First SW and Nano

[Greg31]

I have been doing a lot of research over the last couple days and am really starting to want to set up a saltwater tank. I have been doing FW for a couple of years including a 150g which has yet to be set up. (who knows, it may be SW if this experience goes well)

I have a 20g that I want to use for a coral and fish tank. I think I will want to set up a 10g sump, and possibly a DIY refugium with a Aqua clear 70.

I will probably be moving in September, would it be worth it to set this tank up now, and possibly have to move it then? Or is that too much work, and I should just wait?

Can anyone suggest a good skimmer to put in the sump?

A light fixture and bulbs for the set up I am thinking?

Thanks for your help in advance!

 

[gveng]

I will probably be moving in September, would it be worth it to set this tank up now, and possibly have to move it then? Or is that too much work, and I should just wait?

a 20g is easy enough to move if you have to. just get a couple of water jugs for the water and buckets for the live rock and coral. just depends how far your moving. i bought an already established 24g nano and thats pretty much what i did.

Can anyone suggest a good skimmer to put in the sump?

i've heard good things about Vertex, Euro Reef / Reef Dynamics, Eshoppe, and Reef Octopus. but it all depends on what deal you get and how much money you want to spend.

A light fixture and bulbs for the set up I am thinking?

it really depends on how much money you want to spend and what kind of corals you want to to keep.

Thanks for your help in advance!

i'm still new to SW but this is from the reading i've done so far.

 

[Greg31]

Thanks for actually responding though!

I am not really sure what kind of coral I want to get, but more the most part, I want to have the most care free set up I can get while still have healthy and happy fish and coral. I know it wont be actually "easy" but want it to be as simple as possible
Especially since I am first time SW guy.

 

[gveng]

Thanks for actually responding though!

I am not really sure what kind of coral I want to get, but more the most part, I want to have the most care free set up I can get while still have healthy and happy fish and coral. I know it wont be actually "easy" but want it to be as simple as possible
Especially since I am first time SW guy.

no problem man, i'm still the new guy but i'm slowly learning.

It's very easy to take care of soft corals and LPS and they do well under most lighting fixtures like compact fluorescents, t5s, etc... SPS can be tricky and also require a metal halide fixture (more money).

if money was no issue i would really look into LED lighting, it's a lot of money upfront but the bulbs last 11 years or so and they run soo much cooler.

I'm running compact fluorescents right now on my 24g and the biggest problem i'm having is heating. these lights are just so damn hot that i'm scared in the summer months i will have a problem with overheating and possibly killing all my livestock. so in the future i'll either be looking at a chiller or possibly another form of light fixture.

i've been doing a lot of reading on reefcentral.com and nano-reef.com, so maybe it will help you too.

 

[Greg31]

I have been looking at both of those sites a lot. I have read about algae scrubbers being pretty essential as well. What kind of equipment do you use?

I want to try to make this the least complicated as possible. From the info I have more or less acquired a refugium is a must. I think a sump may be good to add extra water volume to the tank as well.

I have a $300 gift card to a very nice LFS around here so money is not a big option. For the most part I dont want to spend more then $200 after I use that card.

 

[gveng]

I have been looking at both of those sites a lot. I have read about algae scrubbers being pretty essential as well. What kind of equipment do you use?

I want to try to make this the least complicated as possible. From the info I have more or less acquired a refugium is a must. I think a sump may be good to add extra water volume to the tank as well.

I have a $300 gift card to a very nice LFS around here so money is not a big option. For the most part I dont want to spend more then $200 after I use that card.

i'm running a bare bones tank right now; 24 gallon aquapod, compact fluorescent lighting and filtered with live rock and weekly 10% water changes.

i am looking for a skimmer right now but i think realistically i might just buy a hole new tank because of the lack of nano friendly skimmer options.

$500 bucks isn't really that much when you factor in live rock at $2.99-$6.99/lb, live sand $1.99-$2.99 lb, good skimmer $150.00-$200.00, good lighting $150.00-$300.00 and misc things like sump, return pumps, power heads, live stock, etc... it gets expensive quick.

if i were you i would only buy live rock and live sand from the LFS simply because i wouldn't trust some random persons tank and for the rest of your equipment i would look on craigslist.org for deals.

 

[Will@FSA]

Ive ran a 28 gal nano for a year and used the 150 watt hqi and was quite happy, just dont get carried away with too many fish, you could run into problems fast.

 

[Greg31]

I dont plan on having more then 3 or so fish.

Another question...My water is well water, would it be best to use the premixed salt water they sell at a LFS then mixing my own saltwater?

Also, as far as filtration goes, what would everyone recommend if I want a couple fish and a couple coral? (protein skimmer? live rock only? HOB? HOB refiugum? sump?)

 

[gveng]

I dont plan on having more then 3 or so fish.

Another question...My water is well water, would it be best to use the premixed salt water they sell at a LFS then mixing my own saltwater?

Also, as far as filtration goes, what would everyone recommend if I want a couple fish and a couple coral? (protein skimmer? live rock only? HOB? HOB refiugum? sump?)

if you want to mix your own SW you need RO/DI water and salt mix. LFS usually sell RO/DI water for $0.50/gallon or SW for $1.00/gallon. i think it's about $0.25/gallon if you mix your own. so it really comes down on how much you want to spend.

if you don't have a LFS near you that sells RO/DI or SW you can buy one of these and salt mix.

http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/store...ampaign=rodi&gclid=CM_HicTEz6cCFRtKgwod6SRECw

what most people do is get a bucket, heater and power head. mix the salt and water inside the bucket (not in your tank) and heat the water to whatever your tank temp is and leaving the powerhead running overnight. it's pretty simple.

i would do a sump. with a skimmer, chaeto, and live rock combo. this would make maintenance a breeze, clean out the skimmer cub every 2 days and do a water change once a month.

 

[FLESHY]

In smaller tanks, I would suggest smaller h2o changes more frequently.

The more often you can do h2o changes the better.

I do a 20g change weekly on my 125g, and this will more than likely go up to 30g because salt is actually one of the cheapest parts of the hobby.