Dontfear Posted March 14, 2015 Share Posted March 14, 2015 Ahoy! So I know it's been done ad nauseum but I'm going to start my very own edge reef tank. I bought the edge about 6 months ago and currently love it as freshwater but saltwater is calling me and I can't resist. I'm the type of person who does a lot of research before purchases so I thought I'd start this read to get some feedback. All posts greatly appreciated! Let's begin, Lighting: after some searching I'm leaning towards the ai nano for $275. I'm trying to put this tank together on a bit of a budget but good lights seem like an absolute must. It seems like in looking for lights though that a lot of the most talked about options are pretty old. With how much the price of technology comes down every year I wonder if there's a newer good light out that would work better/cost less. I do not want to remove the hood so the ai nano is nice in that I can just drill it into the mesh top Power head: I'm thinking wp10 to start. For the price difference compared to the mp10 it seems like a no brainer. Would the 25 be overkill? Or maybe 2 koriola 240s Filter: seems like the stock filter will work if I change the medium. I've seen filter floss and Purigen in a lot of people's set ups but tbh this is an area I havent really looked into yet. Any advice is all the more welcome! Heater: already bought this for current setup. Not sure of the brand but you have control to set the temperature so I don't foresee any problems with it Ro/di: not trying to break the bank here. Seems like I can get a decent one for 120-130. Saw one on Amazon with a few good reviews for 65. I've never used an ro/di so I'm not sure if it's something worth risking the lower cost option. Any thoughts here? Live rock: really not sure if I go live rock or dy and if so pre cured or not and then online or lfs. With such a small tank it seems like I might be fine just going to a reputable lfs here in St. Louis and hand picking some. This also leads me onto to other questions such as should I get a bin and try to cure my own live rock or should I start it in my tank and just wait til the die off stabilizes and everything's looking good Refractometer: seems like people use just their refract or they use a hydrometer and calibrate it with the refractometer. I'm leaning towards just a good solid refract but if hydrometers are significantly easier to use maybe I get both. Would love some good suggestions here. Further down the road when it comes time for livestock I'm thinking the uber cliche 1-2 clownfish. I'd love to have 2 but I've seen the effect too small of a tank has on a fish and I don't want to do that. Thoughts on having 2? Haven't researched cuc yet but I will soon. I have more questions to ask but I've been typing for a while now so I think I'll leave it here and come back if/once I get a reply or two. This is my first foray into online forums so I have no idea what to expect but as stated before, all help is greatly appreciated. Kind regards! Link to comment
Revenant Posted March 14, 2015 Share Posted March 14, 2015 You can certainly have 2 clownfish in a 12G Edge. I have been doing it for well over a year now. Here's a pic at about a year or so. Ignore the fake plants... covered in corals now. Link to comment
Cencalfishguy56 Posted March 14, 2015 Share Posted March 14, 2015 Is do one koralia 240 granted the dimensions of the tank, look into the nano tide from Dave with storm controller or if not AI nano is an excellent choice, why not save the money on an RO/DI unit and just get it from a good LFS? I pay 50 cents a gallon and so I roughly spend $2.50 a week for water lol, also I would just get cured live rock to save you the headache of having to wait for the thing to cycle plus you don't want to take the risks of leaching phosphates from dry rock or non cured rock, and I ised to use a hydrometer and to be honest a refractometer is just as easy but dead on accurate so just get the one off amazon, that's what I did, good luck post pics! Link to comment
jmp21677 Posted March 14, 2015 Share Posted March 14, 2015 I'm starting one as well and will be using the tide with controller for lighting. Tiny light with a great look Link to comment
Dontfear Posted March 15, 2015 Author Share Posted March 15, 2015 Went to the lfs today and they had some pretty good looking live rock for $7/lb so that makes that decision easy. Now as far as lights.. Thank you for the input Cencal! I was not aware of the nano box and it has quickly jumped to the top of my list. I really like the inclusion of the lime led and innovations like that really speak to the quality of the company. It also helps that every review I've seen for Nano box has been raving about it. Just to triple check though, is it powerful enough to comfortably grow everything I might want to grow in a tank this size or will I be limited? If so, would the ai hydra 26 be overkill for a size this tank? Haven't seen many threads about the hydra on an edge so that might be a sign. Also Revenant, I'd love to see a pic of your tank nowadays to see how much it can grow in that time span. I'll put up a picture of my fw setup soon too once I figure out how. Again, if anyone has a good recommendation for a solid refractometer or anything else I'm all ears! Link to comment
Dontfear Posted March 15, 2015 Author Share Posted March 15, 2015 Also, does anyone know anything about the ai prime? For $200 with built in wifi it sounds pretty appealing Link to comment
skyscraper2290 Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 You could do a tide from nanobox and the new bluefish mini controllers should be out soon so you could pair it with the light. I have a duo and it's such an awesome light and Dave has the best customer service Link to comment
Cencalfishguy56 Posted March 16, 2015 Share Posted March 16, 2015 Also, does anyone know anything about the ai prime? For $200 with built in wifi it sounds pretty appealing Yea definitely the nanobox lights will grow everything you could possibly want if I would have seen the tide I would have got it instead of my kessil and saved some money but I still love the light I have so I can't complain plus Dave from nanobox is an awesome guy with great customer service! And you can customize colors to match your scheme lol I somewhat regret my decision now Link to comment
Dontfear Posted March 16, 2015 Author Share Posted March 16, 2015 I just wonder if it's worth the extra $100 or so compared to the prime with built in wifi Link to comment
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