Setting up 20 gallon reef, need lighting/ equipment suggestions

[butrya03]

So im not exactly new to the hobby, however I've never attempted to setup a reef tank under 55 gallons. Plus i had to shut down my 75 reef about 8 or so years ago due to a vehicle accident because i was unable to take care of it for months. My plan is to take my 20 long (30x12x12) that i made a wood canopy for and set that up as a reef, just softies and mushrooms. Currently it is a f/w neocardinia shrimp tank, but they are being donated to some friends tanks.
At the moment I'm trying to figure out how much this is going to cost for the switch. I won't be using a sump because it is set up on a our dining room table, so I want to keep everything either under the canopy or in the tank as much as possible. The big question right now is lighting. I don't know whether to go with leds or 2x or 4x t5. Any suggestions on what would work best? Inside dimensions for canopy are the same as the tanks footprint and I only have about 7-8 inches off of the waters surface to the inside of the lid.
I was planning on building a wier centered in the back to house the heater, filtration, return pump, etc. Any suggestions are welcome and greatly appreciated.

 

[humphreyhh]

My experience might not be too helpful to you even though I have 20 long too because my tank is anemones and clownfish tank. But, I use kessil led. I have A80 which is a small light for my three btas but it works great since 20 long is kinda shallow tank. But you will build a reef tank so I think you need a better lighting coverage than just one kessil A80. Two might work.


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[butrya03]

I was looking at some of the finnex 24" and 30" led fixtures, but I'm not sure how well they work, haven't found a lot in reviews. If i don't do led, I might do a t5 retrofit setup. I guess I'm unsure of the capability of leds.

 

[LuizW13]

I have an Aquamaxx Prism on my 25g, it's very sleek, but after 5 months or so, i'm still trying to tune the lights for my corals.
I would go with the Kessil if i had the budget for it at the time.

 

[Nick30G]

I have a 37 gallon that I'm in the processing of setting up right now which is essentially a extra tall 29 gallon (30L 12W 24T). Just got my light in the mail the other day. I'm going to be running a Ocean Revive T247, which are leds. I would recommend good quality LEDS to keep it simple and low power draw and heat.

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[Rover88]

I used a Coral MoonBox light. It worked fine for me.

The Orbit Marineland (I think?) light was also highly reviewed. LEDs should work fine, I've seen more then a few local tanks run on them.

 

[Uncle99]

LED's are more cost effective than T5 as you will need to replace your T5 every 6-9 months to maintain the intensity and colour spectrum.
Look up on the net VIsparspectra 165w dimmable LED. I have two, you need only 1.
Then you have light for the nex 10 years....and virtually no heat
Your challenge would be to attach to your canopy...many people hang them....and they come with remote and hanging kit.

 

[Uncle99]

Btw....that's hang from the ceiling not the canopy.
Many reefers leave the top open to maximize gas exchange and keep PH up.

 

[Nick30G]

I have my ocean revives hanging on the rim of my tank. As long as the tank is no longer then 30' you do not have to hang the T247's from the ceiling and just hang them on the rim.

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[butrya03]

Thanks for the replies guys! I'm still trying too figure out what to go with. I think i want to go with leds just because of the ability to customize the intensity and color of the light. The built in timers are also a nice plus. The problem now is sifting through all the available products. I definitely need to keep this as cost effective as possible, I still have other stuff I need to get to set this up. I'm thinking around 150 or less on lighting.

On a different subject, the plan is to only keep soft corals in the tank with a moderate clean-up crew and maybe 2-3 fish. Any thoughts on a decent hob skimmer? Do I absolutely need one. I have always run a skimmer on all my previous setups, but I have never attempted anything this small for sw.

 

[humphreyhh]

Setting up 20 gallon reef, need lighting/ equipment suggestions

I don't think a skimmer is must-have for a 20 gallon tank with lower life stock. But it definitely will help keep up water quality. I personally don't have one in my 20 long.

2 3-inch fish is ideal for 20 long. 3 is the maximum for my taste.

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[JustinM]

I had the finnex led for my 20 long QT. I tested the par once and was surprised that I was getting over 200 in pretty much the top half everywhere. The bottom corners were getting around 75. This should support most soft coral. I just didn’t like only having white and blue leds.

If you feel like driving to Harrisburg, you can have it. It’s just sitting in my closet now.

 

[butrya03]

I might just take you up on that offer. At least it would get me started. I'm in South Williamsport, pa so it wouldn't be a horrible drive. I'll pm you and let you know for sure. Thanks!