Newbie-Introductions

[iceskater2]

Hi,

 

I currently have 2 60g Discus tanks. I have kept these fish for the last 15 months with no issues what so ever. I want a new challenge and decided to start a salt water tank. I am interested in small fish and some soft coral. I know at some point I would want a anemonie, but from what I have read I should hold off on that for a long while.

 

I am in the process now of reading as much as I can and slowly getting as much of the equipment I am going to need. So far I have a 20gL tank, just ordered a jebo light 110w. I plan on using 2 tronic 100w heater's. The jury is still out on which powerheads and protein skimmer I should purchase. Any recommendations?

 

Open to any other suggestions anyone wants to throw out to me. Books etc.

[Korbin]

Welcome to Nano-Reef.com!

 

Sounds like you're on the right track.

I like minijet and powerheads (although the new maxijets are worthless IMO). The custom sea life backpack is the only skimmer I've ever had that worked.

[Aiptasia]

The CPR Bakpak II reef ready model would work fine. I use prizm deluxe skimmers on my 20g. tanks and they're o.k.. I've also heard the Aqua-C remora is a good little hang on skimmer.

 

If you're used to discus tanks, you should be able to handle a reef tank with the right knowledge and testing equipment. Discus usually require delicate water parameters using reverse osmosis water, which is perfect for making reef tank water. RO water is a must IMHO to be successful with a reef tank.

 

I use hagen and maxi jet powerheads in my tanks, and they both adapt well to a wavemaker (i.e., they don't burn out). I've been keeping my eyes on oci-wave powerheads and sea swirls, which will turn themselves creating a random wave pattern in a reef tank, but they aren't necessary.

 

Your light should be fine for deep water soft corals in that size tank, but you could certainly add more light to it later if you wanted to. I've had great success with 75% actinic to 25% daylight, but most people use a 50/50% mix of daylight to actinic light.

 

If you've got good light (strength and spectrum), good water movement (powerheads), good quality live rock, a good skimmer and good testing equipment, you'll have success.

 

Try to find test kits with salifert reagents. Here's what i'd recommend you get:

 

Specific Gravity (hydrometer or a refractometer)

pH

Alkalinity

Ammonia

Nitrite

Nitrate

Calcium

[jaguilar]

aiptasia, i've got some questions for you. i currently have a 50/50 mix of actinic and daylight on my tank. i have the 2x32w retro with one 10kdaylight bulb and one ultra actinic bulb. i wanted to switch to 75/25(actinic/daylight) by replacing the 10k with a 50/50 bulb. you said that you run75/25(actinic/daylight) on your tank. how has this worked for you? does it become too blue? and what effect, if any, does this have on your corals?

 

iceskater, sorry to be hijacking your thread, and welcome to nanofreaks.com..... good luck with your new tank and keep us posted.... j.

[iceskater2]

Thanks everyone for the warm welcome and advice. Hope you do not mind a few questions.

 

How many power heads should I get? If I decided to go with maxi-jets, how many gallons per hour do I want it to pump?? I have seen 400,600,900 and 1200 models on ebay.

 

Just how noisy are protein skimmers? The tank will be on a night stand next to the bed. Do they need to run 24/7 or could I shut it off at bed time.

 

How much sand/lr is recommended for a 20?

 

Well that is it for now, Thanks again for the welcome.

[jaguilar]

iceskater, i would recommend two powerheads on a 20 gallon tank. i have a rio180 and a powersweep in my eclipse12, and i've never used maxi-jets so i wouldn't be able to help you with those. both of my powerheads are rated at about 150 gallons per hour(each). and on top of that, i have an ac200 powerfilter which supposedly pumps 200 gallons per hour. so i have a fairly good amount of random turbulence, which is a good thing. and protein skimmers can be a little loud. but i'm one of those people that don't believe a protein skimmer is necessary on small tanks, as long as you keep up with water changes on a regular schedule. check out this article.

http://www.nano-reef.com/articles/?article=3

and for sand and lr, you would probably need about 30 lbs of sand, and about 25-30 lbs of live rock. the more the better, because live rock is gonna be your main source of filtration. hope this helps..... j.