Starting a 20gal

[Kronk]

-I would get a single 150w MH there are some decent priced ones online sunpod?
-Fiji is going to be the best in terms of porosity
--2 koralia 1's would be 800gph of flow might want to look into the koralia nanos at -240gph
-hydrometer works fine for me
-i would go with better salt, kent or even tropic marin with a 20g it will last a long time
-reusing heater is a good idea
-the glass lid i would recommend against, it will rise your temperature evaporation is really the only way the water can cool down
-I do a weekly 3 gallon water change in my 20g
definatly get a skimmer, seriously
i know it complicates things but i would look at setting it up with a 10g sump you wont regret it just google it and you will see its not that much more work to setup and it will make things a lot easier in the long run

Best of Luck

[skabooya]

Kronk: Thank you for your very informative post. It really helped me out.

In response, I cant afford MH. And i was going for PC's until i found out that t5 is more energy efficient, runs cooler, has better light output, and the colour just looks awsome.
So im going for 4x24 T5 HO nova extreme fixture. I will only have softies like zoas and shrooms and maybe a couple lps but really im not a fan of them.

I did more reading about the koralia's and i agree 2 k1's would be too much flow so now im looking at just getting 1 k1 and placing it at the back of the tank so if there are any dead spots it will be at the front of the tank where i can clean any build up easier. And having 1 less thing in the tank will help it to look a bit cleaner.

As for salt i have no selection unless i order online in which case then i am also paying double. We have instant ocean here and so thats why im going for that. I figure i can get a bag instead of a bucket since salt lasts a while and a bag is easier to hide than a big 160gal bucket.

As for a skimmer i was looking at the rio nano skimmer for $30. Ive read for a cheap skimmer it works pretty good after it breaks in. For larger tanks or for tanks that have more lps or sps a better skimmer is needed but if you have a low bioload with mainly softies and just a couple of fish and your tank is 20gal or under than a rio is pretty good. A remora is better but again thats too rich for my blood at this time.

I wouldnt mind setting up a sump but i have no room for it. This tank will be going into my office on my bookself. I have tons and tons of books from teaching and as a teacher i am always adding more.

3 gals sounds good. I was thinking of doing 2 gals a week for starters until i get more stuff in the tank then i would move up to 3 gals a week. Although i see a lot of people doing 2 or 3 gals every other week.

and yes im getting 25lbs of fiji LR and 20lbs of caribsea live sand. Its what most people seem to be using.

Im going to have baking soda on hand for each water change because our tap water here is perfect for saltwater or any tank. And i mean its awsome water. But we have soft water with either a neutral PH or a ph of 6 depending on the season. So i will need the baking soda to raise alk so the ph is right on.

[skabooya]

Alright new order form
2x24 T5 HO nova extreme
25lbs fiji live Rock
20lbs of caribsea live sand
Bag of instant ocean salt
1 hydrometer
1 Koralia 1
rio nano skimmer
no lid for clowns (yup decided on clowns) Will buy once cycle is well over and i dont mean a week.

Corals i def want are mainly blue/purple shrooms, and some red shrooms. Lots of zoas such as 'green eyed sally', 'man of steel', 'mean green', 'iceberg', 'devils armor', 'red delight', 'safecrackers', 'blue eyed girl', fire and ice, 'polar ice', 'true joker', 'whami'n watermelon', 'royal thunder', and i dunno but i love zoas.
I also like pulsing xeina and i saw some electric blue cloves that i MUST have.
I also love feather duster worms and macro algae.
Rics are also cool but the only ones that turn me on are blue or Pink Yumas.... and of course rainbow aussie acans but thats for another tank with more lighting... and when i win the lottery

[skabooya]

I am so confused. I just got a response on another reef forum and this person basically told me i need to rethink my entire plan.
Do i have to have a 4" deep sand bed?
Do i need to have 2 powerheads? I thought i K1 would be enough since flow is dispersed everywhere.
Is the rio that bad where i shouldnt bother at all? I thought something was better than nothing. I cant in any way afford a remora.
A bucket of salt will last me more than a year. Is this true?
Is instant ocean really that crappy? Its all my lfs supplies. Aparently it has low alk buffering capacity is that true. That worries me because i have very soft neutral to acidic water out of my tap. (The tap water he is amazing lots of people do salt where i live and use tap)

Please help me out. Im getting discouraged again.

[Canuckgod420]

Well I dont think you need to be confused.....up until this post all the advice given to you sounds pretty decent....you dont need a 4" sandbed, you dont need 2 powerheads(your not havind SPS), instant ocean is fine salt(used for years by thousands of reefers), and the skimmer should be fine(never used this particular unit though).
Listen...if you take things slowly and add you critters slowly you should have no problems(except the common problems all us reefers encounter, algae outbreaks, cyano, the crazy obsession to expand....lol).
I set up a 34 gallon cube tank for my wife about a year ago with 1 250watt MH and a strong return pump from the sump, a 3" sandbed and she has no other powerheads or even a skimmer. Mostly softies, 1 hammer lps, 5 fish, an anemone and a ton of zoos and mushrooms, no problems at all....in fact I have to trim the softies so often that I want to tear out the colonys and just replace with a frag....lol
I am also in the middle of setting up a 20 gallon for my daughter, just finished the stand and I'm on my way to get her some more live rock and sand(she already has a 10 gallon set up with some rock and sand) I got her a 4x24 watt T5 light so this should be able to grow anything she wants(also no skimmer on this tank). The only reason I have a skimmer on my main display is my bioload is rather large and I have an SPS dominated tank.
Hope some of this helps.

[Lance]

Originally Posted by skabooya

I am so confused. I just got a response on another reef forum and this person basically told me i need to rethink my entire plan.
Do i have to have a 4" deep sand bed?
Do i need to have 2 powerheads? I thought i K1 would be enough since flow is dispersed everywhere.
Is the rio that bad where i shouldnt bother at all? I thought something was better than nothing. I cant in any way afford a remora.
A bucket of salt will last me more than a year. Is this true?
Is instant ocean really that crappy? Its all my lfs supplies. Aparently it has low alk buffering capacity is that true. That worries me because i have very soft neutral to acidic water out of my tap. (The tap water he is amazing lots of people do salt where i live and use tap)

Please help me out. Im getting discouraged again.

Please don't get discouraged, you're doing fine. Some people on these forums think their way is the only way. Not true. No, you don't have to have a 4" sand bed. If you can only afford 1 Koralia 1, go with it. IO salt is not that bad. I too can only get it here locally and it's fine. Many reefers use it. If you are just going with softies and a small bio-load, you can get by without a skimmer for awhile, just do lots of water changes and you'll be OK. Shop the buy/sell forums for a good HOB skimmer as you say you can't have a sump.
You've already indicated you have been researching and that you intend on taking your time in setting up this tank. That's good, I'm sure you'll be fine, and good luck.

[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