20gal Questions.
 

i have an extra 20gal tank.
i was wondering if the 24" corallife aqualight 130 watts PC is good enough for it. im planning go get at least 25lbs of LR, couple of PHs, AC powerfilter, 1-2 inch sandbed, cleanup crew, a shrimp, 2 clowns, some zoos, softies, and a RBTA. just doing the basic stuff...still learnin and readin. goin to do everything reallllllllyyy slowww. for water changes i could buy pre mixed water from my LFS. i was wondering if this is a good idea? since i dont want to spend money on a R/O unit. the thing is the water is from their main system that holds cured LR. its $5 per 5gal of premixed water. do i need to run a skimmer? if so im goin with the remora brand..but that will be later on down the road...since money is tight coz of school. any other suggestions are welcome.
thanks in advance.

I'd get MH's right off the bat,if you didnt already have that light.20 high tanks need MH in my opinion,especially if your planning an RBTA.Also find a small clone because they grow pretty big and quick!Its good your going to go slow,i wouldnt add the anemone for 4 months imo.The water acually seems like a good deal considering i pay 2-3 bucks just for a 5 gal of RO/DI water from safeway! Lastly you dont need a skimmer but again with an anemone in a small tank it will greatly help with water quality.

If your just going softies your original plan seems fine.Ive acually done the bta in a small tank (18g) with MH light and skimmer and it was happy and never moved.

Re: 20gal Questions.
 

I have a 20G using the 24" Coralife fixture. It is great for the zoo's shrooms, colt, etc. but I wouldn't keep an anemone in there under those PC's. I have it hooked into the larger system to keep the water param's under control, otherwise it was hard to top off etc. Skimmers are always a good idea in my mind, but I've seen some amazing BB systems that don't use a skimmer.

thanks for the replies.
well i just want an anemone cause i want the clowns to host it.
is there any softies that clowns host?
so PC lights are ok for softies?

My clowns have hosted rhodactis mushrooms. I've seen them host frogspawns, toadstools & several other soft & LPS corals.

Anthony

My clowns host in my frogspawn, and before that they hosted on my open brian (which IMO was the cutest thing lol)

My clowns host in both my xenia and one of my frogspawns corals. :cool:

IMO 135watts of PC lighting for 20 gal of water is enough to keep anything. I have been able to keep even acros under 72 watts in a 24 gal. with no colour loss.

I have kept an anemone under PC lighting with no difficulties. Especially in a 20 gallon tank since it is relatively shallow. I won't get into the water thing since I don't know where you live. As far as skimmers go I think they are highly overrated. You can easily change water in a small tank, so a skimmer is overkill IMHO. :mrgreen:

A skimmer is not overkill IMO, I use a Remora on my 20g and am very happy with what it pulls out of my water plus the additional water changes I perform. It's nice to see all that unnoticed gunk being removed from your water.

FWIW, I kept many BTA's and an RBTA under 2x65w coralife fixtures... they all thrived ! Good luck. :smile:

will frowspawns and open brains do well in 130watts PC lighting?
theres seems to be mixed opinions about coral lighting and what not.

AC 150 and AC PH 402 too much circulation for a 20gal?
any advice?

I've got AC300, Rio 800ph, rio 600ph, skimmer runs a maxijet 1200.. all in my 20g....

that is the cutest, my lil clown literally lays on his side in my open brain..

Unless you get a clone, I would recommend staying away from anemones if possible for now.. :)

a.) By the tone of the post you sound relatively new.. Anemones are not easy to care for.
b.) Anemones require feeding. buying their food is going to add up. Esp on a student's budget.
c.) Environmentally speaking, it's not a good idea to buy a wild anemone and clown because of the effects it has on the ecosystem to attain it. I've done alot of reading on anemones at Reefcentral and it seems that while SOME make it into their 2nd year of captivity the vasty majority do not. Kinda sad! Please don't let yourself be one of these people.
d.) The anemone may be able to survive on the suggested light, but the combination of general saltwater inexperience (water parameters, knowing what's "normal", research/education, lighting, feeding savvy.. is all going add up to make the entire experience more challenging for you than it needs to be. Seriously wait a bit til you learn the ropes better, then get a clone :).
e.) Anemones die often due to poor husbandry: sucked up into powerheads, bleach out and die to poor light, don't get fed often enough, harassed by their clowns until they melt, etc...
f.) Depending on the clownfish, you can get them to host in anything almost.. Personally I've seen them host in... pvc pipe, open brain (trachyophylla), frogspawn, mushrooms, rhodactis, sun corals, fungia.

You can keep the lights you have, but be careful what you put in there. if things look unhappy be sure to trade it to someone else before it gets to the point of no return. I'd start with low light corals and slowly move into other more light demanding types...

Doesn't hurt to have a skimmer, I figure.. but don't worry for a little while if you don't have it. Make sure you have alot of flow atleast.

whew.. good luck..

i've got an AC400 with 2 maxi jet's, 600's i think and it's not too much if you can believe it! also, my clown hosts my xneias at the moment but was hosting my green star polyps fo the longest time. i think i could throw an old shoe in the tank an he would host that if there was nothing else for him! :lol: