20g Nano setup help

[yjwhite91]

Benn lurking for a while learning all I can about my 55 reef, but I am trying to plan a smaller tank for my 6yr old son. This is not going to be an allaborate tank by any means, I just need to figure the basic needs. I was thinking of a 15 or 20G tank with a few pieces of live rock and sand and water from my 55 (hopefully this will allow me to not cycle the tank) I was wanting to stay away from a sump/refug with his tank. Can I just use a bio wheel or something and change water more regular. I was also trying to hold off on expensive lighting so I was going to replace the bulbs in a cheap hood for a while with 50/50 10000k self balasted bulbs floresent. will this be enough light for live rock, and perc clowns. I might frag a piece of my leather and a hairy mushroom later. Any info I can get, and I will upgrade things later as needed and he gets more into the tank (re. lighting/skimmer), just looking for the basic needs.

Thanks in advance.

 

[yjwhite91]

Oh yeah, forgot to mention my thought on flow.. I was thinkning a powersweep or a maxijet 600 with rotating deflector.

 

[yjwhite91]

bump

 

[Jordan55]

I would go with a standard 20 gallon AGA. You can put probably 2-4 small fish in there.

Biological filtration is awesome, so some nice pieces of rock will be your best bet. I would stick a HOB filter like Aquaclear or something for more water movement, and depending on how many fish you end up with, you may need a small pump in the tank for more movement.

Also, heater is always good incase temp. gets low.

Small sand bed can house usefull cirtters, so maybe an inch or two on the bottom.

How many watts is the lighting? I would say about 65 watts would be able to house some soft corals like mushrooms, zoos, and some leathers.

Good luck.

 

[yjwhite91]

Ok, need some clarification on AGA and HOB, ok, nevermind, I see the aquafilter in fosters & smith, but still lost on AGA. Pump wise, I was thinking of a powersweep for a little wave action. I have a heater, and the lights are the mini compact florescent bulbs that screw in to a standard light. they are coralife 50/50 50 10000k daylight and 50 actinic blue. rated at 10W as bright as 50W incadescent replacement. This is only temporary, I will upgrade to probably to a satelite 65 before I put corals in.
Thanks for the input, and keep it comming. I wanted to make sure I could run sumpless. Thats all Im used to is my sump/refug on my 55.

 

[Jordan55]

AGA- All Glass Aquarium. Popular brand... probably what you see in a LFS.

Powersweep sounds like a good idea for some more movement.

The coralife mini bulbs will probably be enough light to keep the coralline growth on the rock, but not enough for corals, so do upgrade when you get the chance.

I have never ran any sumps or fuges on the 8 tanks I have had, and they have done perfectly fine.

 

[yjwhite91]

ok, getting it now. anything else I should be thinking about? I know a nano skimmer would be good down the road. Oh yeah, fish, I am going to transfer my three perc clowns in there. I had to get a small tomato to go with my enenome, and the 4 don't get along. so 3-percs, probably a shrimp, snails, and maybe a small goby will be all thats in there.

 

[smy168]

NO POWER SWEEP! lol, personal opinion, it's more trouble than it's worth, they always eventually give you headaches....there are probably better options now for water movement.

After setting up my AquaPod, I would say that it's probably a better solution, they have a 12 and it's simple and pretty much plug and play. You can probably build a stand alone unit froma reg. tank but sometimes simple works. The 112 has 54 watts of PC lighting so it's definitely enough to manage most corals since ythe depth isn't so bad on it.

good luck

 

[kabal2]

for lighting you can go with power compacts, water movement you can go with two MJ1200, and a aquaclear filter, dont use the biowheel, and you can get a small hob skimmer. im almost sure that will let you keep about every softie you want

Gabriel

 

[Blazer88]

I wouldn't use a MJ1200 in that small of a tank as they consume quite a bit of power and can transfer unnecessary heat into the tank. The MJ1200 uses 20 watts of power for 280'ish gph, the MJ900 has 230 gph and uses only 8 watts. That'll be easier on the heat in the tank.

 

[yjwhite91]

I was really wanting to do something on my own, but Im thinking after pricing everything, after light upgrades and everything else later, I'd be better off getting the nano cube deluxe from the start and a power head for flow and be done with it. after getting everything set up, then upgrading lighting, Im gonna be at or about the same prive, just eight more gallons.
Thanks for all the input, and any more is welcome, but I think thats cheapest in the long run. I think Ill put live rock rubble in where the bio balls are though.

 

[smy168]

had the Cube and now have the Pod, get the Pod....

 

[yjwhite91]

Heard the pods were really hard to get now after the recall

 

[smy168]

only the 12s were recalled, i figured the thread is about a 20 so a 24 would probably be the best option.