn over per hour. is it ok if your return pump is a great deal more powerful than your skimmers pump?
I know the basics that I need to be testing for with test kits but what kind of additional tests does coral need other than calcium for stony corals.
is a dusk dawn effect really necessary with lights. what would benefits be and how would this be achieved

sorry for the bad grammer. this is being sent from my cell phone which is terrible. lol

 

[wuuzzzuuppp]

The reason for the larger skimmer is so you can have a higher bio load (more fish creating more waste) Your skimmer should be fine just dont overstock your tank.

Your talking about two different flow rates, return pump flow and tank turnover. The reason for the larger skimmer is so you can have a higher bio load (more fish creating more waste) Your skimmer should be fine just dont overstock your tank. Generally speaking the return pump flow should be equal to whatever your skimmer is rated. Anything more just makes excess noise in your sump. Now the tank turnover is the sum of all flow in the display including the return, powerheads, closed loop, etc. I’ve read that some people have their flow above 100x. Minimum is 10x. It all depends on what you’re keeping and whether or not you have sand in your display. You'll need to test for phosphate to make sure it's not too high if you dont already. Calcium and magnesium go hand in hand. The mag makes the cal more available to the corals. Alkalinity, PH are just some of the basics