possible first 20L sw tank

[skratikans]

Im new to sw tanks..and am still doing research...however I was thinking of having a 20 gal long sw tank as my first tank

I am tearing down my 50gal freshwater tank, and was thinking about converting the 70aquaclear filter into a refugium for my 20gal tank, I already have sw acintic lights that someone gave me...two 96w flourescent lights one white and the other acintic made by coralife (they are 36in, 6in longer than the tank...but i figured id use them since i have them)


how does that sound thus far? is that way too much light..will the lights work? would i still need to get a powerhead for more flow?

 

[nycsicktank]

first thing first, are you going for
Fish only FO
Fish only with Live Rock FOWLR
Coral
Corals with FOWLR?

 

[skratikans]

i want a reef/fish tank

 

[spllouder]

what about a 29 L . That would be even better or a 30 G .

 

[skratikans]

true...i already have one like that as well...question is would i need a sump...or could i still use my aquaclear 70 filter a make it into a fuge? any suggestions would really be appreciated ...

 

[nycsicktank]

true...i already have one like that as well...question is would i need a sump...or could i still use my aquaclear 70 filter a make it into a fuge? any suggestions would really be appreciated ...

you can use ac 70 for fuge. but i prefer sump so you can hide all your equipments

 

[TRe]

go as big as u can

 

[Lotus]

You'll definitely need extra flow in that tank in addition to the filter/refugium. Somewhere around 15 to 20 times flow per hour should be good.

I agree with going bigger. If you want to do it right, a bigger tank is much better.

 

[TRe]

bigger tanks are just more forgiving which is a good thing when starting out in this hobby

 

[spllouder]

I had a aquaclear 110 on my 29 G reef . and wasnot enough room . and now iam doing a 10 G Sump/Refuguim . I say at least do a 29 G with the Bigest sump that can fit under the stand .

 

[Mushroomman]

The aquaclear wont really be as useful as a fuge as it will be for surface agitation and flow, its a good idea to keep the buildup off the surface, I use an aquaclear with some lr rubble in it on my tank just for that purpose, makes a big difference.

Everone has their preferances but for a tank that small a sump really isnt worth it, Id spend the money on powerheads or liverock.

And yea, bigger the better as stated above... more room for error, more options. However if that is what you are limited to space wise or whatever then go for it, but if you can manage Id go bigger.

And to answer your question about having the lights with the actinics- no it isnt too much light, if anything its not enough. You could do a decent variety of low to mid light corals down the road, but nothing in the higher light range.

 

[skratikans]

The aquaclear wont really be as useful as a fuge as it will be for surface agitation and flow, its a good idea to keep the buildup off the surface, I use an aquaclear with some lr rubble in it on my tank just for that purpose, makes a big difference.

Everone has their preferances but for a tank that small a sump really isnt worth it, Id spend the money on powerheads or liverock.

And yea, bigger the better as stated above... more room for error, more options. However if that is what you are limited to space wise or whatever then go for it, but if you can manage Id go bigger.

And to answer your question about having the lights with the actinics- no it isnt too much light, if anything its not enough. You could do a decent variety of low to mid light corals down the road, but nothing in the higher light range.

how many more watts would i need...is there a rule of thumb to apply?

 

[Mushroomman]

You'd need to upgrade your lighting to metal halides for the light demanding stonies such as acropora, etc. No real rule of thumb... wpg doesnt work because its depth, type of lighting, and intensity that are being looked at. The pc's will be able to keep a decent variety of corals certainly, but not everything.

 

[skratikans]

thanks for the great advice...one question....about dumping salt water...i live in the suburbs...and we dont have a sewer system...and i wonder if there will be a significant amount of salt accumulation and grass/plant damage if i pour out the salt water onto my yard or septic tank in the long run

 

[Lotus]

It apparently will kill grass/plants, so it's not a good idea to do that. I think it's fine with a septic system, as the amount of saltwater you'll be dumping is very small in comparison with other waste water. A 5 or 10% change per week is what a lot of people do. So, that would be maybe a couple of gallons a week, even in a larger system.

 

[nycsicktank]

hm...i dump my salt water into toilet.