Help please :)

[Barb0713]

Hi, I am new to saltwater . I am an experienced freshwater fishkeeper. I have recently set up a 20 gallon nano reef tank .
So far , so good .
my parameters are
Ammonia 0
Nitrites 0
Nitrates 10-15
Calcium 420
Magnesium 1420
Phosphates 0.25
PH 8.3
Alkalinity ppm 179
Salinity 0.024/0.025
Temp 77.8
Stock
2 pajama cardinals
1 dwarfs angel
2 clownfish
1 peppermint shrimp
I hermit crab
I of the big longer shell snails ( I can’t think of the name )
4 random little snails
6 coral frags a Kenya tree and 5 other beginner and intermediate corals can’t name them all right now , I’m learning lol. Give me a break lol
My questions are now motion and lighting. I have a Seachem Tidal 55 with a surface skimmer that claims to produce 250 gph of movement. I want more but I don’t know how much. It says I only need 100 gph so that would make me high already , but people are telling me more . So the local pet store sells me a 660 power head to stick on the tank . I think it’s way to much. What should I aim for and where do I get it ?
Lighting. I have a Current USA marine orbit coming in today. What are any suggestions for the best routine ? should I ever be dark ? Should I set up a 24 hour mimics sun and moon ???? The parameters were the easy part for me.
my mag is a little high , but I’m happy with my water and so is all the life in there , everything seems very happy. My frags have only been there a few days , but are starting to open up
Thanks so much in advance for any advice
I haven’t glued down the frags yet .
I just have the plugs stuck in the rocks.
regular super glue sounds crazy to me lol but ok

 

[MnFish1]

Hi, I am new to saltwater . I am an experienced freshwater fishkeeper. I have recently set up a 20 gallon nano reef tank .
So far , so good .
my parameters are
Ammonia 0
Nitrites 0
Nitrates 10-15
Calcium 420
Magnesium 1420
Phosphates 0.25
PH 8.3
Alkalinity ppm 179
Salinity 0.024/0.025
Temp 77.8
Stock
2 pajama cardinals
1 dwarfs angel
2 clownfish
1 peppermint shrimp
I hermit crab
I of the big longer shell snails ( I can’t think of the name )
4 random little snails
6 coral frags a Kenya tree and 5 other beginner and intermediate corals can’t name them all right now , I’m learning lol. Give me a break lol
My questions are now motion and lighting. I have a Seachem Tidal 55 with a surface skimmer that claims to produce 250 gph of movement. I want more but I don’t know how much. It says I only need 100 gph so that would make me high already , but people are telling me more . So the local pet store sells me a 660 power head to stick on the tank . I think it’s way to much. What should I aim for and where do I get it ?
Lighting. I have a Current USA marine orbit coming in today. What are any suggestions for the best routine ? should I ever be dark ? Should I set up a 24 hour mimics sun and moon ???? The parameters were the easy part for me.
my mag is a little high , but I’m happy with my water and so is all the life in there , everything seems very happy. My frags have only been there a few days , but are starting to open up
Thanks so much in advance for any advice
I haven’t glued down the frags yet .
I just have the plugs stuck in the rocks.
regular super glue sounds crazy to me lol but ok

Congrats on your new tank. I am not sure there is any 'rule' that says clearly the volume/hour/gallon for a tank - it depends more on what type of flow you're talking about - is it random, is it off an on, is it a wave-maker type, etc etc. The surface skimmer (which I assume is your filtration as well) - could probably use a little help. if I were you I would buy a MP 10 = controllable.

As to the lights - it's a balance of algae coral growth and personal preference. In general for soft corals and some SPS you do not need a huge amount of light - I'm not sure that depending on what frags you got - that the current will be enough. I would rent a PAR meter to check it at various levels in your tank.

As to the timing - The 'moonlight' setting looks nice. But (and I don't know if Current has this function) - if you want to mimic the 'real world' - some nights are totally dark, some nights are much brighter. If you want to keep the blue light on all night - I would use the lowest setting. I think sometimes - that ramping down the light rather than a quick on and off helps the fish get to whatever 'hiding' place they are going to sleep in.

Can you send a pic of your tank? And good luck.

PS - you may find that your small Kenya coral is going to rapidly grow. You need to be careful with some soft corals outcompeting Hard corals via release of various chemicals (terpenes). I would tend to run a high quality carbon in a tank like this.

 

[TokenReefer]

Yeah congrats on the tank and getting into the hobby. Welcome. I came over from fresh was well.
They have better (albeit more expensive) options for powerheads where you can adjust the power. I'd go with one of those so you can better dial it in. Who's to know what 650 gph will be like once you throw it in a 20g. I had a Sicce Voyago nano 270 gph in a 20g tall when I started and that was enough for me....at that time. Jabao on amazon with controller is what I would have gotten if I did it over

 

[Barb0713]

Congrats on your new tank. I am not sure there is any 'rule' that says clearly the volume/hour/gallon for a tank - it depends more on what type of flow you're talking about - is it random, is it off an on, is it a wave-maker type, etc etc. The surface skimmer (which I assume is your filtration as well) - could probably use a little help. if I were you I would buy a MP 10 = controllable.

As to the lights - it's a balance of algae coral growth and personal preference. In general for soft corals and some SPS you do not need a huge amount of light - I'm not sure that depending on what frags you got - that the current will be enough. I would rent a PAR meter to check it at various levels in your tank.

As to the timing - The 'moonlight' setting looks nice. But (and I don't know if Current has this function) - if you want to mimic the 'real world' - some nights are totally dark, some nights are much brighter. If you want to keep the blue light on all night - I would use the lowest setting. I think sometimes - that ramping down the light rather than a quick on and off helps the fish get to whatever 'hiding' place they are going to sleep in.

Can you send a pic of your tank? And good luck.

PS - you may find that your small Kenya coral is going to rapidly grow. You need to be careful with some soft corals outcompeting Hard corals via release of various chemicals (terpenes). I would tend to run a high quality carbon in a tank like this.

Thank you so much for your time. I am getting as much information as I can at this point. And it’s a lot lol but, I’m obsessed. I will try to post pic

 

[Barb0713]

Yeah congrats on the tank and getting into the hobby. Welcome. I came over from fresh was well.
They have better (albeit more expensive) options for powerheads where you can adjust the power. I'd go with one of those so you can better dial it in. Who's to know what 650 gph will be like once you throw it in a 20g. I had a Sicce Voyago nano 270 gph in a 20g tall when I started and that was enough for me....at that time. Jabao on amazon with controller is what I would have gotten if I did it over

Thanks. I put the 660 in there for about 5 minutes lol

 

[Barb0713]

Congrats on your new tank. I am not sure there is any 'rule' that says clearly the volume/hour/gallon for a tank - it depends more on what type of flow you're talking about - is it random, is it off an on, is it a wave-maker type, etc etc. The surface skimmer (which I assume is your filtration as well) - could probably use a little help. if I were you I would buy a MP 10 = controllable.

As to the lights - it's a balance of algae coral growth and personal preference. In general for soft corals and some SPS you do not need a huge amount of light - I'm not sure that depending on what frags you got - that the current will be enough. I would rent a PAR meter to check it at various levels in your tank.

As to the timing - The 'moonlight' setting looks nice. But (and I don't know if Current has this function) - if you want to mimic the 'real world' - some nights are totally dark, some nights are much brighter. If you want to keep the blue light on all night - I would use the lowest setting. I think sometimes - that ramping down the light rather than a quick on and off helps the fish get to whatever 'hiding' place they are going to sleep in.

Can you send a pic of your tank? And good luck.

PS - you may find that your small Kenya coral is going to rapidly grow. You need to be careful with some soft corals outcompeting Hard corals via release of various chemicals (terpenes). I would tend to run a high quality carbon in a tank like this.

Btw , it is a Kenya, a red lagoon favia ,an ultra neon favia , a purple hammer, a trumpet, a green hammer ,
The snail was a tiger sand conch
And the other snails astrea and tropical turbo

 

[Barb0713]

Btw , it is a Kenya, a red lagoon favia ,an ultra neon favia , a purple hammer, a trumpet, a green hammer ,
The snail was a tiger sand conch
And the other snails astrea and tropical turbo