fishboytoo
Fish Fanatic
Hello,
Looking for your opinions on my planned nano reef, plus a couple questions. I have been reading alot on nano and saltwater in general lately as this is my first foray into it. I have been into freshwater for more than a decade now, off and on. I have read many threads in this section and think I have an idea what I'm doing, let me know if you agree!
So my plan is a 20 gallon nano tank, about 20lbs liverock, 20lbs aragonite sand, hydor 1 powerhead(400GPH), old aquaclear 70 HOB filter as makeshift refugium, and Coralife 24 Inch AquaLight T5 HO Fixture (2-24W). Is this enough light? I hope so, I have a hard time swallowing 4x the price for 2x the watts. See below for the corals I am thinking of.
I intend to start out with H20+sand+liverock-->cycle, when it grows some scum/algae add CUC, then add fish. I would like a firefish goby, bangaii cardinal, and a third species-maybe sixline wrasse. I'm thinking 3-4 fish in total. Is this too little/too much?
When everything looks good add some corals. I like zoanthid-button polyps, green star polyp, mushrooms, and ricordea floridea so far. Also like colt coral. Not sure on compatability with this mix. How many can I put in a 20 gallon?
I have a couple more general questions also:
First, many posts talk about using RO water, is this necessary? I spoke with a fellow at my LFS, which is a reputable establishment, he has marine tanks and he said that at the LFS and himself personally does not use RO. Is my LFS not as reputable as I think it is??
Second, I have been reading about CUC and am unsure of how many critters to stock and if they can be added at once. I see differing advice. One online store sells a package for 15-25 gallon tanks:
12 - Blue Legged Hermits
3 - Red Scarlet Hermit
5 - Astrea Snails
5 - Margarita Snails
5 - Cerith Snails
The price is attractive, is this a good idea? If lack of detritus/algae is initially a problem can I feed them extra somehow?
Sorry for the long post, thanks for looking! I welcome your input.
Looking for your opinions on my planned nano reef, plus a couple questions. I have been reading alot on nano and saltwater in general lately as this is my first foray into it. I have been into freshwater for more than a decade now, off and on. I have read many threads in this section and think I have an idea what I'm doing, let me know if you agree!
So my plan is a 20 gallon nano tank, about 20lbs liverock, 20lbs aragonite sand, hydor 1 powerhead(400GPH), old aquaclear 70 HOB filter as makeshift refugium, and Coralife 24 Inch AquaLight T5 HO Fixture (2-24W). Is this enough light? I hope so, I have a hard time swallowing 4x the price for 2x the watts. See below for the corals I am thinking of.
I intend to start out with H20+sand+liverock-->cycle, when it grows some scum/algae add CUC, then add fish. I would like a firefish goby, bangaii cardinal, and a third species-maybe sixline wrasse. I'm thinking 3-4 fish in total. Is this too little/too much?
When everything looks good add some corals. I like zoanthid-button polyps, green star polyp, mushrooms, and ricordea floridea so far. Also like colt coral. Not sure on compatability with this mix. How many can I put in a 20 gallon?
I have a couple more general questions also:
First, many posts talk about using RO water, is this necessary? I spoke with a fellow at my LFS, which is a reputable establishment, he has marine tanks and he said that at the LFS and himself personally does not use RO. Is my LFS not as reputable as I think it is??
Second, I have been reading about CUC and am unsure of how many critters to stock and if they can be added at once. I see differing advice. One online store sells a package for 15-25 gallon tanks:
12 - Blue Legged Hermits
3 - Red Scarlet Hermit
5 - Astrea Snails
5 - Margarita Snails
5 - Cerith Snails
The price is attractive, is this a good idea? If lack of detritus/algae is initially a problem can I feed them extra somehow?
Sorry for the long post, thanks for looking! I welcome your input.