lighting upgrade

[ralphvg]

I have successfully maintained my first 15 gal nano for about 1 1/2 yrs. I have 3 fish; clown, bi-color goby, and a firefish. All is well with those 3. The problem is that I have an eclipse system and I am having trouble keeping the low light inverts alive or at lease healthy--pylops did well for 8 months, been looking bad for 3, the mushroom is ok, another barely hanging on....I have a 50/50 bulb and have changed it after 9 months. Would it be a good idea to take off the eclipse top? The tank is 20" long and 10" wide. I was thinking about adding a canopy with a 20 inch 2x40 Watt Current USA PowerCompact Dual Satellite Fixture. I would then put a powerfilter on the back. Question about the filter while I am at it. Should I get a filter rated for a 20 gal tank or I was thinking about getting a larger one that has several compartments in it to add stuff as well as circulating more water with better flow. What would be the maximum size you would recommend?
Thanks for your input.

 

[skunkmere]

im a noobie myself so just so you know. you might have your nitrite or nitrate levels high. inverts cant take any. and a powerfiler is a bad idea cause the polyfiller makes more nitrates. check your levels. what wattage is your bulb 24w?

 

[jski711]

i would go t5 if i were you, much better than pc. look around for a t5 retro kit. jmo, i love my t5, and so do my acros!!

 

[jski711]

any sponge or stuff of that nature take out, they hold detrius and other stuff will accumulate on it and thats when the nitrates tend to build up.

 

[Shade00]

The power filter is going to be almost identical to the filtration available with the Eclipse system. Running a small power filter, like a Penguin 170 (or even the Walmart equivalent), would not be a negative thing. The activated carbon in the filter pads will remove larger solids and help keep the water a bit cleaner. Keep in mind, however, that activated carbon has a useful lifespan of about 28 days, so change your filter pads at least once a month. An even better idea would be investing in a skimmer. Nano skimmers are hard to find. The AquaC remora nano is ok, but a bit expensive.

I would definitely recommend ditching the Eclipse system - like I said, bare minimum, go with a Penguin 170 - lighting is really going to depend on your budget. Your options are somewhat limited for a 20" tank. Here are the ones that spring to mind:

Current 2x40w PC fixture
Current or Coralife 96w PC fixture
Current 20" Sunpod metal halide fixture
Current 18" 2xT5HO fixture

They're all good choices - the halide is going to give you the most light, but it'll also be the most expensive (by far). The power compact fixtures are both good for that tank size, the difference being 16w less for the 2x40w fixture; the advantage with the 2 bulb is being able to have your actinic on a separate timer. The 96w fixture is a single quad-bulb. The 18" T5HO fixture is fairly new and really the only T5 option for under 24". It's a good light and will definitely allow you to softies and LPS corals. Check Champion Lighting for good prices on the T5s.