Building my own 20/30 reef ready aquarium

[jb61264]

Wondering if anybody has recommendations for finding a good reef ready 20 or 30 gallon reef ready aquarium?

Or is it better to buy a regular aquarium and find a local glass company to drill the holes in the tank and add my own overflow?...whats the best way to build my own overflow into a tank?

Would love any recommendations on this.

Thanks,

Jeff

 

[Piggy]

I bought my tank already reef ready. For me it was the easiest way to go.

 

[reeffreak]

I believe the large glass aquarium manufacturers-Perfecto and Aqueon(All-Glass and Oceanic) don't make reef ready tanks less than 55g.There are all-in-one specialty kits like Red Sea Max and Finnex that do.

If your talking about glass aquariums then your best bet is to drill or just use an overflow box.Lifereef.com makes nano pre-filter boxes,visit there site.

 

[jb61264]

I bought my tank already reef ready. For me it was the easiest way to go.

What did you buy?

 

[reeffreak]

Piggy bought a 120g reef ready.

 

[jb61264]

OK...after alot of research and consideration, I've decided to go with a 40 breeder aquarium and use a nano overflow box from LifeReef.com

I made this decision because I can get a 40 gallon breeder aquarium and a stand for $219 at Petco...then the nano overflow box for $89...that seems to be a very inexpensive startup...of course I'll need to invest some money in good lighting but I think this will be about as good of a "bang for the startup buck" as I can get considering my existing items (wet/dry and protein skimmer...Sea Reef brand)

I saw some lights that sit very nicely on the edges of the tank at a LFS...what are the best "tube" lights I can get...I'm thinking I want to have 2 two light (four tubes in all) setups...any recommendations?

 

[reeffreak]

Go with T5-HO fixture.They are the best thing going price wise and puts out tons of light.

Prices vary on the fixtures and your choice will depend on what you want to keep.If this is a 36'' long tank then on the low end-Nova Extreme(4x39w) is about $200.Higher end goes up from there.

Check out all these...
Nova Extreme.....T-5 Aquarium Lighting: Nova Extreme T-5 Fixtures w/Lunar Lights
Nova Extreme Pro.....Aquarium Lighting for Freshwater and Reef Systems: Nova Extreme Compact T-5 System
Tek by Sunlight Supply.....Sunlight Tek Light T5 Hood - 36" x 4 bulb: Premium Aquatics
Aquactinics TX5....TX5 Series Aquactinics 36" 5 lamp T5 fixture - no lamps: Premium Aquatics