20g mini reef setup

miamireefr

miamireefr

Member
Well I currently have a 46 bowfront and now I am starting a 20g high in my sons room.
I want to see what my limits are based on the lighting and filtration in the tank and would like your opinions.
Tank:20g High aga
Filter: Aquaclear 50
75w heater
2 in tank powerheads: Maxi Jet 600's or 900's??? Not sure yet.
Lighting: Was thinking 4x24 T5's (2)11k day bulbs (2) pure actinic bubs
Skimmer: Sea Prizm??? Any other suggestions? something HOB?
Live rock: about 20-25 lb's
Livesand: About 15-20 lbs live sand
Livestock: 3 small fish: royal gramma, percula, yellow watchman goby
coral: Was thinking about doing GSP only and allow it to consume the tank and frag as needed, but depending on what feedback I get on the T5's is what I will keep.
Can T5's I mentioned be able to support any SPS coral? thanks again folks and any other suggestions would be helpful
Nick
 
promisetbg

promisetbg

Active Member
NO,No.NO Prizm...LOL..one more NO..
Get an Aqua-C Remora or Remora-Pro skimmer. You may also need more sand than 15-20 Lbs. What are the bottom dimensions of the 20H..is it 24X12?
 
miamireefr

miamireefr

Member
24x12x16.... My biggest concern is lighting but after reviewing pricing on t5's and a aqualight pro with metal halide and 2 actinics my mind is thinking just add another 100.00 and get the aqualight and pretty much be able to maintain an SPS frag filled tank with a small clam. Any other thoughts on my tank setup? I may reconsider the GSP because sooner or later it will consume the tank.
 
promisetbg

promisetbg

Active Member
Yeah..I have had GSP spawn too...{when I used to have almost nothing but gsp} that would wreak havoc on a small tank. Why not just plumb it to a sump? That way you could put a mag-drive 3, a proper skimmer, and eliminate the need for a hang-on filter. I am not a fan of hang-on filters for SW tanks..can you tell?
At least..I would just run a couple powerheads and do weekly WC's and forget the filter...let the LR do the filtration for you.
 
lobstergrabber

lobstergrabber

Member
I have to agree about the Aqua-c remora pro. I had one on my 40 and that thing was amazing. Why not skip the HOB filter all together and just get the filter box for the remora pro with mag3 and you have a place to run carbon or whatever you may need at the outflow. Just a suggestion.
Rich
 
miamireefr

miamireefr

Member
You think I can get away with just the live rock?? Maybe I can just get creative and for extra filtration convert a 5 1/2 gallon into a small fuge/sump as you suggested? Sound doable.. I am picturing it in my head....but I need more experienced opinions rather than my "bright" ideas. :thinking:
 
miamireefr

miamireefr

Member
Will do Promise! Thanks again for the extra advice and this weekend I will end up building the refugium and posting pics for critique..
Nick
 
lobstergrabber

lobstergrabber

Member
I think if you get a quality skimmer then between that and the live rock you would have plenty of filtration. Especially if you get the skimmer box. Then you have a place to run carbon, chemi-pure, or whatever else you may need to run. If you are going to do a sump/fuge it would give you alot more options on skimmers as well. I just never enjoyed using an overflow box. Let us know what you decide to do.
Rich
 
miamireefr

miamireefr

Member
Well I decided to go ahead and utilize a 10 gallon tank I purchased from walmart for 10 bucks and will place divders as needed to create my sump/fuge.
I am basically going to use this thread to keep track of my project and post pics as progress is made.. Thanks to everyone and enjoy. check back as often as you like!!

:cheer:
To start off these are the 2 tanks... 20g High and 10gallon for sump/fuge
Painted the background of my 20 gallon using Krylon Color:True blue gloss.. I LOVE IT

More photos soon to come.
Nick
 
miamireefr

miamireefr

Member
True the cause is good but money is tight and a surface skimmer would not suffice... I am planning on an overflow into the fuge where I will have a coral life SS or a remora, along with the return pump and heater... Thanks for the suggestion though.. this will be an sps/1 or 2 clam tank with about 3 fish total...
 
promisetbg

promisetbg

Active Member
Looking excellent! Can't wait to see how it progresses!
Hey...what's that strange thing in the rt side of the pic, behind the fuge? Is that a liquor bottle?
 
bojik

bojik

Member
Originally Posted by promisetbg
Looking excellent! Can't wait to see how it progresses!
Hey...what's that strange thing in the rt side of the pic, behind the fuge? Is that a liquor bottle?
Looks like a bottle abr tap thing.. :) what exactly is that interesting device?
 
miamireefr

miamireefr

Member
Basically it's a liquor dispenser that works excellent!! currently running empty on bottles but the canisters right above the dispenser portion are exactly 1 shots worth.... You can never go wrong for screwing up a mix! Thanks all,
Nick
 
promisetbg

promisetbg

Active Member
That's what I thought..after scrutinizing it. There are similar devices used in bars that have inline liquor dispensing.{it comes from a gun} I used to be a bartender..but the old fashioned "bottle in hand" kind of girl.
 
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