brycenewfish Posted January 6, 2004 Share Posted January 6, 2004 Hi... I am very new to nano reefing and saltwater fish tanks all together. I would like to start up a 2.5 gallon nano reef. I currently am purchasing 3 pounds of live rock. And I will probably purchase some crushed coral for the substrate. Now... I know the live rock will do a good job on filtering but I was wondering what other type of filtering I should have? Right now I have an AquaClear 150 power filter... Is this good enough? What exactly is a fuge? Protein skimmers are out of the question? What about some cheap lighting? I have been reading a lot about actinic bulbs. Now I can make stuff myself too but I hope to keep it cheap... Please help me out. Link to comment
ninhsavestheday Posted January 6, 2004 Share Posted January 6, 2004 dont use crushed coral. they will trap nitrate and then cause problems. when you use the ac 150 remove all the media and use it just for current. you dont need a protein skimmer because weekly water changes will be enough to replenish the quality of the water. With a fuge it will benefit your system in many ways. It provide extra volume, the macro alage that you put inside the fuge will keep the nitrate low, you can hide your heater/skimmer there, etc. with a 2.5 go with 2 13w 10k 50/50. Link to comment
aqua_aaron Posted January 6, 2004 Share Posted January 6, 2004 Hello newb nano reefer! The live rock will fo all of the filtering. Many of us have HOB (Hang On Back) filters for flow and the occasional temporary carbon or other media. The hob filters also help to remove larger particles in the water if you have filter floss in them. A fuge, short for refugium, is a sanctuary that you add to you tank for its filtering and extra water volume. Algae that grows in the fuge along with along benificial creatures can help to reduce algae in the tank and filter out nutrients. Skimming is optional, but when a skimmer is added, less water changes will need to be done to the tank. I wouldn't however recommend a skimmer for a 2.5 gal. As for cheap lighting, there is a new mini aqualight by coralife for only $26 at a place called That Pet Place. (thatpetplace.com and search for "mini aqualight") Also, you could build you own hood using curlie Q's and 13 watt power compacts. Maybe some 2.5 gal owners could help with the lighting. Lastly, I would recommend reading deep into nano-reefing before you jump in. I myself, even though I had past experiences with saltwater and freshwater, perused the forums and books for about 1 month before buying the tank. One book I'd recommend is this Good Luck, aqua_aaron Link to comment
brycenewfish Posted January 6, 2004 Author Share Posted January 6, 2004 Now I know what a fuge is.... Thank you.... And now my filtration issues are addressed. I plan on doing some continued research on this topic. So about the lighting, is anyone out there who could instruct me how to build a hood for my aquarium with supplies from home depot... Or the local pet store. My local petsmart also has a light which could work: http://www.petsmart.com/fish/shopping/ligh...t%5F32986.shtml I also saw liquids tank... How he put wood all arond the tank... That looks awesome. So my biggest issue is the lighting. Any input would be gladly appreciated. Thanks again P.S. What is curly q's?... Arent they those curly flourecent lights? Link to comment
aqua_aaron Posted January 6, 2004 Share Posted January 6, 2004 okay, here come the links: curly Q instalation apply this design to the 2.5. my curlie Q hood thus far Von digity's sleek 2.5 hood that's all I feel like posting. Search this forum and maybe reef central for "2.5 gal lighting" or "2.5 DIY hood", plenty of stuff out there. Link to comment
Chris687 Posted January 6, 2004 Share Posted January 6, 2004 If I was you and you haven't purchased all the equipment yet. I would start with atleast a 7 gallon minibow. It's alot harder to run a 2.5 then a 7. The smaller the tank the less stable it is. Link to comment
brycenewfish Posted January 6, 2004 Author Share Posted January 6, 2004 It seems like I will probably use one of those curly lights... Do you think if I just put in a light strip I should put two of them in? And will this be ok for the coral? Do they need a special type of light? Link to comment
brycenewfish Posted January 7, 2004 Author Share Posted January 7, 2004 http://www.petsmart.com/fish/shoppi...t%5F32986.shtml so would this be appropriate for my set up with a few curly q lights? or should I do something else? and if so what? Link to comment
maroonclown Posted January 8, 2004 Share Posted January 8, 2004 Go with a minibow 7, 20 gallon sump/ fuge, and a 70w halide. Don't wast you time with the strip light. Link to comment
Von digity Posted January 8, 2004 Share Posted January 8, 2004 If your still planning on doing the 2.5, I recomend not building a canopy, but buying the coralife 18 watt, 9 inch fixture. It's all you need to get started with some softies, and hellolights.com has it for $36.00 (minus shipping.) The fixture I built would cost about $50.00 if you start from scratch, so I don't recomend it if your trying to save money. I just had alot of parts/crap lying around when I built it. Otherwise, do what Chris687, and get a lil larger tank, and increase it's volume with a sump. Since your new to SW and reefs, a larger tank will be more forgiving/less sensitive to any mistakes you make along the way. The Minibow series are a really nice looking tanks. Link to comment
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