Mini Reef Setup

[stacyt]

I'm thinking about setting up a mini reef, and wanted to get some input. I have a 10 gallon tank, and a 32 watt PC light, small powerhead, heater, and 20 lbs LS. Currently I have on the tank an emperor 400 filter. I'll add about 20 lbs. of LR. Do I need the filter? Should I add a skimmer? I was thinking maybe replace the filter with a skimmer. Any suggestions?

 

[j21kickster]

Keep the filter and dont worry about the skimmer

 

[frankl15207]

Concur with j21kickster. I have a prizm skimmer that I don't use because, well, it sucks. I put it on the 10 for about a month and what it removed wasn't worth the electricity that it consumed.

 

[stacyt]

Thanks for the input. What would be a good stocking list of corals for this setup?

 

[jonthefb]

where did you find a 35 watt bulb with ballast?
if you dont mind me asking.
jon

 

[stacyt]

Acutally its a 32 watt. It's a retrofit kit for the 25 gallon eclipse tank made by smartlite. It fits perfect on a 10 gallon hood. Got it from a freind that replaced his eclipse hood. Most LFS refer to the lights as the eclipse hood retrofit lighting.

 

[hurley]

I have a 15 gal. tank, & it's been set up for about a year & a 1/2. I use a two in one filtration & skimmer combo,& I think it works really good. There is plenty of foam waste on the top of the collection resivor,& I only have to clean the one component. Having a skimmer would'nt hurt, it would only help, especially if you dont want excessive algae breakouts, but I guess it's really up to you.

 

[stacyt]

HURLEY
what corals/fish/inverts do you have in the 15? So far all I have is 1 velvet damsel. About 1/2" in length. I'll probably throw some sort of skimmer on, I'll be replacing a couple on my larger tanks soon.

 

[hurley]

I have two Cerianthus(pink tentacles, purple center) other (purple tentacles, fluorescent green center). Two styles of hammer corals,(tree branch type)&( L shape type). 1 fluorescent green " star Polyp". 1 pulsating Xenia. 3 watermelon mushrooms. 1 fluorescent red mushroom. 2 florida false corals,aka (ricordea). 5 astraea snails. 5 hermit crabs. 1 sand sifter star. alot of feather dusters on live rock. 1 scarlet cleaner shrimp. 1 pipe fish. 1 multicolor (black/orange) gobi.

 

[jonthefb]

wow hurley, thats quite a bit in a 15. hows your sand sifting star doing? most things ive read said to keep them in a min of a 50 gallon tank with a dsb. i just pulled mine from my 20(he was a monster though like 6 inches across)
also, stacy, how much did you pay for your bulb if you dont mind. the reason i ask is because i wnat to get biggerl ights for my 7.5 gallon nano, and need something that will put out some light!
thanks
good luck
jon

 

[stacyt]

jonthefb
I didn't pay for the lights, but I believe that new the ballast, reflector, and bulb sell for around $40-$50. They use a single, 32 watt 50/50 bulb.

 

[jonthefb]

thats awesome, any idea where to get the little guy? the reason i ask is because i have a 7 gallon nano that only ahs a 13W light in it at the tiem being, its a 50/50 bulb, but is not enough to keep any kind of corals and such. i would really like to get something bigger and this little fella sounds like what i'd need. any suggestions as to where to find this little retro kit?
thanks again stacy
jon

 

[stacyt]

jonthefb
You should be able to pick these up at any LFS that carry's the eclipse tanks. The normally refer to them as the retrofit lighting kit for the eclipse tank. They are made by custom sea life. There web address is www.customsealife.com Look at the smartlite retrofit kits, and you can get all the info on them.