lighting for fish only marine tank

[maitre007]

I know that for saltwater tank with coral lighting is very important.  However it is as important if you just have live rock and an only fish tank,

[yellowtang]

Hello there.
I assume you have fish only.
It is not imperative to have corals or live rock in your tank if you have  fish only........A good powerfilter or powerheads with sweepers are good enough.
But if you have liverock or corals then Good lights are a must as well as a good skimmer.
keep in mind the more live rock you have the more bioload you will have. :wink:

[maitre007]

The only thing that I have right now is an empty 55 gallon.

I am wondering what is the bare minimum up front expenses that I need to get to start the cycling process.  I mean I don't mind putting more money in at a later date.

I was re-reading my book about starting up a marine aquarium and they pointed out that good lighting system is important  for fish only aquarium because otherwise the fish look rather dull.  

And what's the point of getting a marine aquarium if the marine fish look duller than my cichlids.

I realize that a good protein skimmer is essential to a fully functionning marine aquarium.  According to ALL the articles about marine aquarium in Practical Fishing magazine they state that the protein skimmer is the most important equipment.  Where there is dissent is to what constitute a good protein skimmer.

However I wonder if I do need a protein skimmer for the first 3-4 week of cycling the water.  Wouldn't it be just as good to buy 2 powerheads to create sufficient water flow to mix all the chemicals up.  

Engineering and chemistry is not my forte.

[gator]

I would say that all you need for a fish only with live rock set up in terms of lighting is 2x40 watt normal output 4' flourescents, like the kind they sell as "shop lights" at home depot.  That will be enough light to bring out all the colours of your fish, and it's enough light for coralline algae growth if you use 50/50 actinic/10000K bulbs.   When you are ready for corals, especially hard corals, you will need more light.