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System design


caddyshack

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okay well I'm still earning my cash for eveything but so far i have:

 

1. 1x 20 gallon aquarium

2. Instant Ocean salt

3.Instant Ocean hydrometer

4.siphon for cleaning

5. 150w heater or 200w can't remember to lazy to look :happy:

6. Live sand

 

 

stuff to get: post pics later

 

1x stand from live aquaria $95

1x korola 2 or 3 $37 or $43

1x marineland c-160 canister filter $88

1x prizm hang-on skimmer $75

1x Nova Extreme light fixture 2x 65w w/ 2 lunar lights $145

1x Fiji standered Live Rock 45.lb box by live aquaria $90

 

Stuff Recommended:

 

please recommened anything you think i need :D

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I don't think you need a canister filter; your live rock will be more than enough for filtration. A HOB filter with out biowheels/filter media would be okay.

 

Also, you need some type of test kit. I recommend API's saltwater master kit as a begginers' kit.

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Couple of suggestions:

 

Go with 2 Koralia 1's as opposed to a single 2. Will allow you to create better flow across the entire tank.

 

Look at getting a refractometer. The hydrometers are pretty inaccurate except in a few cases.

 

Ditch the skimmer. If you keep up with water changes, you won't need it. If you do want one, look at the Taam Rio skimmer. Not bad for half the cost of the Prizm.

 

Your lighting is going to be a big limitation. The twin bulb setup will not give you very many options for tweaking the color temperature and getting the best for your corals. Lighting is one thing you don't want to skimp on. Some options to keep the price down would be a 150W MH (Fish Need It, Sunpod, Viper, etc...), or a 4 bulb T5 retro from Reef Geek or similar. The T5 retro will be far superior in terms of light output because of the better reflectors over the Nova.

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+1 for getting two koralias instead of one. It's important to have turbulent flow from more than one angle. That was actually my first thought, but then I forgot when talking about the filter.

 

 

Your PC (Power compact) lights are okay for low-medium light soft corals. But, like evilc66 said, even easy corals like zoas and leathers will respond positively to a better light like T5s or MH, and you will have the option of getting stony corals without having to buy another light.

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okay i will take in your considerations, make a edited list and post tommorw thanks :D

 

I don't think you need a canister filter; your live rock will be more than enough for filtration. A HOB filter with out biowheels/filter media would be okay.

 

Also, you need some type of test kit. I recommend API's saltwater master kit as a begginers' kit.

 

Whats HOB stand for???

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sorry, it means Hang On Back (like those from Aquaclear or Tetratec). Some people make them into refugiums to house chaetomorpha.

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Couple of suggestions:

 

Go with 2 Koralia 1's as opposed to a single 2. Will allow you to create better flow across the entire tank.

 

Look at getting a refractometer. The hydrometers are pretty inaccurate except in a few cases.

 

Ditch the skimmer. If you keep up with water changes, you won't need it. If you do want one, look at the Taam Rio skimmer. Not bad for half the cost of the Prizm.

 

Your lighting is going to be a big limitation. The twin bulb setup will not give you very many options for tweaking the color temperature and getting the best for your corals. Lighting is one thing you don't want to skimp on. Some options to keep the price down would be a 150W MH (Fish Need It, Sunpod, Viper, etc...), or a 4 bulb T5 retro from Reef Geek or similar. The T5 retro will be far superior in terms of light output because of the better reflectors over the Nova.

 

I researcher the taam rio skimmer and it seems to be a hit or miss i read reviews on 3 different sites I"ll pass but will research some lighting systems and see what i come up with :happy:

 

 

sorry im bad with all the new abbreviation stuff ;)

 

hows this one looked at 3 other ones and this is the best i can find

 

24" Orbit 2x65W SunPaq w/Lunar Lights/Fan(Current

post-35155-1219541351.gif

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with that light you could keep softies, lps, zoas, shrooms. No sps or clams though. Ive never seen it so i cant tell you if its good but its PC so your limited when it comes to corals

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Watts per gallon doesn't mean anything any more. That light will allow you to grow softies and lps, but not sps and clams. A 150W MH will allow you to keep whatever you could ever want. It's not the extra 20W that makes the difference, but the emmited wavelengths of light produced by the bulb. MH and the right T5 bulb will produce light in more beneficial light in the right wavelengths that PC can't (mainly down in the UV-C area).

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fishneedit.com has some knock off mh's. Ive never used one but they look pretty nice and should fit in your price range. Is your tank a 20g long or high? if its a long idk if it will be appropriate for that wide of a tank.

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Then the light should be great for your tank to keep all kinds of stuff. I would suggest replacing the bulb as it is probably a cheap bulb. It also comes with the mounting legs so it can just mount to your aquarium like in the picture i believe.

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It's better than any DIY MH setup and those do fine. Those fixture are actually pretty decent. The only downside is the magnetic ballast. Not the end of the world, it's just that they are a little big. That light is going to be without question the best bang for your buck.

 

Sunpods also work well, but then you are getting into a different price range.

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Try looking around reefgeek.com or marinedepot.com for some better quality MH fixtures. Retrofit kits are the ultimate bang for your buck.

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i will stick with the nova extreme t-5 because i have never really been intreseted in sps corals nut i will be posting pics in a few minutes of the stand, powerhead,lighting,skimmer,and rock........

 

p.s. so a canister filter is not nesceary what about fish waste???

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