Will be setting up a 20 gallon tank....Equipment?

[Chiefsurfer]

Hey guys, I am going to be setting up a 20 Gal. TALL reef tank. No sump, no refugium. I need a HOT skimmer, and best lighting as per your opinion. I must get the lighting and skimmer, and my budget is around $700. I was initially looking at the remora pro skimmer(MANY reviews say it is the best. Everyone here says it is garbage). Since I have heard that, I have been looking around, but what's the best? I also have a Compact flourescent fixtyure that's 48" long, trying to sell(never used) for about half the price I payed, and get the lighting for my 20 with that money. If I plan to have coral and nem's, is compact ok? Or do I have to go MH. If I have to go MH, I really do like the blue actinic look, which 24" fixture should i get.

[kingfisher62]

If you have a tall tank you should get th MH, especially if you want an anemone.
Personally if I ever do another nano I would go with a long you will have considerably more light options and room for more coral!
I have heard good things about coralife skimmers even though I am skimmerless on both my tanks.
I really like the blue actinic also ,they certainly make everything glow!

[Chiefsurfer]

well 24" length was my limiting factor. It has to do with my landlord, and not my needs/wants. I already have a 55 tank, lighting, and skimmer ready, but my landlord wont allow it. So for now, the 20 tall will have to do. For a deeper tank, how many watts per gallon would you suggest?

[BigandUgly]

I'm cheap. I'd go with the $99 150 Watt HM from aquatraders and their $30 skimmer. A lot of people will say the skimmer is junk. I added a $10 air pump to it and get a good consistent skim.

[Chiefsurfer]

saw that 150 on aquatraders, looks nice. For an extra $50, I see one with actinics and LED's. Is 380 watts too much for a 20 tall? Or would that work well. It has 250w MH, and 2x65w actinics. Also, what heat value should I be getting for the MH?]

Thanks again guys.

[BigandUgly]

I've got the 150 on a 20 gallon high. I kind of thought that was overkill. You'd probably get a sunburn scraping algae with the 250...

[cubsFAN]

id go 4 t5's and use the skimmer youve got for your 55. will you be setting up a sump?

[cubsFAN]

sorry just noticed you wont have a sump.

[Chiefsurfer]

OK. Does the light fixture mean ALL that much. I have been looking around, and would like to save a few $ every chance I get. I found a T5 HO, 4-bulb fixture, has 2 timers(daylight, nightlight has 2 blue LED's) and 1 power cord, with internal timer, and cooling fan.(hard to find on 24" fixtures). It has 2x24w 10,000K, and 2 24w 460 Actinic. I like the actinic look, but don't think I need as much actinic as I do the 10,000K bulbs. Can I make is a 3:1 system? Also, finding some t5 fixtures in the 500-600 range, am I asking for disaster for only paying $200 for this one? Does it mean stuff will go wrong? I know none of these things are hard and fast rules, but an idea would be nice.

Oh, and PS, the skimmer I was going to use for the 55, is the Remora Pro, which like I said, aparently everyone hates. I have no problems ditching some not so great gear, losing a few bucks, and getting a much better one. Would be great to buy something real good, that can eventually be run on my 55g tank, with my 20 as a likely sump/refugium.

[cubsFAN]

I'd go with the 4 bulb t5 and the remora pro. you'll get plenty of light and that skimmer should be plenty for a 20. I use a remora, dont really like it, but i do frequent water changes and my tank looks good so thats all that really matters. plus you save some dough. i don't think any of the hob skimmers are that great except maybe the real expensive deltecs. really you could probably go skimmerless if you did consistent wc's. sounds like you are looking at a current sundial? make sure you get individual reflectors no matter the fixture you get.

[mattskims]

Originally Posted by Chiefsurfer

OK. Does the light fixture mean ALL that much. I have been looking around, and would like to save a few $ every chance I get. I found a T5 HO, 4-bulb fixture, has 2 timers(daylight, nightlight has 2 blue LED's) and 1 power cord, with internal timer, and cooling fan.(hard to find on 24" fixtures). It has 2x24w 10,000K, and 2 24w 460 Actinic. I like the actinic look, but don't think I need as much actinic as I do the 10,000K bulbs. Can I make is a 3:1 system? Also, finding some t5 fixtures in the 500-600 range, am I asking for disaster for only paying $200 for this one? Does it mean stuff will go wrong? I know none of these things are hard and fast rules, but an idea would be nice.

Reflectors are the key in T5HO fixtures. Each bulb needs to have an individual reflector. It sounds like you are describing the current sundial. I honestly don't know they have individual reflectors or not.

[cameron91806]

Ok this might will help you if you dont want to have a killer light bill go with T5's if you want a killer light bill go with MH lol heres some lights for you

1. http://www.marinedepot.com/AquaticLi...FIT54U-vi.html

with this light you will get 7w to a gallon

2.http://www.marinedepot.com/2ft_Capti...CP4112-vi.html

with this one you will get 16w to a gallon wich is lil to high

heres the skimmer if you aint doing a sump heres a good skimmer the pumps aint the best but you always could get a better one down the road

1.http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produc...5&pcatid=19865

but if your gonna do a sump here you go

1.http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produc...3&pcatid=20033

2.http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produc...9&pcatid=19279

the skimmer 2 you would have to get ne pump cause they suck lol i would put on mag drive

hope this help you

[Chiefsurfer]

Thanks for the info guys. I actually was looking the light fixture at my parents house, and did not save it, could find out if I needed to. I did see that aquaticlife fixture, and it did catch my eye. The thing I don't understand, and maybe you can help me, is that it was my understanding that daylight was measured in Kelvin Temperature. And then you had Actinic, which was measured in nm, seeing 460 being the most popular. I do not see this fixture having any K rated bulbs, but rather a 700nm rated actinic(?) Is this true, or is it just another measurement of the light that would compare to a daylight bulb?

Having looked, I believe it was the sundial I was looking at. Looking at the marinedepot photos of the fixture, it does appear to have individual reflectors, however looking at others, they seem like they might not be as efficient. Is that possible?

I think it will come down to either that one, or the aquaticlife, or maybe another if one can be suggested, but seemingly I can do well with t5. I currently do not pay an electric bill(included in my rent) so that is not a super issue, however, can't get a real reason for going mh over t5.

Really guys, thank you so much, I will be getting my RO/DI, powerheads, and what-not wednesday. I hope ot have made a decision on lighting and gotten my skimmer together. Then I will do a tank build thread. Very excited to get this started. Do I need to run my aquarium for any length of time before I begin cycling with live rock and sand?

[kingfisher62]

I am definitely not a lighting guru But with T5's you have an option for different bulb combinations , they run cooler and heat up the tank less ,bulbs will last up two 18 months supposedly and are one of the most inexpensive bulb replacements.

On the other hand you can pretty much grow any coral with the MH.

[kingfisher62]

BTW that aquaticlife t5 looks pretty sweet!

[Chiefsurfer]

yeah, I think im gonna go the aquaticlife route, and probably just get the eshopps hang-on and sell the remora. The reason, is eventually I want to set up the 55 as the main, and the 20 as the sump/refugium. This can be hang-on, OR in-sump. Good compromise, probably better skimming than the remora.

2 more questions. 1, what benefits do I get from a Deep Sand Bed over a shallow? Is it worth it for the already small size of the 20, although it is a tall, so it would not take up as much space as a long tank. 2, should I buy "live" sand from a store? I know there are differing opinions, do you have reasons why for whatever your answer is? If no, should I use the "bagged live" sand that just has the bacterias? Or just get argonite and let my critters seed it?

[E.intheC]

there's going to be tons of different opinions for DSB vs. shallow or barebottom tanks. I would suggest looking at some old articles (especially because of how heated these debates get for whatever reason). Both have their positives and negatives. I'm currently running a shallow sand bed in the display and a DSB in my fuge.

In my personal opinion, having run both.. I'd go with a shallow sand bed for a few reasons. The first being that your tank is very small, so I don't think the positives of DSB's are that great in a tank your size. The second is that you're planning to upgrade (by the way, why not just do that now and buy equipment appropriate for the upgrade?)
and disturbing a DSB is never a good time.

[Chiefsurfer]

EintheC, not to bash you, but I explained why in this thread already. I live in an apartment, and my landlord will not allow anything larger than 20 gallon. He actually doesn't know about it, but too bad, it's going up. I already have the 55, and most equipment, however what I am reading now, most of what I bought might not have been the best things to buy, so buying the right stuff for now.

Good enough, shallow sand bed it is. You suggest, aragonite, purchased "live" sand, or the dry, once living, still holding bacteria live sand.

[E.intheC]

No worries. I typically read through every sentence to avoid the above, but....

I wouldn't buy the 'live sand'.. IMO it's a waste of money and I'm highly doubtful it's 'live'.
Good luck.

[kingfisher62]

Ditto on the live sand, no need . The LR should seed it fine and maybe you can get a couple of cups of real live sand from someone with a established system to seed it more!