New College Reef

[collegeaquarist]

I am planning to make a new setup for my dorm room. I am planning on using a MR. Aqua 13 gallon bowfront and a maxspect razor to light it. I want it to be sps dominant. How should I care for it(Replace minerals used by coral) besides doing weekly water changes. The tank is only 12 inches deep, so how should I set the lights so I don't melt/burn anything? I have only done lps, so this is slightly uncharted territory for me. Any help would be appreciated.

 

[TundraGuy]

W/C works for some. You can also use Kalk as your top off water it helps but you need to play with this to figure out the right amount for your system. Once there it is very easy. Along the lines of lighting you got some many options its crazy. On a tank this small I like Par 30s but again you need to find out what you’re going for.

 

[collegeaquarist]

I'm planning on using the maxspect razor over the tank, I was just wondering how I should set it so it won't burn coral.

 

[biglurr54]

I had a 7 gallon in college. Believe me keep it simple and small. & gallon was perfect because everything fit into a 5 gallon bucket for transportation. Its tough on tank inhabitants with all the moving. I had a petco near my college so i bought the sea water they had. It made water changes and everything easy. Top off water was distilled from walmart. Senior year I upgraded to a 29 gallon with a sump. Biggest mistake ever. It was too much to move. 14 gallons should be manageable. Get a pair of clowns in your tank. Girls go crazy over them. My tank was a great ice breaker/reason for the girls to stay after everyone else left. My wife who I met in college bought a bunch of fish for the 29 gallon after our second date. That's when I knew she was a keeper.

The best advice I can give is keep it small and simple. Moving them every break sucks. And No source of RODI water is a huge pain too.

 

[biglurr54]

As for the lights play with it and see how the corals react. If they start bleaching raise the light up.

 

[TundraGuy]

To add to what Big said make sure when setting up the tank that the best view of the tank is when sitting on the bed. Trust me in college this comes in handy................

 

[tprize]

Don't do it. Save your money you'll need it when you graduate. Also go hang out with the opposite sex don't spend your time doing water changes. Reef keeping should be saved for when you have the money and time to do it right. Enjoy college with no pets fish or any cares trust me I graduated 4 years ago and now I have a great rimless and wish I hadn't wasted time/money in college.

 

[aontkos]

If you think you can do it and do it well, then do it. I bought a 9.2 gallon over the summer and took it with me this semester. I intended to keep it simple, but I am in the process of adding a sump.

My biggest issue is having a Subcurrent internal filter. It works okay, but you have to top it off twice a day to keep it happy. I'm adding a sump for increased stability and as a place to put a simple gravity fed top-off.

Try to keep it simple, but due to the nature of this hobby, that will only last so long.

 

[kingfisher62]

If you did not invest in the tank or light yet I would go with a 14G biocube. You would not be able to keep sps's but you could keep any softie or lps you wanted.

 

[collegeaquarist]

Well I already have a 57 rimless with maxspect mazarra p LEDs over it. So I'm just down sizing to go back to school. I've had a bio cube 12 and wasnt quite happy with a cube style. I like a wider aqua scape. It will probably end up as a frag tank after school.