Planning process.

[Gatewood]

Good day reefers, I am in the process of looking and planning a new tank. Because of the area the tank is going I am confined to about a 30-40 gallon tank. While I’m not looking for a dream set up. I am looking at ensuring no corner is cut, I can keep maintenance low (Once established) and enjoy it. Experienced folks please help. Skimmer no skimmer, reefer 170 or water box. Dose or no dose. Not looking to stock a lot of fish but do want corals. Fortunately I already have a light (AI).

 

[ichthyogeek]

Well....how low do you wanna go? Maintenance once a week? once a month?

And what corals do you want? Dosing/not dosing depends on what corals you want to keep as wel.

 

[MaxxuM]

Take a look at Member Tanks and search for tanks you're interested in. There's no perfect tank.

Skimmer's are best for tanks that 1. want to run at very low nutrient levels and/or 2. want to run with higher biological loads. My 5g nano for example, has no skimmer and has zero nitrates and zero phosphates. I'm actually trying to raise nutrients. If you keep only 2 small fish then it reduces the need for a large cleanup crew which translates to lower overall nutrients. Weekly water changes would cover you without the need for a skimmer. If you keep 5 fish then you'll need a bigger cleanup crew and will run much higher nutrients requiring a skimmer.

People tend to move too fast and buy too much animals for their tanks - which leads them to buy a second or third tank. So, statistically speaking, you probably should get a skimmer rated 2x your aquarium size.