jkstiles Posted March 7, 2004 Share Posted March 7, 2004 I am in the planning stages of setting up either a 20 or 29 gallon nano-reef. I intend to use live rock and a live sand bed. And intend to keep corals that will need sufficient lighting to survive. I will be using a BakPak2-Reef Ready filter. My questions surround lighting. What power compact lighting would be best for a system like this? I'm assuming at least 96w is a must for a tank this size housing corals. Also, what wattage heater would be best for this? I need all the help available because I want to set this thing up right to begin with to save expensive reworkings later. Thanks, Keith Link to comment
TroyT Posted March 7, 2004 Share Posted March 7, 2004 5 watts per gallon on the heater. 20g = 100 watt heater. Depends on the coral type as to your lighting. If you can look into metal halide lighting. If not, look into the highest quality PC system you can afford. Don't skimp on your lights. For LR/LS i use 1.5 pounds of LR per gallon and 2 pounds of LS per gallon. Some people use more and less find what is right for you. Your first aquarium? Get the larger tank. If I may, I would like to recommend three good books. Setting up a Saltwater Aquarium by Skomal. Marine Reef Aquarium Handbook by Goldstein. Marine Fishes by Michael. Link to comment
SDMike Posted March 7, 2004 Share Posted March 7, 2004 I've got a 29 as well. I went and bought a Coralife 2x65w PC fixture from some peoplet that got hornswaggled at an LFS. The corners of my tank are a little shadowed, but overall, it make a nice light. One of the neatest tanks I've seen is a 29 lit with the same style lighting (retro into a hood vs. self-contained unit). Then I went and did the "HD DIY Special" 70w MH lighting setup and discovered that one 70w MH lamp put out just about the same amount of light as both PCs... You wanna have some real fun? Check out what some of the guys in the DIY section have done to their CSL fixtures! The options are as limitless as the size of your wallet... Oh, and there is no such thing as setting it up right the first time. Trying to figure out what works for your situation and what doesn't, you'll end up doing things several times anyway. That help? Mike Link to comment
jkstiles Posted March 7, 2004 Author Share Posted March 7, 2004 Yes, that is exactly the kind of information I need. I was concerned about the quality of the Coralife lights since I hadn't seen much info on use of them. I'm not going to do any extremely high light intensive corals. Will compact flourescents work for a Tridachnid clam? That is one item I'm interested in. Link to comment
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