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: