want to start a nano 28 gal

[aarone]

hey guys!
Im new to the nano forum, and i have a few questions.
I have a 28 gal bowfront with a DSB. I have about 30# LR right now.

I plan on getting that ugly protein skimmer into the refugium when it gets done.
My lights are from custom sea life systems. I have 2x65 watt Pc, one actinic and one is full spectrum sunlight, and it also has a moonlight at night (doesnt matter)
In the tank now i have a true perc a watchman wheelers goby and a pistol shrimp. Can i add a small goby? i wanted a fire fish.
For corals i was thinking of some shrooms, polyps and other various softies.
should i have a refugium or a sump?? i want to keep my powerfilter (emperor 330 with dual biowheels) in the refugium but ihear its hard to do this.
any comments or help is appreciated.
aaron

 

[aggie05]

sounds like a good setup. I would be aware of the biowheels as sometimes they can cause nitrates to build. The bioload is fine and you could definitely get one or even two more fish easily. The skimmer is a good idea and you should be fine with any softies. The sump and fuge are also very good things to have.

 

[aarone]

bump

 

[drakken]

When I started my 28 gal nano I used my existing Penguin along with an Aqua Clear. After running the tank for a while I pulled the biowheel off the Penguin and now I just run the media. The biowheel gets covered with a thick film.
Since you have a lot of live rock you only need the Emperor
for mechanical filtration. I suggest not using the biowheels.

 

[aarone]

thanx.
I wasnt sure if the biowheels even helped out that much. I plan on doubling my amount of LR in the future. So then i will have really awesome Bio filtration! plus my DSB and skimmer. I probably wont even need that emperor.
aaron

 

[drakken]

The emperor will be good for water movement and mechanical filtration. I say keep it but clean it out once every week or two.
I clean my filter pads and filter spong evey week. It's amazing how much junk is in there.

 

[aarone]

Yup,
And i wanted to run a refugium instead of a sump, maybe when i get more LR i will be able to nix the Mechanical filtration.