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Innovative Marine Aquariums

Need help on selecting equipment, etc.


Lianne

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First of all I'm trying to decide between the Eclipse 12/acrylic and a regular 20 gal glass tank. Their going to cost the same. Can't I get VHO for either?

 

I'm actually only interested in a fish only tank, very few corals.

 

How necessary is a protein skimmer on a small tank? I haven't seen any that look small enough or in my budget. I hated the bakpak on our big tank.

 

Isn't 1 powerhead enough for a small tank? What should the turnover rate be, what small powerheads do you recommend?

 

What's a good online store to buy liverock? I won't need more than 20 lbs but don't know of a place that will ship under 45 lbs. Our LFS here sucks, I can't wait to move.

 

Got any good advice for me?

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If you want more fish then go with the 20g although u can't really cram that many fish in there. go for something bigger if u want a FO tank. Pc's are good enough if u wanna keep some of the easier sofite ones. Yes, you will need a skimmer if u intend on keeping more fish. 2 powerheads are better than 1, u get a more variety of flows that way. This place here sells excellent live rock for $130 shipped for 30lbs. http://www.gulf-view.com/coralline.html.

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I figured I can't go without a protein skimmer, that's ok. I'll be saving my money up for this tank. Maybe I will move to a nice 20 or even 30 gal tank. I want to wait till we move to start this tank, plus I'll have a set back because we have a baby on the way. But it'll be worth it ofcourse. I have never done corals before ,that's why I'm kinda hesitant. I have a 55 gal but I want something smaller because I hated the water changes.

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printerdown01

You will have to preform routine waterchanges on a smaller system... These are more important than on a large system! However, they are a LOT easier to do... I have to change out a gallon every other week ;) so it's not that hard! I hated having to lift those 5 gallon buckets over the tank (especially when I was 12!!). LOL, but it was worth it! Corals really aren't that hard, if you have the proper lighting and maintain the tank. I promise! :-D

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Skip the Eclipse tank:

- they need a lighting retrofit to have enough light for corals

- you can't put a skimmer on back without cutting the hood

- the filter isn't particularly useful, since most people take out the bio-wheel and don't use carbon all the time

- so you end up spending extra $$ for stuff you don't need

 

A 20g high tank will let you put a skimmer on it; a 20g long is too short for most skimmers.

 

Personally, I have a 10g going now, and I'm moving it into the 30g. I could have chosen a 20g long or 20g high, but the 30g gives me extra space to do stuff and have one or two more fish.

 

Besides, if you do a 30g, I've already done the research and asked the questions on what equipment to use. Even on a 30g, water changes shouldn't be too bad -- a gallon of water weighs about 8 lbs, and the baby should top that in no time flat. (If you have a cat, the 20 lb containers of cat litter are about 2.5 g -- perfect amount for that weekly water change.)

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I figure the Eclipse 12 would be too much pain. I am thinking of doing just a 30 gal with a nice stand to hide equipment, not sure if I want another hood or not. I just don't want to get any bigger than that. Then what would be the point of downsizing, cause that I could just use my 55 gal. I like the idea of taking less water out on water changes. I hate lifting those heavy buckets too. I want to go for a small skimmer like a SeaClone or Prizm. Are those ok skimmers? I hated my Bakpak cause it was to big and bulky.

 

Lianne:

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1)I'd go with the 20G just because I have one.

 

2)Definitely recommend a skimmer, best in class include Aqua-C, Berlin and Tunze. Go for the best.

 

3)Since it's a FO tank, ligthing would serve an asthetic purpose. I kept several button polyps and a green open brain under 15W, 10000K lamps. Placed high though. The trick is to also feed them once a week.

 

4) Pwrhead turn0ver rate should be at least 10 times the size of your tank ~ 200 gph.

 

5) Try themarinecenter.com

 

Best

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