Ratpack Posted March 11, 2003 Share Posted March 11, 2003 Hi, I am new to the forums and have a broad question. I have what I believe to be an 18 gal tank and stand that I had bought for my daughter but now I want a Nano-reef. The tank is about 12-14 inches square and about 20 inches tall, is this a good tank for a first Nano-reef? I have had saltwater tanks for years and currently have a 135 gal community tank. I see that most people have tanks that are longer than tall but I hate to pass up a tank I already have especially since it has a stand and all already. Also, I plan on putting 4 13W PCs in a hood, is that sufficient? Should I put more sand in the bottom to move the corals and things closer to the surface? Sorry for all the questions. Link to comment
deacon hemp Posted March 11, 2003 Share Posted March 11, 2003 ratpack,an 18 gal makes a good reef my ? to u is,is the tank brand new or has it been setup before if so try to remember if it has been treated with copper medication,if it has i wouldn't use it.That lighting would be sufficent enough fer mushrooms and polyps but with that height prolly not lps corals.all u need is 2 to 3 inches of sand bed.i would go with a brighter light. Link to comment
Vandur Posted March 11, 2003 Share Posted March 11, 2003 Ratpack, I have had my 20H (roughly 18 true gallons) setup since July. Minus one incident, my own fault (I hit the heater when I was moving rocks around), it has performed beyond my expectations. I picked it because (1) I already had it and (2) I wanted to start out on a tank that I could really try many different things. My original setup was: 1 - 20H All glass (not the company-the make ) aquarium 1 – 175W Heater 1 – Prism Skimmer (probably not need if you do a lot of water changes but… better safe then sorry) 2 – medium flow pumps (can’t remember the name at the moment) 1 – 32w PC’s running a 50/50 I have about a 3” sand base with about a ½” of “miscellaneous” shells, crushed rock, etc. As far as live rock goes, I have seven medium to large pieces. I am not sure if it was the right way to go though. I think if I had done smaller softball sized pieces I would have more area’s to put corals, but I have them now so I am sticking with them. *grin* One note about the larger rock: with the size of my rock I have a large gap behind most of them, 90% of the time my shrimp hide behind them. It’s quite annoying as one of them is particularly cool looking. Also, cleaning the glass can be a pain in hind-end sometimes, one of my larger rocks blocks my scrapper, so I have to dig in there with my hands. Normally this wouldn’t be a problem, but I have 24” h tank or so, on top of my kitchen counter, maneuvering so my hand can get in there can be a pain. In my original setup I had a Bubble Polyp, about 12 mushrooms, 3 ricordia (1 came on a piece of the live rock.. then it split twice), and some zoo’s. After my incident, I went ahead and upgraded the light to 3 – 32W PC’s 2 running 50/50 and the third running straight Actinic 03. I have been happy with it, but recently ran into a major algae bloom with the new setup. I also noticed that my bubble polyp also seems to be a little less happy with the additional light. My coralline algae is just starting to grow back now, so I will post some pictures to the Members forum as soon as it starts looking more “presentable”. J Good luck and send pictures when you have it setup! (Oh, and if you have used copper in your tank DEFINITELY follow Ratpack’s advice!) ~R Link to comment
Ratpack Posted March 12, 2003 Author Share Posted March 12, 2003 Thanks for the info. The tank has been set up but I don't believe I used copper. I tend to stay away from that stuff. With 10 gal tanks so cheap, I may be better off to just get one of those and then my lighting should be more appropriate to keeping some other corals. Although there aren't many that I want. Just some leathers or toadstools, mushrooms and polyps. Then I would just go from there. Link to comment
CRG Posted March 12, 2003 Share Posted March 12, 2003 I have a 15H with 2X36W PC and so far I love it. As Vandur mentioned, the taller tanks can be a pain to clean, particularly if you stack your rock high. I think you will be fine with the lighting you suggested if you just want to keep shrooms and such, but believe me...you will want more. I'm currently pricing out another tank with a metal halide setup and I've only had this tank running for about 3 months. In other words, it gets addictive Link to comment
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