Really good question out of the ordinary

[Jason_Rookey]

I have a 30 gal now with a 10 gal sump. Is it possible to put a lionfish in the top tank with some live rock, and put some corals, a clown,some inverts in the sump with some more live rock and how would I keep the gravel and rocks clean in the lionfish tank?
What kind of lighting would you reccomend on the lionfish tank with the live rock

 

[TRe]

hate to break it to ya but yur tank isnt big enough for a lion fish.... time for plan b

 

[Cichlid-Man]

What about a Zebra Lionfish or Fuzzy Dwarf? I thought those were 30-40gal species?

 

[zoalover34]

Plus the lion will probably eat the clown lol

 

[Lotus]

Overall, the setup you're proposing would work in terms of having a non reef-safe fish in the display and corals and another fish in the bottom. However, you will lose some of the "refugium" properties by not having macroalgae, etc. in the fuge. It would really be just as good to do two tanks that aren't connected.

I think you would need a larger tank for a lionfish.

 

[Lorna]

Another thing to consider is that lionfish tend to be messy eaters and produce a large amount of waste which will increase your nitrates and if connected to the sump will impact the occupants of the second tank with higher than normal nitrates.......you would then probably need another tank to act as a refugium and a spot for macroalgae in an attempt to keep these under control. Your plan would need a better higher wattage light on the sump as corals are more light demanding than the lionfish/live rock which don't require specific lighting and could get by with minimal light