Gulp....going to do a reef tank......

grouperhead

grouperhead

Active Member
Hey guys, how's it going? Well, I've decided to take the plunge into a reef tank. I'm doing a 20g, as that is the only size I have room for now. I have an eclipse II hood, but am not going to use it on the advice of some. Dumb reef question #1 - What type of lighting am I looking at to keep mushrooms, cup, and brain corals (those are really the only three I'm interested in at the moment.) #2 - What would be the best skimmer to use? #3 - I have 'mature' water, rock, and sand in my aggressive tanks. Should I use some of the water and/or sand to 'jump start' the cycle? #4 - Why am I kissing all of my money goodbye? #5 Suggest some good fish - I've got a general idea of a few fish I'd like to keep, but throw out some more ideas. Keep in mind it is a 20g tank. Thanks. Bo
 
von_rahvin

von_rahvin

Member
i think . . . that i am going to do a 20 gal reef as well. need something at my desk. i was looking at using pc's for lighting. i am going to try to not have anything else external or beneath it so i am thinking about a hang on skimmer or a refug. good luck. i'm interested on what people say. some new ideas would be good.
 
beth

beth

Administrator
Staff member
Hey, Bo, that's cool!
I believe you can retrofit the Eclipse for PC lighting, but brains will probably need more light than that.
The mushrooms and many soft corals will do fine with less light.
On a 20 gal, you're pretty limited for skimmers. Are you thinking of a HOT?
 
grouperhead

grouperhead

Active Member
Beth, I was thinking of a hang-on skimmer (if I could find one of suitable size) I know basically nothing about them for reef tanks, thats why I'm asking yall. JWT, Dr. Thunder (my undulate) actually told me he wanted some shrimp and corals. Bo
 
jim27

jim27

Member
Hey grouper if since your starting a nano i suggest checking out the Nano-reef.com forums they'll be able to answer all your questions and then some. I think I can answer some of your Q's since your setting up a tank much like mine, which is an 18g tall with a 5.5g refugium.
1. I think you should be fine with some PCs I dont know the dimensions of the tank so i cant say wattages yet.
2. Many people use prizms with success
3. I would
4. LOL
5. I keep a sixline wrasse and a sabae clown in mine. Um true or false percs, firefish, damsels, chromis, and cardinals are good fish. There are more but I forget.
HTH
 
nm reef

nm reef

Active Member
Bo...don't know which is better....seeing you back on the board or hearing that you've decided to build a reef!
Lighting on a 20 gal system could be done via PC retros...several vendors offer them for reasonable prices. Even with only PC's you could keep a good assortment of the type corals you are interested in. I've used a CPR BacPac 2r skimmer and its effective on smaller systems...check them out before you decide on a Prism. Some LR/LS from a established system would be a benefit to establishing your lil reef.....same as with any other system. Circulation may be more important than with the systems you normally keep....try to provide at least 10x the systems volume in turn over...corals like the circulation and it does help prevent problems.
I'm confident you'll be a master reefkeeper in no time at all...and hope to hear from you as it progresses.:cool:
 
beth

beth

Administrator
Staff member
I have used the prizm, and was unimpressed. You might want to look at AquaC's Remora.
 
fshhub

fshhub

Active Member
prizm does not highly impress me either, but for a small tank, I think would be fine. And most dont' want to spend 200 for a good skimmer on a 20 gallon.
JMO, but prizm or maybe a cpr, although the remora is high on my list of hang ons, quite pricey for a smaller tank
 
stacyt

stacyt

Active Member
I would suggest staying away from the prizm skimmer. I have a prizm, and a seaclone, and the seaclone I believe does a much better job, and requires less fine tuning. I havn't tried the CPR, but have heard a lot of good things about this skimmer as well.
As far as lighting I think you may be able to get 1 X 96 watt pc to fit on a 20 gallon tank. They make a bulb called a power quad that is a square bulb that should fit on a 20. You can pick up the retro kit for around $90 new. The 1 you posted a link for I believe is a little overpriced. I can get that light new for about the same price at my LFS.
As far as fish there are several that come to mind: sixline wrasse, watchman gobie, firefish, and percula clown.
I currently keep a 10 gallon reef, and there are advantages to a small reef. They are definatley cheaper to setup. The water changes are very easy. On the downside if something goes wrong it can cause total devastation.
 
njtrooper

njtrooper

New Member
I was looking at some kits for 1 X 96 PC's, with a 10k/dark blue combo bulb. I was going to get one for each side of my 125, and retro fit them to the 36" hood.
Is this enough lighting?
How's this combo bulb?
Should I go with a 6700 and find another way to add Actinics?
Thanks Steve
 
jim27

jim27

Member
I also recommend looking into a power quad. And on the subject of skimmers I've heard good or at lest fair reviews over at nano-reef.com from the following: prizms, modified or new seaclones, piccolos, cpr bak pak, aquac's remora(its expensive though), and probably others i cant remember. I cant personally comment on how well any of these perform since my nano is skimmerless.
 
j21kickster

j21kickster

Active Member
grouper boy- great to hear you are going reef- idealy you could do a sump- it is well worth it IMO- the CPR Bak Pac yould fare well for that aquarium personally i dont use one on my 20 but i sue a eheim canister that is rated to 60 gallons i run carbon and a phosphate sponge in addition to what comes in it- for a tank that small- you could do a 150 MH pendant with actinic pc's there are some pendants that come built like this. It has been my exp that many soft corals do better on a skimmerless tank it you have a good primary filter and keep up on water changes- having a slight amount of organic matter is taken up by many softies- as far as a cup coral- the get too large, of course this would take time but i dont think it is the wisest choice ,as well as the brains. If it is hard corals you want, things that you can frag or trim are better b/c as you know 20 isnt much. ill post a few pics of my tank and equipment for you to look at.
 
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