Any help and suggestions with this one is appreciated. I am in the process of planning a 20 gallon nano reef, this will be my first attempt at nano reef keeping. Prior I had a 58 gallon reef for seven years that did quite well, however, relocation forced me to tear it down and sell off the live stock.
I am planning the tank for my office, and thought a 20 gallon would be a nice size to allow alot of options for keeping different species. At present I have:
1. 20 gallon All-glass aquarium (24x12x16)
2. Two fan cooled 55W PC lights (6500K and 7100K)
3. Stand
4. 1 Zoo med Powersweep rotating powerhead (125gph)
5. Red Sea wavemaker
6. Misc other odds and ends from my old reef
I was thinking of either a softy or sps depending on weather or not my lights are strong enough to support sps. Filtration was going to be via Berlin with live rock (about 30 - 40 lbs) and about an inch of live sand.
Part of my problem/question is weather or not to use a skimmer. I was looking at adding a CPR bak pak2 and possibly an aquafuge refugium to hang off the back of the tank. Should I add any other filtration, either a power filter or a
canister filter. My past experience says just use the sand, rock, and skimmer and go completely Berlin with weekly water changes. However, since I have never kept a nano reef I wasn't sure if a new set of rules applies.
Also, do I need more circulation, or is the powerhead, skimmer return, and refugium return enough circulation?
Also, Another question about the
CPR skimmer. There are two options, one with bio bale and one without. The one without is marketed as a reef model. Does it really matter which one you use?
Dave
