New to nano's

reeftanker84

reeftanker84

Member
I have a 15 gallon nano set up and running now for about a week,i started with cycled sand and live rock that had been cycled for about 6 months,i have a 24inch light that is a 18k,florecent i think,also got an aquarium systems skimmer(from instant ocean) also got a oc clown that came with the setup,it had been growing red slime like crazy,so i removed 90% of the water
and mixes fresh in a bucket and with the removed water i took all the rocks and scrubbed them with a toothbrush in saltwater,so i have a few questions now
1 is the lighting good for this size of tank?
2 i am only feeding the fish frozen brine shrimp 2 times per week
is that to much?
3 i heard there are copepods but i never have seen them,do you think they all died?or did my clown eat them
 
rotarymagic

rotarymagic

Active Member
What are your water test parameters (all of them), you need a different light probably.. can you post a pic of the light fixture and bulb(s)?
brine shrimp haven't much nutrition at all... feed PE mysis... way better for fish.
 
reeftanker84

reeftanker84

Member
well the bulb is brand new it is a coralife 18k bulb,its either a 20 watt or a 30 watt,got it from the LFS its ment for corals, the tank its self is only 12 inches deep,i forgot to mention that i have 2 types of zoos in it at the bottom,a cinamon one with 7 poylps and a green center on with 10+ poylps,the tank is doing much better with the 90% water change,i did have everything in a 10 gallon,thats the tank that had bad green slime,i prefer not to use chems unless its a last resort,so i cleaned off the rocks with a tooth brush,i hope i did it right,i mean i limited the rock to no more then a few mins out of water
i will post some pics i took today
as for the little copepods i have yet to see even one,where did they all go?
it there a chance that mabey the water was so bad it killed them?
keep in mind i aquired this tank from my cousin and he let it go to crap,the SG
of the tank he had read over 1.030,well lets just say it topped the hydromater
so id like to think ive greatly improved the poor creachers lives if i can give them back better then what they had
 
reeftanker84

reeftanker84

Member
one other question is,how many watts of light do you need per gallon of water? i am setting up a 29 gallon with a 10 gallon fuge/sump,i want to get metal halides but do i get the 75 watt or go with a 250 or a 400 and do i need to get actinics as well? i found a place that has 400watt MH in the 14k and 20k for 80 to 90 dallers,another thing is do i choose the 14 or the 20k?
opinions would be nice,since i hopefully plan on getting some sps,and lps and mabey an anename
 
nissan577

nissan577

Active Member
250 is to much and 400 is to much as well. the really cheap Metal halides you find will break on you. get the Sunpod 150w metal halide and hand it or build your own top with this bulb. like i did.
pretty easy to do. i have the 20k color really great. it gives it a deep blue tint. the 14k is a mix of the white and blue! super hot!
 
reeftanker84

reeftanker84

Member
will i need one or 2 150s to equalize the light all across the tank?
the tank is 30" long by 23 high and 20 deep and if i had a 250 coudnt i just raise it higher over the tank? the tank is just on a stant with no top so i will be mounting the light by a chain to my celing
 
reeftanker84

reeftanker84

Member
ok it just seems that they are so small that the whole tank wouldnt get the same amount of light,should i supliment with actinics? to reduce the stress on the corals i decide to get?
 
nissan577

nissan577

Active Member
nope. the metal halide has a few colors itself to give it an actinic look. the 20k is like a deep blue and the 14k is mix of white and blue. but has a while light!
 
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