wanting to upgrade tank..

missnano

Member
So i am wanting to get a 20 gallon tank. What lights should i get for fish and corals? And what kinda filter? With my nano tank i currently have, it came with everything so i am not sure what all i would need to put a tank together. Thanks :)
 

flower

Well-Known Member
Originally Posted by MissNano
http:///forum/post/3229438
So i am wanting to get a 20 gallon tank. What lights should i get for fish and corals? And what kinda filter? With my nano tank i currently have, it came with everything so i am not sure what all i would need to put a tank together. Thanks :)

  • A MH pendant 150w for the light.
  • I like the canister filters, they run silent, you don't have to drill the tank and you can add lots of different media. It must be cleaned once each month, you can't be lazy about it or you will have nitrate problems.
  • Add some more rock
    A small skimmer, but not right away
    Some more substrate..I like live sand best
You could go for low light corals and not need a new light at all, just fish lights. Spanko posted these pictures of some beautiful tanks of low light coral. They need extra care so do your homework before going this route.

 

missnano

Member
currently the only coral i have is a xenia.. not sure if i will get anymore.. would a fish light work for them?
 

flower

Well-Known Member
Originally Posted by MissNano
http:///forum/post/3229453
currently the only coral i have is a xenia.. not sure if i will get anymore.. would a fish light work for them?

I am sorry Xenia needs lots of light. You would need a coralife PC at the very least.
Here is a list of coral you can have with fish lights. They require lots of water changes and some need spot feeding, I will put a S.P next to those so you will know. All need high flow of water to go over and around them, so not just pointed at them. IMO They are the most beautiful in color.
  • Carnation (orange, varied reds)
  • Chili (bright red w/ tiny white star polyps)
  • Sun coral (S.P) (black, orange)
    Gorgonians (Blues, purples, reds, yellows, oranges) Some needs S.P
    Sea fans (orange, purples)
    sea pens (purples, blues)
Sponges need low light and come in lots of colors, and tubeworms {fountain heads, hard coco and giant Hawaiian, these don't care about lights and you can put them anywhere.
If you go this route you can't have high output lights, so corals like xenia would be out. If you make caves or large overhangs and make sure there is good water flow around and in them you can keep the low light coral in the caves and those needing bright lights out of them.
The above is what I do so I can have the most verity of corals. By making caves and large overhangs, you can get the low light corals for now and the xenia later if you like. Angle the cave tops so you can see your corals otherwise they are in shadow and you can't enjoy them as much.
 
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