Starting a 20gal

[Lance]

OOOPS! I must have been typing while you entered your post. Sorry CanuckGod, didn't mean to repeat you.

[Lance]

Oh, one last thing, Skabooya get yourself some decent test kits. Very important.

[gqlmao]

By saying 4 inches he is thinking about growing more nitrifying bacteria and other goodies, I would say 4 inches is still too shallow 6-8 inches would be your best bet at dsb. However, You do not necessarily have to have sand bare bottom tanks are fine. The flow he might be quite right because a K1 isn't very strong, I'm running a K3 and its really weak in my opinion, 2 power heads might be a good choice. Its all good you can add more flow in the long run. The rio pump should be fine for you if its lightly stock, however I have no experience with them. Remora's are alright however I heard they aren't all that great either due to its weak pump. For the salt thats up to how much water changes you make. Lower buffering means that you would have to add supplements such as baking soda for example. I've used IO for 3 years with tap water and I got no problems but its Calgary here. Just get some buffering agents at your lfs they should be around 15 bucks and will last you for a long time to come.

Don't get discouraged cause people have to learn from experience and plus you haven't tried your set up yet. Don't let people tell you what is right and wrong cause they might think they know everything about reefing, the fact is that they do not. No one does.

[skabooya]

OMG thank you everyone. That makes me feel so much better. Thank you thank you thank you. That post totally threw me for a loop. Anyway i gtg and make dinner.
Again Thanks a bunch for calming me down

[Der_Iron_Chef]

Hey there--sounds like you've gotten some good advice!

Can I encourage you to try something like this for your lighting instead of the Nova fixture? You'll get the true shimmer lines, it won't heat your tank too much, it'll definitely be enough for the shrooms and zoas...etc. Much neater and better quality, in my opinion.

Good luck!

[skabooya]

ooo that is nice Der_Iron_Chef.
And its a whole $6 cheaper and that includes shipping. I dunno about duty though yikes.
It comes with a bulb but it doesnt say anything about a ballasat. Does it include one?
How much do the bulbs cost? and where is a local supplier for those particular bulbs?

One of the reviews on that site said that it didnt last long.
And the only other thing im worried about is that its 70watts of light. The nova has 96 and the coralife pc fixture has 130. Wont the 70watts of light wash out the colours of the corals? I want them to pop. If i get blue corals i want them to stay blue, likewise for my other future corals.
But im gonna do more research on this fixture to see what others say about it.
Thank you for that link the light does interest me.... better quality for cheaper hmmmm.

[skabooya]

i just did a quick look at the JBJ viper. It does seem pretty cool but a lot of people dont like it. Aparently the reflector is bad (hammered), some say the light is yellow (but i wouldnt know so whatever), most people have this fixture over 12gal tanks. 24gal tanks have the 150 which makes me think that 70 is not enough light.
Is the ballaset a magnetic or electric. I want a lighting fixture to be as efficient as possible (ie cheap to run).
I wouldnt mind ordering a bunch of stuff from marine depot (its cheaper than other sites, gotta shop around )but because its based in the states would i end up paying duty? Are those the actual prices? I wonder what the prices would be in Canadian dollars.
MH is gonna run HOT! which im not fond of. And topoff is gonna be a pain in the rear. Aparently the clamp is a pain to use as well on these. hmmmm. Now im confused again LOL but not discouraged

[skabooya]

ok i got some more comments and i did more research. There is actually a thread going on right now about an ap24 and using either the 70 or 150 viper. So far everyone is saying 150 because of the depth of the tank.

So i guess im sticking with the nova extreme 4x24 T5 HO fixture

[skabooya]

I have to get a new tank. *sigh*
I took a close look at my 20 and noticed that there is condensation building up under the silicone. I stuck my hand in to feel the silicone and yea its bad. Its comming up in some parts. So i spoke to my hubby and he said why spend all that money on a saltwater tank for the tank to burst a little while later. He told me to just get a new tank.
Now my dilemma what should i go with. I would like to go bigger obdviously but the bigger the tank the more the expense. I want to keep it in the same price range which is under $600 for the setup.
I was thinking maybe a 20 long but where can you pick one of those up? can you get them online? are they that much more expensive?

The only issue with the 20L would be that finding a 30" light would be a pain but i can still use the 24" which is what most people use but they end up having glass on the edges of the tank for a light balance. The other problem is that the edges of the tank wont get much for light.

Should i just stick with a 20gal H ? all i need is the glass box

[skabooya]

ya know the 30gal tank is looking better and better. Its just as high as a 20 but its wider and longer. I would need to get 36" lights. And again the Nova extreme 4x39 T5 HO 36" fixture with moonlights is lookin pretty good again. But its an extra $100, i will need to get a K2 instead of the K1. Thats an extra $10, 35lbs of LR instead of 25. Thats a price increase of about $80 not including the shipping.

With the same bioload however i will have more stable params. Should work be crazy i dont need to freak out should i forget to do a WC one week. Every other week might be okay. Will need to research this more.

I am reading more about having a group of cleaner shrimp in a tank. They breed and voila free coral food. It would be nice if some survived though.

With a larger surface area evaporation will be a bigger concern. So now i am also looking at a refractometer $60 and a glass top. Im not worried about temp because the tank will be in my office which is cooler anyway except in the summer. I can always take the lid off for the summer anyway.

Because of this huge increase in $ i will be set back in bringing this simple tank into fruition. After talking with my hubby it looks like we will be waiting until the end of summer to see what kind of $ we have left and to see if i even have a job when september comes.
Im a teacher and my contract was for this semester only. If another job posting comes up i will apply for that along with many other teachers. Then they will choose the best for that position. I guess its just more planning and shopping around and decision making until summer is over. *sigh*