I posted this over at Reef Central, but now that I found a local forum I decided to copy it here. Its a long post sorry!
Heya all,
I have never kept a SW tank, I do have 2 FW tanks, 10g Dwarf Puffer tank and a 20g Community. I am also planning a 29-30g Brackish set up for a figure 8 puffer and 6-8 BumbleBee Gobies. I have read all about cycling SW tanks and plan to cycle with 20lbs of live rock.
I live in a 1br apt and am planning a 20g long reef tank do to space and easy moving in the future. I would like to have all the pumps / skimmer ect on one of the short sides of the tank (or a 5.5g fuge) so it can be viewed from both long sides. I was also thinking of rigging up some kind of fuge with a 5.5g sitting next to it. The reef with be an "island" in the middle, or 2 smaller islands with a "bridge" conecting them. I havent done any research on the corals I want yet.
I am def planning on a pair of Percs for my GF. Along with a bubble Anemone. I know in a smaller tank Anemone can be a bad idea, especially since i have no experiance, but I have been researching a ton. Would a pair of percs be ok in a 20 long?
Would I need more than 1 powerhead at each end of the tank? How much current should I be looking for?
Would I need a HOB Skimmer for a 20g?
I know I want a 2" sand bed and 20-25Lbs of live rock. Should I shoot for a deeper bed? 2" already makes the depth of the tank down to 10"
With only 10" deep on a 20g long, would I need more than 96W? Should I go for 2x96w? Or do you think a 24" 2x 65w would be fine?
I am not to familliar with stocking SW / Reef, would 2 False Percs be the limit? Would a couple 2-3" Gobies be a problem? Also do you add in to the stock limit any big hitchikers or inverts I may want?
What kind of filter should I go for? Are Biowheels not effective with SW? HOB Aquaclear? A canister isnt really optional because of the way the tank will be displayed. So I am looking into HOB options.
Would you suggest a diy Aquaclear refugium mod? Would a refu be needed in a tank this small? Likw i said earlier i would love to have a 5.5g refug on the side of the tank. That way I can keep a Mantis or some other evil hitchickers I may spot, along with a deeper sand bed, live rock and maybe some maco algae. Would I need to drill in an overflow on the 20 long if I wanted to do that?
I will keep reading up and researching any help or advice would be great. I wont be setting anything up for atleast a month or two.
I have a really good LFS here with live rock and the works, (Bermuda Triangle) And one guy there seems very knowledgable and willing to help a noob more than just selling a buch of stuff. Are there any other good reef LFS I should go look at also?
Thanks all~
Heya all,
I have never kept a SW tank, I do have 2 FW tanks, 10g Dwarf Puffer tank and a 20g Community. I am also planning a 29-30g Brackish set up for a figure 8 puffer and 6-8 BumbleBee Gobies. I have read all about cycling SW tanks and plan to cycle with 20lbs of live rock.
I live in a 1br apt and am planning a 20g long reef tank do to space and easy moving in the future. I would like to have all the pumps / skimmer ect on one of the short sides of the tank (or a 5.5g fuge) so it can be viewed from both long sides. I was also thinking of rigging up some kind of fuge with a 5.5g sitting next to it. The reef with be an "island" in the middle, or 2 smaller islands with a "bridge" conecting them. I havent done any research on the corals I want yet.
I am def planning on a pair of Percs for my GF. Along with a bubble Anemone. I know in a smaller tank Anemone can be a bad idea, especially since i have no experiance, but I have been researching a ton. Would a pair of percs be ok in a 20 long?
Would I need more than 1 powerhead at each end of the tank? How much current should I be looking for?
Would I need a HOB Skimmer for a 20g?
I know I want a 2" sand bed and 20-25Lbs of live rock. Should I shoot for a deeper bed? 2" already makes the depth of the tank down to 10"
With only 10" deep on a 20g long, would I need more than 96W? Should I go for 2x96w? Or do you think a 24" 2x 65w would be fine?
I am not to familliar with stocking SW / Reef, would 2 False Percs be the limit? Would a couple 2-3" Gobies be a problem? Also do you add in to the stock limit any big hitchikers or inverts I may want?
What kind of filter should I go for? Are Biowheels not effective with SW? HOB Aquaclear? A canister isnt really optional because of the way the tank will be displayed. So I am looking into HOB options.
Would you suggest a diy Aquaclear refugium mod? Would a refu be needed in a tank this small? Likw i said earlier i would love to have a 5.5g refug on the side of the tank. That way I can keep a Mantis or some other evil hitchickers I may spot, along with a deeper sand bed, live rock and maybe some maco algae. Would I need to drill in an overflow on the 20 long if I wanted to do that?
I will keep reading up and researching any help or advice would be great. I wont be setting anything up for atleast a month or two.
I have a really good LFS here with live rock and the works, (Bermuda Triangle) And one guy there seems very knowledgable and willing to help a noob more than just selling a buch of stuff. Are there any other good reef LFS I should go look at also?
Thanks all~