20g High Nano

Rcpilot

Rcpilot

Reef enthusiast
I have an old 130w PC light sitting around. A 20 high is the same footprint as my 30 high. That old PC light would drop right on a 20g high. That's just a little over 6w per gallon of PC lighting on a 20g tank.

I have that CPR HOB refugium that I started out with. The one without a built in skimmer. I can buy a skimmer.

I got spare powerheads lying around.

What do ya think? Frag tank? Or something else?
 
I am not sure the height. PC lighting doesn't reach more than about 20 inches in effective depth. If it is shorter than that, you should be OK. A frag tank would be great, just make sure you add two or three tiny fish to the tank to keep things natural.

-Dr Marco :sfish:
 
I say go ahead and use it as a frag tank for LPS and softies.I did read a article in FAMA mentioning the best way to have a frag tank is to have a little live rock,then eggcrate shelving on top and a fuge.I thought it would hard to clean the bottom but they suggested it to help prevent unwanted algae in the frag.You could always blow it out with a powerhead from time to time.I'm like Doc,a chromis or two would be good too.
 
It's 16" deep, so hopefully the lights will penetrate.

I'm thinking bare bottom. I read somewhere that it's not recommended to go bare bottom unless you're an expert. I'm not an expert, but I'm not a completely green newb either. What's so hard about bare bottom? I can put a DSB in the refugium.

I'm thinking about taking 5 or 10 pounds of rock out of my 30g DT. It's kinda crowded in there anyway.
 
I think since you have the DSB in the fuge you would be fine.

Bare bottom would leave no surface area for beneficial bacteria to grow so you would have to be even more diligent in water changes and keeping the quality better

Brian
 
Turn that puppy into a frag tank.
Frags are always good to trade for stuff like salt,test kits,food.You get the picture.
 
I was wanting to set up a frag tank. The 20g high would be a lot simpler than trying to piggyback a 5g and 10g together. I bought that one for my wife the other day. It was $25 brand new at a store just down the street. I can afford to buy another for a frag tank, since I got most everything else but a good skimmer.

This could be the grow-out tank for next springs round robin frag swap. :^:
 
It would go bare bottom since your going to have a fuge.You could even have multiple layers of eggcrate shelving above the rocks for whatever frags need the most light.You won't even need a skimmer,IMO.
 
I was wondering about the skimmer too. If it's just a frag tank, why do I need to skim? Nothing to produce solid wastes. I'll just be feeding trace elements at that point, right?
 
ill keep a skimmer..it helps oxigenate the water too..good luck rcpilot, sounds like a good plan there...dont forget pics!!
 
The bio-load is going to be low in the frag tank so no skimmer is necessary.Besides the macro algae in the fuge will/should remove any dissolved organic matter the fish would produce anyways.
 
I agree with reef on that one. I don't think a tank needs a skimmer until it reaches 50 gallons or so, unless you stock the he!! out of it. I am not going to run a skimmer on my 90 due to the fact that I am going to keep only a few fish in there, mostly corals.

I do disagree about needing sand. You want that bacteria for your corals and to keep the levels stable in your tank, plus it look SOOO weird to have it bare, you want some sand down there to make it look right. Just my :twocents:, it is your tank and you are welcome to tell all of us to go to he!! if you like.

-Dr Marco :sfish:
 
I welcome the input Doc. I wouldn't have anything harsh to say to you for your opinion about the substrate.

I am just tossing around ideas right now. I could go with just 1" of sand, to keep it looking somewhat normal. But, I don't want the DSB in a frag tank. In the refugium for sure. I'm a believer in the DSB method.

I am struggling with having fish in there. I really like the idea of just having a tank full of frags. But, if I had to have some fish in there to create organic waste, it's gonna be a school of blue chromis.
 
I agree with you. I have never liked the look of a DSB in a DT. I think it looks awkward unless the tank in HUGE like a 210. I agree with you about the school of damsels. When you do, get the yellow-bellied. I think they are the prettiest damsels.

-Dr Marco :sfish:
 
Dr Marco said:
I am not going to run a skimmer on my 90 due to the fact that I am going to keep only a few fish in there, mostly corals.

-Dr Marco :sfish:
Click to expand...

Hi Doc, I have a 90 Reef with 5 small fish in it (Yellow Watchman, 6-line, etc) and I run a skimmer. I went away for 2 weeks recently, whilst a friend kept an eye on the tanks. The air intake to the venturi on the skimmer in the 90 blocked = no skimming for ~2 weeks. I returned to algae city and am still doing battle. I really feel that a skimmer is a benefit on the tank unless you are prepared to do regular, large water changes.

I have a 29g with an Anemone and a Maroon Clown in it + a few other corals. If I get lazy or miss a water change I can really tell....

No doubt you have it all planned and under control, but I just wanted to share my experience.

j
 
Joeman,

I appreciate your insight. I had thought of the algae possibility. I was planning on 10 gallons a week to see how that keeps up with the nutrients in the water. I feed only every third day as well. I also am running carbon next to the physical filtration in the HOB filter. I am planning on getting another one as well. I refuse to use those crappy, tiny carbon pads they try to rob you with for the HOB. I wedge in a media bag full of carbon instead. Not sure if the plan will work, but I have a skimmer in mind if I cannot keep things healthy. Thanks for looking out for me.

-Dr Marco :sfish:
 

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