# nano reef



## burninrubber390 (Oct 25, 2010)

ok i know some of you might not consider this a nano but its what i got. i have a 20g tank that i am looking to turn into a nano reef and was wondering what is needed. i know i need to get oceanic salt, i know i will also need a hydrometer to check, abundant lighting is needed for any type of coral but after that i am lost. i know most people would recommend starting on a larger tank but the only large tank i have now is the 75g and that is tropical fw so this is what i have to work with.

any help is greatly appreciated


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## cossie (Dec 19, 2010)

20 gallons is more than enough to make a nice reef out of.

click the one in my signiture thats only a 24G

need to update it!


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## burninrubber390 (Oct 25, 2010)

thats kinda what im looking to do nothing huge for right now


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## funlad3 (Oct 9, 2010)

Light, heater, salt, protein skimmer, hydrometer/refractometer, tons of books, good lights (Halides would fit well in your tank!), patience, test kits, LR, Buckets, food, CUC,

calcium/magnesium supplements, alkalinity suppliments, refugium, coral food (Pods), and lots of time.



The whole second paragraph thing is if you want an SPS Über tank. Otherwise, the first paragraph is enough. It's really not a lot! Sorry to be so brief, I'm acclimating an $80 wrasse.


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## burninrubber390 (Oct 25, 2010)

ok now my question is do i need a protein skimmer for a tank that small or can i get away with two filters the tank was already established as a fw but there are no fish in it because i moved them to my 75g so i figured id start getting into saltwater even if its in a small version so basically from what your saying all i will need is the lights and a few other things anything else i would need to now ahead of time


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## funlad3 (Oct 9, 2010)

Protein skimmers are just more efficient. I got mine for $80 and it handles 75 gallons. In an ideal world, a good skimmer for you would be $21.33, but they don't exist that small. Look around!

http://cgi.ebay.com/Used-AquaC-Nano...362?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2561a778e2


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## burninrubber390 (Oct 25, 2010)

well my lfs does carry some reasonably priced ones for nano tanks so ill have to go over and check them out when i get a little bit more money together


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## funlad3 (Oct 9, 2010)

All right! Good luck!


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## burninrubber390 (Oct 25, 2010)

because i would def like to get into saltwater its just im not making the 75 on because i dont have enough tanks to transfer fish


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

Don't just add salt to the existing freshwater tank. You'll have to tear it all down, clean it up, and start all over.
There are a few little filter/skimmer combo thingies that are small enough to work well on a 20. The _Skilter_ is the old classic, but it's very noisy. Try a *Rio*( Brand ) _Nano Skimmer_ instead.
A tank that small likely won't need a heater. The lights are plenty hot.


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## burninrubber390 (Oct 25, 2010)

ok and to start it all over what would be the easiest way to do that for cycling process being saltwater is there any difference


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## kay-bee (Dec 6, 2006)

With smaller tanks, frequent water changes can probably be utilized in lieu of a protein skimmer (skimmers are recommened but not required).

Acquiring uncured live rock and letting it cure in your tank is one method to cycle the tank. 

The live rock also functions as the primary filtration so you probably don't need to use the filters that you had when it was configured for FW.



funlad3 said:


> ...calcium/magnesium supplements, alkalinity suppliments, refugium, coral food (Pods), and lots of time....if you want an SPS Über tank...


I'd add go further and say that other coral types (LPS and soft) will benefit from the above, particularly LPS.

While a larger tank isn't an option for you at this time, be aware that smaller tanks are somewhat more challenging to maintain than larger tanks because smaller tanks may be more vulnerable to water parameter fluctuation. Take things slow (patience, as funlad3 said).


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## funlad3 (Oct 9, 2010)

It helps, but it's not necessary in a LPS Soft coral tank IMO/E. I have the calcium and magnesium supplements, but I don't need/use them. Pods aso grow naturally, but they're good food supplements for direct feedings. 

Listen to Kay-Bee and TOS though; I'm still comparatively new at this.


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## burninrubber390 (Oct 25, 2010)

well the more help the better ahead of time and right now funlad you have more experience then me


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## funlad3 (Oct 9, 2010)

Ha!


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## funlad3 (Oct 9, 2010)

Wait... How did I manage to post a post with 4 symbols?


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## burninrubber390 (Oct 25, 2010)

ok now i do have a question for lighting what kinda watts per gallon am i looking at to be able to grow coral


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## funlad3 (Oct 9, 2010)

WPG means nothing. It's PAR (Photosynthetically Active Radiation) and LUX (A measure of the intensity of light (referred to the photometry of light), one lux is equal to one lumen per square meter.)

What does that mean? I couldn't even begin to say. All that I know is that for your tank, the easiest thing to install and still have plentiful lighting is a metal halide pendant. Just go to Google and take a looksy!

If you want to be this forum's guinea pig, you could always try out some reef capable LED fixtures. I think they make some for a 20 gallon long!


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## burninrubber390 (Oct 25, 2010)

i think i might have found a light system through my lfs so ill have to go over and see how it looks


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## funlad3 (Oct 9, 2010)

If you have any more questions, I should be in chat for a while. 

Good luck with the light!!


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## burninrubber390 (Oct 25, 2010)

http://www.thatpetplace.com/pet/group/10960/product.web

this is the light i think im looking at what do you think


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## kay-bee (Dec 6, 2006)

What type of corals are you planning to keep?


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## funlad3 (Oct 9, 2010)

The wattage on the particular bulb is lower than normal for a halide, so honestly, I don't know. Like Kay-bee said, the types of corals will help us. 20,000K sounds a bit white (Light color) for me. Personally, I like my 12,000 K. Much bluer by comparison, but still very bright. If the bulbs are interchangeable at your LFS, I'd pick a slightly higher wattage and a much lower K.

Technically experienced people, check me on this. I think I may be wrong...


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## burninrubber390 (Oct 25, 2010)

i was looking into more of acro frags to start something like this
http://www.thatpetplace.com/pet/prod/245415/product.web


oh and the thing about the light for some odd reason when i actually looked at it a little more they show different bulbs so i can work on the k

http://www.thatpetplace.com/pet/prod/209456/product.web


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## funlad3 (Oct 9, 2010)

Acros are SPS, so to start an to make sure that your water is very good, start from soft corals, move to a few LPS, and THEN try some of the beginner SPS, like the Monti! Then, you can go with the nearly endangered acros. It's the smart and responsible thing to do. You don't want to accidentally kill a coral that in some cases are up to $200 for a frag.


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## burninrubber390 (Oct 25, 2010)

actually the frags at my lfs only top 130


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## funlad3 (Oct 9, 2010)

I'll take the $70 difference! You get the point, baby steps. You need a very stable system before you add more advanced corals. Unlike FW, it's not just waiting for the cycle and add whatever the water matches. SPS and many LPS and softies demand the utmost water stability. Not to say that that's hard to maintain at all, but the chance of problems decrease with the tank's age. ;-)


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## burninrubber390 (Oct 25, 2010)

i understand what your saying i just had to be smart but when it comes to the less advanced coral say i get a tank set up to learn on and when i finally do decide to get into more advanced coral would i be able to remove the existing coral without any issues


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## funlad3 (Oct 9, 2010)

As long as it's not completely attached to a main piece of very thick LR, then yeah. Ideally, you could put the softies near/on the bottom, the LPS in the middle, and the SPS at the top! You wouldn't need to remove any corals and you would have a very diverse and cool looking ecosystem!


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## burninrubber390 (Oct 25, 2010)

ok so basically just start out at the bottom of the tank and work my way up to the top with coral i think i can manage that


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## funlad3 (Oct 9, 2010)

Sounds like a plan! Be sure to leave about 1/3 of a side of the tank open for a plating coral, as they'll block out all of the light.


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## burninrubber390 (Oct 25, 2010)

yea i know i saw that they get big diameters


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