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#1
07-04-2003, 03:27 PM
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New to the hobby!
I just started my own 20gallon Reef Aquarium. I am very glad to find a bunch of local enthusiasts here on this board. I started my tank about 1 week ago, I have some questions though, so please help!!
1) What is a refugium? What does it do? How can i set one up? I plan to keep mostly corals like some soft corals, polyps, mushrooms, maybe an anemone, a brain...etc. 2) Is my lighting sufficient? I have 96watts of PC lighting. 3) What is a calcium reactor? How can I make one? Can someone help me out? 4) How much sand do I need for my DSB? Currently, I have about 2" of oolitic aragonite sand. I "think" i need about 4-6"? Am i correct in this assumption? 5) Can someone here PLEASE give me some live sand to seed my own sand? PLEASE!?!?! Thank you! 
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#2
07-04-2003, 03:40 PM
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Welcome! Perhaps I can start the ball rolling by sharing some of my limited knowledge, since I am bored and at work.
-A refugium is basically a seperate chamber/tank plumbed into your main tank with no predators in it, in order to encourage pod population growth. Some people also put macro algaes, sand beds, etc. in their fuges, to help with nutrient export, denitrification, etc. For larger tanks, a seperate tank works well, in your case, you may want to look into internal fuges, small acrylic boxes that sit in the top corner of the tank. -I won't comment on PC lighting, as that would be better left to people who know about corals than I. However from what I gather, anemones are rather specialized animals, requiring attentive care and high levels of light (VHO or MH). -I won't comment on calcium reactors either, because there are many people on this board who build them and understand exactly how they work, while all I know about them is that I have one. -The DSB issue is still an ongoing debate. I think a fairly widely accepted standard is 4", although I've heard some people say that they have a 1" DSB, and others 7". -There are people in Calgary who have good live sand and I am sure will be happy to donate. Assuming you have live rock, it will eventually seed the sand itself. I only put live sand in my fuge, and my display tank DSB already contains many worms after two months, thanks mostly to my live rock.
__________________
-Quinn Man, n. ...His chief occupation is extermination of other animals and his own species, which, however, multiplies with such insistent rapidity as to infest the whole habitable earth, and Canada. - A. Bierce, Devil's Dictionary, 1906
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#3
07-04-2003, 03:43 PM
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can someone elaborate on these internal fuges? How much are they? i am on a strict budget!
I have seen pictures of people using aquaclear 300 or 500's as fuges. Is this ok? If so, anyone have one for sale??
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#4
07-04-2003, 03:55 PM
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__________________
-Quinn Man, n. ...His chief occupation is extermination of other animals and his own species, which, however, multiplies with such insistent rapidity as to infest the whole habitable earth, and Canada. - A. Bierce, Devil's Dictionary, 1906
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#5
07-04-2003, 04:15 PM
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You should have a look at these links:
http://reefcentral.com/modules.php?s...showpage&pid=1 http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marine/index.htm From there you should be able to find many more links to information.
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Tahir the "advanced" newbie. If there is such a thing.
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#7
07-04-2003, 09:25 PM
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Quote:
 Here's another: The Best Live Rock: From Fiji
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---------------------- Alan
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#8
07-04-2003, 11:18 PM
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There is absolutely no substitute for becoming knowledgeable. No one can give you a bullet proof formula. You will know exactly what is happening with your tank. What looks different from the day before. All I can say is read everything you can find and read atleast three different sources before going out to buy anything. Best of all, if you have the time, you can usually find everything you need to start up within a month from someone else who is upgrading or tearing down their tank.
__________________
Tahir the "advanced" newbie. If there is such a thing.
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#9
07-05-2003, 02:46 AM
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As a fellow newbie (my 20 gallon has been up for 8 weeks, and I had a 20G a couple years ago too), I might suggest you think of your tank as a "nano" (very small reef, generally 20 G or less) and read up on how to maintain a nano reef.
You may not have to worry about refugia, calcium reactors or even a protein skimmer. If you keep your bio load relatively low (IE very few fish), and do water changes weekly, you can keep a healthy reef without the above items. 20 gallons is a pretty good size for a nano- much more stable than, say, 6 gallons, and if you go slowly, (and read lots and lots and lots) you'll have no trouble. At eight weeks, my tank is starting to look good. I'm going through algae blooms but that's normal and nothing the old turkey baster and a filter can't handle. I have a few soft corals and they look great. I have no fish at all and I'm going to keep it that way for a while. Good luck
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#10
07-05-2003, 05:02 AM
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Great info Don!
__________________
No matter what the morrow brings, inventors keep inventing things. ----------------------------------- Jonathan ----------------------------------- www.cakerybakery.ca
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