20 Gallon Sps?

M

moonp13

New member
So I had this extra 20 gallon tank, and I decided to put it to good use. So far I have it set up as follows:

1x 20g High Tank
1x AquaticLife 24" T5 HO 4 Lamp Fixture w/ Lunar Lights
1x Aqueon QuietFlow 30 Power Filter
1x Tetra Heater 10-30 gallon
1x AquaticLife Internal Mini Protein Skimmer 115
1x Oceanic Bio cube circulation pump
~3 inch sand bed
~ about 20 lbs of live rock

My question is this equipment/tank okay to grow sps corals? If not what do i need to change?
 
Well first off I recommend a larger tank. Just for the fact that I started with a 20H and that quickly became to small for me. The other reason is stability, smaller tank are less stable and sps like stability. Not saying you cant have a great looking sps nano tank. That said if you do want to use the 20g for sps I would recommend adding a sump to the system, as large as is possible. A sump adds volume and a place to put equipment. A better skimmer like a RO NW110 or something similar would be a better choice and possible with a sump. Ditch the HOB filter. For flow 2 Korilia Nanos would be better, sps like heavy flow. Your lighting should be fine, get some good bulbs for it T5 has lots of options. I would also cut the LR to about 10-15 lbs, 20 lbs in a 20H looks full IMO. Hope that helps you out.
 
U can have a good 20 gallon sps.

I dont have a sump.

Ive spent a LOT of money on good equipment though....

Had to get a dosing pump for cal/alk/mag replacement as kalk wasnt keeping up.
 
I would agree with chris above. It is VERY doable. I mean a showstopper, maybe not. BBut a very respectable sps or mixed reef is well in reach for nanos these days. For my NC28 the most important tools for sucess were an ATO, rkl and dosing pumps. FOrget the skimmer. I had a $150 tunze 9002 on mine and it likely pulled what your $40 skimmer will. THey are just not capable enough to replace water changes. Sure they can help in between water changes, especially if you were to have a dead snail or something similar but youre not gonna be able to count on it for export.

To sum up. Its quite possible to have a nice reef in a nano as long as you can be diligent with waterchanges and invest some money in mechanical maids(controllers). Truly a controller is worth its weight in gold for a nano. Certainly not 100% needed but it can keep your tank stable in regards to temp, salinity, alk, cal and ph along with many other uses and safety features that quickly pay for themselves with keeping livestock losses to a minimum.

Good luck.
 
Ditch the tetra heater too, +1 on considering a controller. If you can't get one, at least get a Ebo Jager heater, they have best rep and quality. I use one and it's good.
 
I have a 20l sps dominant tank. Its very much do able. I do have a 20g sump with lots of equipment to keep the tank balanced ie chiller, ato, kalk, aqua c remora. With that said, you will not be satified with koralia nanos, even the K-1 are not enough flow. I upgraded to an mp10es and my sps look a lot healthier. My sand is also cleaner.
 
Aside from a new tank and a sump because im not going to drill this one, what would your guys dream team fOr equipment look like. Im kinda tired of buying stuff that people recommend and then everyone else says its crap. So let's hear about the good stuff. Lol
 
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where is some good info on how to start and care for a sps tank? I dont really know anything about dosing or things of that nature.
 
Google is your friend. But equip wise, buy the best equip you can afford because you will end up upgrading to it. Vortech power heads are the best pumps hands down. Skimmer for a 20gal i cant really say because i only own one. My aqua c remora isnt all that, but its said to be one of the best for a nano tank. As for lights i would go with any good name brand such as Tek for t5s and also ATI bulbs.I see that you have an aquaticlife, those are pretty nice fixtures. ATO is a must have. Jbj makes a good Ato. Get a chiller if you can, summer and nano= white sps. Dosing isnt as hard as it seems. 2 parts is very easy and so is kalkwasser.
 
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god, that aquaticlife mini skimmer is terrrrrrrrrrrrrible. only took 5 minutes to realize i was returning that pos the next day.
 
moonp13 said:
god, that aquaticlife mini skimmer is terrrrrrrrrrrrrible. only took 5 minutes to realize i was returning that pos the next day.
Click to expand...

Yeah, i find that HOB and nano skimmers don't perform very well. My aquaC don't produce much in a week. If i could do it over i would get a cone skimmer for my sump. Have you looked into algae scrubbers? Im trying it out now to help my skimmer out with my nutrient load.
 
I had a 20g high up for almost two years with SPS and it has gone well. I agree with the HOB skimmer comments. Drill the 20h if you end up doing one and get a cone skimmer. Also, I used to have a 24x4 TEK fixture and I was not pleased with the growth or color I was getting. I would suggest using at least a 6 bulb fixture. ATI sunpower 6x24 fixtures are really nice and allow for good bulb combos.
 
moonp13 said:
Can u buy a pre drilled tank?
Click to expand...

Im certain that if you have a reputable LFS they will drill you one for a price.
Get a drilled one if you can. My next tank will be drilled. My current one is using the cpr cs50 overflow with the aqualifter. I have my return pump about 2 in under my waterline incase.
 
They said they don't drill at their facility. They out source it. I called the outsourcer and have decided to buy a custom built tank. What should I ask for with the current equipment in mind. I have the aquaticlife t5s 4x 24watt, I'm ordering a mp10es for flow. Right now I have the quiet flow 30 filter, I am also ordering a new 75 watt eheim heater, tlf 150 reactor with biopellets, and a bubblemmagus doser. My stand is for a 24 inch wide tank, I can customize height I believe which would be cool cuz I was thinking about seahorses, but I am afraid of the additional height making my current light setup worse.
 
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