Looking for Guidance - Would like to start up a nano tank

[RandomName]

So I have spent the past few days reading some "Starter guides" including the one on this forum, after wanting one of these for years. But I still dont feel like I know enough to go out and purchase the products with out th LFS people selling me on stuff I may not need.

1. I was hoping for something around 20-30 gallons. - Maybe larger depending on the footprint? I have a custom built side table that can handle a few hundread lbs with ease. Its not about the size of the tank it will getting the look I want.
2. Corals I am interested in would be most polyps, frogspawn, galaxy, and other similar items.... Squishy soft looking corals.
3. Would like to do some type of Anemone but from what I've read this size of tank is not big enough for them? However I have seen them done in much smaller tanks....?
4. Gramma, some type of clown 1 or 2 like the percula as their nice as small, saddle backs are nice but probably too big? false clown, Would love to get a black or different colour variety, maybe a goby like the yellow clown? nothing too special IMO.




Now I have read lighting guides up and down, and nothing will stick. What lighting paramiters should I be looking for if that is what I want in my tank?

Are the marineland led lights any good?
I can scoop one of those up dirt cheap, however I dont think its the Reef one, just the Double or single bright :S
what about Vertex? KZ?
Even if somebody was able to say the exact light/brand and specs that work work in this situation with the only thing changing being the length.... Makes my head spin.

Can the light go through glass/acrylic/lexan? The tank top would need to be as closed off as possible to keep fish and critters in, and the cats here out.

What about some soft corals that are okay with "low" light and I could use some marine specific Fluorescent Lamps like the coralife? But then if my hood only has room for 1 bulb, what is best to get? A high light white bulb or an actinic blue bulb?

What is the risk of small inverts or critters from escaping the tank if it has openings like for a HOB filter or Heater? I know some people have full open tops but thats just not going to happen in this house, there would be more dog hair then algae in the tank....



Is the Instant Ocean 100 protein skimmer any good?




What brand of salt?
Instant ocean seems pretty easy to get ahold of,
Coralife seems a decent price.
Can you change brands if you already have used 1 brand in the tank?




Is a reef buffer necessary? Or will the water naturally change ph once you have your salt and rock added?


Is it really necessary to use RO/DI water? What would a system for this in your house cost? What about local water? How bad would using water from the tri-citys be for salt water - coquitlam water shed?



Would a Fluval heater be any good for this type of tank?




Power Head like the aquaclear vs a Circulation pump like the aqueon. which style is better suited for this tank.


Thanks for any help
I know many of these questions will seem really stupid but I just want to make sure I do stuff right.

[George]

So I have spent the past few days reading some "Starter guides" including the one on this forum, after wanting one of these for years. But I still dont feel like I know enough to go out and purchase the products with out th LFS people selling me on stuff I may not need.

1. I was hoping for something around 20-30 gallons. - Maybe larger depending on the footprint? I have a custom built side table that can handle a few hundread lbs with ease. Its not about the size of the tank it will getting the look I want.
2. Corals I am interested in would be most polyps, frogspawn, galaxy, and other similar items.... Squishy soft looking corals.
3. Would like to do some type of Anemone but from what I've read this size of tank is not big enough for them? However I have seen them done in much smaller tanks....?
4. Gramma, some type of clown 1 or 2 like the percula as their nice as small, saddle backs are nice but probably too big? false clown, Would love to get a black or different colour variety, maybe a goby like the yellow clown? nothing too special IMO.

For a tank, Go as large as you can. Easy to keep parameters stable in a large tank. Clown hosting anemones will get huge (over 1 foot expanded, 2 feet easily) if the condition is right. So they are too big for a 20-30G tank. There are some mini anemones, like rock flower and mini-carpet that stay small, but still require strong light.

Now I have read lighting guides up and down, and nothing will stick. What lighting paramiters should I be looking for if that is what I want in my tank?

Are the marineland led lights any good?
I can scoop one of those up dirt cheap, however I dont think its the Reef one, just the Double or single bright :S
what about Vertex? KZ?
Even if somebody was able to say the exact light/brand and specs that work work in this situation with the only thing changing being the length.... Makes my head spin.

Can the light go through glass/acrylic/lexan? The tank top would need to be as closed off as possible to keep fish and critters in, and the cats here out.

What about some soft corals that are okay with "low" light and I could use some marine specific Fluorescent Lamps like the coralife? But then if my hood only has room for 1 bulb, what is best to get? A high light white bulb or an actinic blue bulb?

regular marineland led won't work even for soft coral, too weak. marineland reef led is fine if you only want to keep only soft coral. Not strong enough to keep anemone or stoney coral. If you decide to use fluorescent lamp, make sure they are at least T5 high-output (HO) and have at least 2 bulbs for your 20-30G tank. One bulb just doesn't cut it. I hear a lot of good things about vertex Illumina (not Illumilux). But again Illumina costs some silly dough. if you are doing with a small budget, you should look at fluorescent route, or a 150W MH. You can buy them cheap second hand.

What is the risk of small inverts or critters from escaping the tank if it has openings like for a HOB filter or Heater? I know some people have full open tops but thats just not going to happen in this house, there would be more dog hair then algae in the tank....

Opening like that should be fine. inverts don't usually crawl out of water. My snails may sometime stay at the waterline. But I never see them actually crawl completely out of water. Glass top is fine but just take note that they may block out some light and trap heat (but if you are using FL or LED, heat is not usually a concern).

Is the Instant Ocean 100 protein skimmer any good?

never heard of that skimmer. Don't cut corner on skimmer. I am not sure your tank has a sump or not. If not, you need a hang on the back (HOB) skimmer. Good brands for HOB skimmers are deltec, aquac C, reef octopus, etc. Again, try to get a used one to save money.

What brand of salt?
Instant ocean seems pretty easy to get ahold of,
Coralife seems a decent price.
Can you change brands if you already have used 1 brand in the tank?

Instant ocean salt is fine, especially if you are not doing stoney coral for a while. major down fall of IO salt is that it lacks calcium and alkalinity but they are not that important if you are doing softy.

Is a reef buffer necessary? Or will the water naturally change ph once you have your salt and rock added?

no. don't worry about buffer or PH for now.

Is it really necessary to use RO/DI water? What would a system for this in your house cost? What about local water? How bad would using water from the tri-citys be for salt water - coquitlam water shed?

RO/DI, not necessary if you do softy. coquitlam water is fine.

Would a Fluval heater be any good for this type of tank?

fine.

Power Head like the aquaclear vs a Circulation pump like the aqueon. which style is better suited for this tank.

Use circulation powerhead. They have wider flow. again you can buy those cheap second hand. popular brands are hydo koralia and maxi-jet.

Thanks for any help
I know many of these questions will seem really stupid but I just want to make sure I do stuff right.

[Acipenser]

Very good advise above .
Don't skimp on the light, You can pick up a good used T5 HO light and grow every thingon your list, I think you would be ok with every thing you have listed in a 20g, but you will eventually want a bigger tank, I would hold out and try and pick up a 29g AIO cube they can be found for a good price now and then. and will usually have every thing you need to start a reef tank, Check out Canreef as well .

[RandomName]

Thanks for the replys

[Acipenser]

I would get a 4x24 t5HO light there is a used one on Canreef for 150$ or go the led route if you go led custom build one or drop $400 + on 2 24" vertex ones, to set up a tank properly you are looking at between $500-$1000 Salt is not cheap and if you cheap out it's just going to cost you again when you realize you made a mistake and you spend more to buy the proper items. I have at least $1100 into my 26G bow front with no sump ! and I picked up a lot of my stuff used !

[RandomName]

Okay so I have been looking at the different fixtures available (oh how I love used)
Everyone seems to be using 10,000k lights.... Now here I was thinking with lighting, the lower the number (like 6700k) the brighter the light. Is a brighter light not what you want in this situation? or am I totally backwards, and EVERYTHING I actually have absorbed about lighting is wrong....

If I do go for a quad light, would I do 2 white lights and 2 blue? or 3 white and 1 blue?
So they need light at night? "Moonlight"? Should there be another fixture at night with a single bulb for that moonlight or is not necessary.


HAHA couldn't build a light to save my life so thats not going to happen Dont think I could afford that even if other people offered to do it.

I dont want anything toooo fancy when it comes to critters so I'm not so worried about needing to spend alot on lighting, and if I ever do want to upgrade it would probably be the entire tank.



What is your oppinion on these lights?
http://www.canadianaquatics.com/equipment/equipment.htm
Beamswork LED 400 - freshwater bright 24"-36" - 72 x 6500k + 6 x actinic 460nm in total of 78 LED for 400 lumens
Or
Odyssea T5 highout trio with digital timer fixture 36" - 3 x 39w 6500k and 3 x actinic 460nm moonlights and bonus mounting bracket set

The LED one isnt bright enough correct?
What about some of their other lights? I think most of them are too long for the size of tank I'm looking for.

[tang daddy]

Your best option now will be t5, and if you're thinking of doing a 29g tall or 26g bowfront you will need atleast a 3-4 bulb fixture.

You can run 6500k bulbs on your reef tank but think of it as a planted tank, your corals will look brown and your algae will grow like wild fire because the spectrum tends to grow plants and algae.

Most people run 10000k and above for marine application. If you were doing a 4 bulb fixture you could run 2 10k and 2 20k which basically is 2 white and 2 blue.

For skimmers and this is my personal opinion being in the hobby for over 12 yrs.... Run a deltec hang on or an equivalent like a tunze or even aqua c.
But for me I would just run skimmerless with water changes, softies like dirtier water and so do lps. The nutrients in the water will be sucked up by softies and lps. I run 2 skimerless tanks now, 1 a 15g nano and the other a 50g breeder, the corals explode in size and growth and are super healthy.


I do waterchanges once every 2 weeks at 20% that's it.

Your livestock selection seems to be spot on, and the salt you can stick with IO as it's very stable and easy to find.,for flow you could use 1 Hydor koralia 4 or 2 smaller koralia 2 or 3.

I would say your largest investment would be the lights and bulbs, don't even bother running metal halide unless your home is air-conditioned or you will run into massive heating problems come summer. Although if your tank is in the basement it should be fine because basements tend to stay cooler year round.

[RandomName]

Great info.

What type of top on a tank will allow the most ammount of "good stuff" from the lights through....
Glass, Plexi, lexan, (easy access too all 3 of these) or something else And what is the max thickness I could do? Is 1/8th too thick? 1/16th seems too bendy.

[RandomName]

Double Post O_o

[juicebox]

In general, people tend to stay away from solid lids on SW tanks. They trap heat, limit gas exchange, and limit the amount of light (to a degree). Cheapest option for a top would be eggcrate. It'll keep your fish in and your cats out...kinda ugly though. The other option is 1/4" bird mesh and a window screen kit. This option might be hard on a bowfront though.

As for lights, there is a 4 bulb TEK t5ho fixture for sale on Canreef for $ 150..awesome fixture. I think the seller goes yvr75 on this site.

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