Hello!
I had a small 12g nano cube years ago that I kept in my tiny Boston apartment and It gave me great insight and expereince in the world of nano reef keeping. On the flipside however, it did not give me a ton of experience with various filtration types (skimmers, refugiums, sumps)
Well, fast forward to today. I am moving into my house quite soon in SoCal and I am going to begin my build of a new reef in about 4-6 weeks so I am in the planning stages now. The list below is the the list of items I have found that will work with the space that I have available, but unsure if it is the best way to go about this tank:
Mr aqua 12 gallon long
Ecotech mp10
Current USA Orbit Marine LED
CPR Aquafuge 2 HOB Refugium
I like the idea of LEDs and the Orbit Marine fixture has nothing but good reviews, but I am curious to know if it is strong enough for all marine life in a 12 gallon long or perhaps too strong? Example would SPS still flourish with these since its a shallow tank, and/or would a nem be ok? With it being a shallow tank I just don't know what my best option is.
In terms of the fixture itself, it is exactly what I am looking for. Something to rest on top of the tank as hanging lights are not an option and I hate the look of goosenecks. I had a goosneck LED fixture on my nanocube and while it did the job, it was ugly. I am open to suggestions here, and pricewise willing to spend up to $250-300max (Of course, less is better
)
For filtration, I was thinking of the HOB Refugium. With the AIO tanks, you don't really get to do much with filtration so I am kind of new here. I know that a skimmer is kind of useless with this small of a tank, and bi-weekly water changes of ~3 gallons won't be an issue, I can stay on top of that with ease.
Space is once again limited so plumbing for a sump/refugium that sits below while not out of the question, would be difficult so a HOB is much more ideal. For this tank I was thinking that the Medium AquaFuge 2 would suffice:
Medium AquaFuge2
Water Capacity: 3.60 Gallons
Dimensions: 19" L x 4.5" W x 12"
Is this large enough for proper filtration, water capacity, and large enough to store a heater and anything else I may need to put in there, right? Also, for the light I am probably going to do something like this.
I am skipping any sort of GFO reactor or skimmer because in a tank this size bi weekly water changes should be able to take care of the same thing.
Anyhow, any advice would be greatly appreciated with experience in building a 12 gallon long! I know they are popular and I am open to suggestions! Thank you all so much!
I had a small 12g nano cube years ago that I kept in my tiny Boston apartment and It gave me great insight and expereince in the world of nano reef keeping. On the flipside however, it did not give me a ton of experience with various filtration types (skimmers, refugiums, sumps)
Well, fast forward to today. I am moving into my house quite soon in SoCal and I am going to begin my build of a new reef in about 4-6 weeks so I am in the planning stages now. The list below is the the list of items I have found that will work with the space that I have available, but unsure if it is the best way to go about this tank:
Mr aqua 12 gallon long
Ecotech mp10
Current USA Orbit Marine LED
CPR Aquafuge 2 HOB Refugium
I like the idea of LEDs and the Orbit Marine fixture has nothing but good reviews, but I am curious to know if it is strong enough for all marine life in a 12 gallon long or perhaps too strong? Example would SPS still flourish with these since its a shallow tank, and/or would a nem be ok? With it being a shallow tank I just don't know what my best option is.
In terms of the fixture itself, it is exactly what I am looking for. Something to rest on top of the tank as hanging lights are not an option and I hate the look of goosenecks. I had a goosneck LED fixture on my nanocube and while it did the job, it was ugly. I am open to suggestions here, and pricewise willing to spend up to $250-300max (Of course, less is better
)For filtration, I was thinking of the HOB Refugium. With the AIO tanks, you don't really get to do much with filtration so I am kind of new here. I know that a skimmer is kind of useless with this small of a tank, and bi-weekly water changes of ~3 gallons won't be an issue, I can stay on top of that with ease.
Space is once again limited so plumbing for a sump/refugium that sits below while not out of the question, would be difficult so a HOB is much more ideal. For this tank I was thinking that the Medium AquaFuge 2 would suffice:
Medium AquaFuge2
Water Capacity: 3.60 Gallons
Dimensions: 19" L x 4.5" W x 12"
Is this large enough for proper filtration, water capacity, and large enough to store a heater and anything else I may need to put in there, right? Also, for the light I am probably going to do something like this.
I am skipping any sort of GFO reactor or skimmer because in a tank this size bi weekly water changes should be able to take care of the same thing.
Anyhow, any advice would be greatly appreciated with experience in building a 12 gallon long! I know they are popular and I am open to suggestions! Thank you all so much!
