Newbie Help

[GaD]

I'm really close to starting my first nano-reef but still have some questions.

 

I was looking at getting:

either a minibow7, bowfront 10/12, or a nanocube (any +/-'s would be greatful)

2 Mini-Jet 606's

Florida Live Sand/Premium Deco Rock

was thinking of running aplenum (like the GARF people use) and then if needed adding a refungium/skimmer combo from Superior.

 

My ultimate goal is to have like 2 perc's, a shrimp & some cleaning guys.

 

Thanks in Advance.

 

:*(

[jaguilar]

if your ultimate goal is to have a pair of clowns, then you would be better off getting something bigger than a 7g. i have a pair of true percs in my eclipse12 along with a firefish. if you like bowfronts, then maybe you should look into the eclipse sytem 12. it's a really nice tank, and it looks really clean with the completely enclosed hood. i don't think i would run a plenum on such a small tank though. from what ive read here, they can do more harm than good in a nano. the people at garf run tanks that are at least 50 gallons, so it does work for them. but for a nano, a 2-3 inch layer of fine grain live sand would be sufficient. the refugium would also be a good idea. type in 'plenum' in the search box at the top of this page, and see what people here have to say about them. you should come up with plenty of information from quite a few knowledgable reefers here. good luck..... j...

[Tempest]

For a pair of clown fish I'd go with a 10 or 12 gallon tank. The eclipse 12's are nice but will be difficult to mod if you decide to get corals later on. They're good FOWLR tanks, but it will be hard to get a refugium on it without cutting up the hood.

 

NO PLENUM. 2 inch deep live sand bed and 1.5 lbs of live rock per gallon + powerfilter and powerheads for chemical filtration (phosphate remover, carbon, etc.) and water motion. The stock filter in the Eclipse is decent, just ditch the biowheel to avoid nitrate build-up.

[Aiptasia]

The jury is still out on plenums, but I use them. A 3" to 5" sandbed layer will accomplish the same thing.

 

Fish are ammonia producing machines, which means you will have to cope with high nitrates. You might not think this is a factor with a FOWLR tank, but if I know most clownfish buyers, they're also going to get an anemone for the clowns.

 

Anemones are naked corals, and they also don't like high nitrates. Yes, go for the skimmer and refugium combo. The skimmer will pull out organics before they can reach the nitrogen cycle and the refugium can be used to grow DOC loving algaes, such as painters brush (penicillium), Ulva spp (sea lettuces) and Caulerpa spp.

 

With good LR, a plenum or deep sandbed as a NNR zone, a skimmer AND DOC algaes, your tank should be able to handle a lot of corals.

 

Tip: Some DOC algaes release substances into the water that SPS corals hate. Use some GAC in the refugium to remove them.

[GaD]

In the refungium do you have to put a light on it or will it still filter without one?

 

also whats a good skimmer? i've read that skiltors are bad, & Lee's is ok.