Starting a 20gal

[skabooya]

I keep going back and forth on starting up a saltwater tank. Ive been researching and doing all that fun stuff and deliberating between discus and marine for over 2 years now. Im finally gonna take the plunge and do salt. I am tearing down my 20gal freshwater tank. Still need to get rid of the plants in there. I have 3 tanks in my home all of which are freshwater planted. I also have one in my science classroom. I cant start this tank until after school is over. There is still 2 weeks left then on the 10th im presenting the science awards and then i will be supervising the provincial exams and then on the 26th i will be attending the grad ceremony. I am so proud of my grade 12's.
Anyway, i am terrified of starting even though i have done my research i feel like im going to do something terribly wrong. Im going to spend all this money and everything is going to die or im going to get apista or something nasty.
I am going to go super slow because i have time and not a lot of money lol ;P
Most of what i am going to buy will be from this forum and from other forums... or donations if anyone wants to help a poor teacher out.
So these are my plans so far.
I have a 20gal almost ready to go.
I need some sand and some LR. Im thinking about getting dead rock and then seeding it with some small pieces of LR. Letting it go for a few months so the corraline goes everywhere and the 'good stuff' is all over the tank.
Im not sure what i am going to do for flow yet. I do have 2 AC's i can use although i really like the look of those korala's i dont know yet
Im looking at the new wave 2x24 T5 fixture from ocean aquatics. Is this a good fixture for my 20H?
I am in love with zoas and shrooms. Those are the main corals i want. I may get one or two lps coral but really its not what i am in love with. I also want to get some feather dusters.
Im not sure what i want for fishies. I love inverts like little hermies and snails. I would love to get a crab as well but ive read mixed reviews about them.
My fav fav fav fish is a coral beauty but i know i cant have that in a 20 gal. Im looking at a yasha/pistol combo Or one or two active fish. I have no idea what yet. clowns are cool but soooo common. yellow tail blue damsels are neat too but meh. firefish hide a lot... i still need to think on this as you can tell.

Of course i will need to get salt, and a hydromoter, food (not sure what kind) but yea as yo u can tell im not in a huge rush to get this up and running. It will be started this summer and it will sit for a few months before i buy anymore for the tank. mostly because i dont make any money during summer

Im freaked out about starting, someone please hold my hand through this. Am i planning right? what am i missing. Please help.
Again i would like to know about the new wave T5 lighting because i would like to purchase it soon.
Thanks in advance.

[skabooya]

Ive been doing more research on PC's and they are not very energy efficient compared to T5's. I would like to go for 4x24 T5's.
I would like to pick up the lights pretty soon. Is this a good fixture? http://www.jlaquatics.com/phpstore/s...ID=sl-t5nw2404

[BigA]

Seems ok. Somethings I would pay attention to on that unit....

1) It says that bulbs not included. Expect to pay another $100 for 4 bulbs

2) It says it must be hung from the ceiling. If it was me who was buying, that is not very practical. Not that I move my tanks around often, but I'm not big on hanging things from the ceiling.

Other than that, I would say it looks good.

[gqlmao]

For the price thats a great fixture! besides having bulbs it will end up costing around 240. I've had it under a 24 inch deep tank and it did fine but thats just my opinion. for a 20 gallon that should be plenty sps, clams. But another point is that the fixture doesnt have a splash guard which protects the bulbs and the reflectors however for that price you can expect a little less than perfect. Also it doesnt have a power switch that allows certain bulbs to turn on, therefore leaving you the only option to turn all 4 bulbs on at once when you plug it in. One last thing is that the ballast is a workhorse ballast, these are cheaper ballasts and definitely weaker than icecap ones for example which are said to overdrive t-5 bulbs.

Hope this helps!


Stanley,

[gqlmao]

Hey heres an image of just the t-5s on my cube, my other light isn't on, just to give you an image of the intensity of the light. The tanks 30x30x24.




Stanley,

[Midknight]

Nice looking tank, but you may want to get someone that mixes your sand up a bit.

[gqlmao]

ahaha Thats a deceptive picture lol. Its actually barebottom :P Heres a better pic when its clean and with my sets of light on! My mh and t-5s mix quite well together Although I think mh + t-5 on a 20 gal a little over kill

[skabooya]

so then would it be better to go with 2x24 T5 for my tank? I dont want to keep sps or clams but i want nice bright corals. I want my zoas and shrooms to pop and i may want to keep some lps like a brain but really im more interested in my softies.
Ive been recommended PC's but ive read they are not cost efficient, however they are in my price range. Im gonna keep looking around but i would like your opinions about what you think would be the best lighting for my situation. I really dont want MH. just for an FYI.

Oh and thanks for all the responses it really helped me out quite a bit.
PS that is a good looking tank

[gqlmao]

I guess 2 t-5 would work depending on how wide the tank will be, pretty sure its 12 inches if standard correct me if im wrong? the fixture itself is around 10 inches wide. If you want bright coloured zoas and lps and softies I'm sure you can get away from 2 t-5s however you wouldnt get much of a choice with spectrum because of the minimiumness of bulbs. Just make sure they are HO and not regular t-5s. I think 4 would be even better for corals however 2 will definitely be sufficient as long as they got individual reflectors. Stay away from PCs IMO they are expensive to replace bulbs. Also they produce a lot of heat and definitely lacks in bulb selection and life compared to t-5s. Thanks


Stanley,

[skabooya]

Yea thats what ive been reading about PC's. Theyre not very energy efficient either. Im gonna need to look around for a 2-24w T5 with individual reflectors then. Anyone else with opinions on 2x24 being okay for a 20 gal High. and yes its just the standard 20 gal L24xW12xH16.5.