Hello everyone!
I'm new to reefing and am building my first tank! My goal is to have soft corals, polyps, some LPS, crabs/shrimp, and a few fish.
I'm interested in hearing peoples opinions about my setup/plan!
Below is the current list of equipment I've purchased.
Tank: 20 gal AIO UNS 60a (display 24" x 11" x 14")
Lights: 30W nicrew
Heater: 75 W Jager
Water: 5 stage RODI from BRS
Substrate: Carib sea sand
Dry rock: 25 lb marco
Salt: instant ocean
I'm wondering if the lights will be strong enough or if I should buy a second nicrew. The tank is reasonably shallow but I'm not sure the spread will be wide enough.
Things left to figure out are: powerheads, filtration, and relevant testing kits.
For powerheads, I'm deciding between 1) a cheaper option (sicce), 2) a gyre (either icecap or maxspect), or 3) a vortech. Having pretty flow in a tank is important to me, so I'm willing to splurge a bit. However, it's not clear to me that with such a small tank the more powerful options will be a significant difference. I'd be interested to hear if anyone has tried any of these pumps in a nano tank, or if there are preferences between the icecap/maxspect gyres.
Towards filtration in the back of the aio I am debating the following: 1) a nano skimmer, 2) a nano uv sterilizer, and 3) various media, i.e. bioballs, carbon, or gfo. I'm leaning towards just keeping it simple with some ceramic balls and bags of rox carbon. Are nano skimmers, uv sterilizers, or gfo worthwhile? Am I missing any other options I should consider?
Lastly, I'm still trying to figure out what testing kits to get. I'm leaning towards going with the recommendations by BFS (https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/brs-master-test-kit-bundle-bulk-reef-supply.html).
My future plan:
1) initial tank setup
Cut up a neoprene mat to use in the aquarium for rockscaping (is this safe for fish?). I'll then fill the sand around it and cycle the tank for a month. To cycle, I bought some turbo start cycling and will add some hermit crabs to feed for a bit. My heater will go in the chamber with my return pump.
2) Stocking the tank
After cycling, I'll start adding some corals, probably polyps and LPS. I was thinking about adding tropic marins all in one feed solution as my only dosing. I was thinking of occasionally feeding the corals frozen mysis Shrimps (maybe once a week). After a month I'll add some clownfish and a goby.
3) maintenance
My maintenance plan is to do a weekly 20% water change. I also hope to brush the powerhead, stir the sand a bit, and wash the filter sponge. Monthly, I'll replace the carbon or other media that I decide on.
Let me know if this is a reasonable plan or if I'm missing anything in terms of equip, maintenance, or setup! Excited to use this forum more and post update pictures
I'm new to reefing and am building my first tank! My goal is to have soft corals, polyps, some LPS, crabs/shrimp, and a few fish.
I'm interested in hearing peoples opinions about my setup/plan!
Below is the current list of equipment I've purchased.
Tank: 20 gal AIO UNS 60a (display 24" x 11" x 14")
Lights: 30W nicrew
Heater: 75 W Jager
Water: 5 stage RODI from BRS
Substrate: Carib sea sand
Dry rock: 25 lb marco
Salt: instant ocean
I'm wondering if the lights will be strong enough or if I should buy a second nicrew. The tank is reasonably shallow but I'm not sure the spread will be wide enough.
Things left to figure out are: powerheads, filtration, and relevant testing kits.
For powerheads, I'm deciding between 1) a cheaper option (sicce), 2) a gyre (either icecap or maxspect), or 3) a vortech. Having pretty flow in a tank is important to me, so I'm willing to splurge a bit. However, it's not clear to me that with such a small tank the more powerful options will be a significant difference. I'd be interested to hear if anyone has tried any of these pumps in a nano tank, or if there are preferences between the icecap/maxspect gyres.
Towards filtration in the back of the aio I am debating the following: 1) a nano skimmer, 2) a nano uv sterilizer, and 3) various media, i.e. bioballs, carbon, or gfo. I'm leaning towards just keeping it simple with some ceramic balls and bags of rox carbon. Are nano skimmers, uv sterilizers, or gfo worthwhile? Am I missing any other options I should consider?
Lastly, I'm still trying to figure out what testing kits to get. I'm leaning towards going with the recommendations by BFS (https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/brs-master-test-kit-bundle-bulk-reef-supply.html).
My future plan:
1) initial tank setup
Cut up a neoprene mat to use in the aquarium for rockscaping (is this safe for fish?). I'll then fill the sand around it and cycle the tank for a month. To cycle, I bought some turbo start cycling and will add some hermit crabs to feed for a bit. My heater will go in the chamber with my return pump.
2) Stocking the tank
After cycling, I'll start adding some corals, probably polyps and LPS. I was thinking about adding tropic marins all in one feed solution as my only dosing. I was thinking of occasionally feeding the corals frozen mysis Shrimps (maybe once a week). After a month I'll add some clownfish and a goby.
3) maintenance
My maintenance plan is to do a weekly 20% water change. I also hope to brush the powerhead, stir the sand a bit, and wash the filter sponge. Monthly, I'll replace the carbon or other media that I decide on.
Let me know if this is a reasonable plan or if I'm missing anything in terms of equip, maintenance, or setup! Excited to use this forum more and post update pictures
