Supplies for a reef tank

[Rodolfo Garcia]

Good morning guys, im new to saltwater tanks. My tank is currently 3 weeks old and it is still cycling(no animals). I have a 20 gallon tall tank its 24x18(height)x12. Right know there are about 15 pounds of live rock in the tank. Im going to add just 2 fish to this tank in the coming weeks but eventually i would love to add some corals. I was just wondering if you guys could let me know what is it exactly that i need to start adding corals in about a few months. Currently on my tank i have a regular fluorescent bulb(i know that needs upgrade for sure) a heater, a powerhead, a HOB filter and that's about it. What alse does my tank need to make it suitable for corals?

 

[njtiger aquariums]

It depends on what types of corals your looking to keep. Some corals need strong light where others not so much. Its suggested to have a skimmer if you have corals but I'm no expert so I would let other more knowledgeable reefers talk about that.

Do a lot of research into the corals you want. Find out if they like strong flow or weak flow, strong lighting or low lighting, need to feed or not, placement near other corals (if they will string other corals or not).

If you plan on keeping SPS you should get a test kit that measure your cal, alk, and mag.

 

[Rodolfo Garcia]

I am planning on keeping soft corals, hardier corals. This is my very first saltwater setup so i rather leave hard corals for when i am more experienced, since it is also a rather small tank i won't be fitting so many corals in to it, just a few.

 

[Reef2zach]

If your going for softies like xenia or gsp you don't really need a skimmer. Honestly those two thrive in dirtier water imo. They will take over your rock though so be carefull. Unless you want that. I personally like the look of rock covered in softies. Good luck!

 

[Reef2zach]

Also softies aren't super light dependant and you could probably get away with a cheaper led fixture or a small t5

 

[Rodolfo Garcia]

Also softies aren't super light dependant and you could probably get away with a cheaper led fixture or a small t5

Yes my tank will consist of easy softies and im a college student on a budget so a protein skimmer at the moment is not possible. I will just keep up with weekly water changes.
You know of any cheaper good lights i could possibly get on ebay or amazon? My LFS has lights for my size tank but the are well over $150. A bit pricey.

 

[ReefQueen]

https://www.amazon.com/MarsAqua-Dimmable-Aquarium-Freshwater-Saltwater/dp/B017GWDF7E

Here ya go. This light will also do higher lighting corals in case you ever decide to do more then softies

 

[Rodolfo Garcia]

That light is 165 watts . That is well over the 5watts per gallon rule. In my tank since its 20gallons i would need a total of 100 watts. Will the additional 65 watts be more detrimental than beneficial?

 

[JoshH]

The light posted above is dimmable so you can adjust it according to your specific needs. Also Those rules from what I have read tend to be more of a guide line than a hard rule, like the 1-2 pounds of rock per gallon, 1 inch of fish for every 10 gallons and so on. Ask any experienced reefer out there (Not me as I'm just as much new here as you are lol) and I'm sure they will say the same thing.

Take a minute and browse through this thread you might see something you like, the Mars aqua listed above is there as well, feel free to ask some of the owners of these lights some questions.

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/favorite-black-box-led-light.290279/page-8#post-3721404

 

[njtiger aquariums]

That light is 165 watts . That is well over the 5watts per gallon rule. In my tank since its 20gallons i would need a total of 100 watts. Will the additional 65 watts be more detrimental than beneficial?

As said above the light is dimmable. Also note when you add new corals to your tank you want to dim your lights low and slowly (like over a week) ramp the light back up to your normal setting.

Some good easy corals to start with are GSP (green star poylps) - As said they will take over so it suggested to put them on an island (a rock(s) by itself) so it doesn't over take your rock work. Look at some low end zoes (like eagle eyes) cause they can be an indication on if you can handle better corals. I also had luck with polyps but they took over my tank so I pulled them out but they took off well and looked nice.

Do note there some cheap HOB skimmers (never used one so not sure how good they are) that might work in your budget but sofites you should be ok without a skimmer.

 

[Rodolfo Garcia]

I dont know how to post links from the amazon account. Will this light work as well? Its about 20 dollars cheaper than the one posted above.

 

[JoshH]

Galaxy Hydros are mentioned in the thread I posted above I do believe there was good reviews on it from some members. They are very similar to the Mars aquas from what I've read.

 

[Rodolfo Garcia]

I just placed an order for the galaxyhydro i posted above. I was going through a lot of customer questions on amazon under that product and they all said this light is great for coral growth. I hope i have great luck with this light.

 

[Rodolfo Garcia]

And i made a rush to buy it because there was a deal on it for 20 minutes left

 

[Reef2zach]

That's a good beginner light. I've found there is no too much or too little anything for gsp. You could grow that stuff in a toilet bowl I'm pretty sure. I had some I was running in a blacked out tub to try and kill it off. When I brought it out and put it back in my display the gsp popped back out full of color lol

 

[Rodolfo Garcia]

That's a good beginner light. I've found there is no too much or too little anything for gsp. You could grow that stuff in a toilet bowl I'm pretty sure. I had some I was running in a blacked out tub to try and kill it off. When I brought it out and put it back in my display the gsp popped back out full of color lol

Thanks for your confirmation.
Im sorry if im asking too much, but becides the light upgrade that i need , what else should i get to prepare my tank for corals? I know i need to dose calcium but other then calcium and higher light output, what else do they demand?

 

[Reef2zach]

softies don't need calcium. That's more of an LPS and SPS thing. Im sure they may use some calcium but they don't create a skeletal structure, Leathers (toadstools, neptheas, kenya trees etc) are the same way. if your doing your weekly water changes there should be more then enough trace elements, alk, and calcium added from the new salt you mix up. just make sure your buying a good salt, i usually buy reef crystals but others may suggest different brands. I've also had luck with the Kent marine brand salt. also someone said flow earlier! your gonna need a power head or wave maker of some kind to get circulation and promote oxygen exchange. You'll need that for fish too though so that should be a top priority for you.

 

[Rodolfo Garcia]

softies don't need calcium. That's more of an LPS and SPS thing. Im sure they may use some calcium but they don't create a skeletal structure, Leathers (toadstools, neptheas, kenya trees etc) are the same way. if your doing your weekly water changes there should be more then enough trace elements, alk, and calcium added from the new salt you mix up. just make sure your buying a good salt, i usually buy reef crystals but others may suggest different brands. I've also had luck with the Kent marine brand salt. also someone said flow earlier! your gonna need a power head or wave maker of some kind to get circulation and promote oxygen exchange. You'll need that for fish too though so that should be a top priority for you.

I am using red sea salt at the moment. Is that any good? I alreay have a powerhead in my tank that has a overflow of 25 times the aquarium size. So is that really all most softies require? I basically just need a new light (already ordered). My tank has the light, HOB filter, live rock, heater, and powerhead. Is that all that is needed for softies?