20 gallon setup

[JoeJoe]

I posted this on the local board and was told ot post it here, so here it goes. I am planning on setting up a 20 gallon nano in the near future, but I have been getting different answers everywhere. I plan on having coral plus one....maybe two fish in there. I'll add some shrimp and crabs and what not as the tank progresses and settles in. I hear people saying to get a filter, others saying I won't need a filter. Could someone or a couple of you come to agreement with what would be required for a nano, minus the tank/stand/canopy w/ lights? Also, if anyone has a nano of that size set up, could they post their specs? Thanks!!

[9fishers]

Hi JoeJoe,
I think the jury is still out on whether to have a filter or not. You didnt mention if you were going to use live sand and live rock. No doubt, you will need some sort of filtration system....either mother nature or store bought. The more live sand,live rock and detritus eating creatures you have, the less you'll need an external filter. BUT, having an external filter in addition to the "natural" way, can be good also. For example, I reach in and move around my live rock. Now ive stirred up the water and have lots of particles floating around. I personally hate to see bits in the water so the external filter is great for removing that. Also, if you ever needed to run your water through carbon, you'd need a seperate filter. Ive seen both ways....with and without. I have both. Drawback is it has to be accomodated by the hood and you have an intake tube to try to hide. But on the plus side, it adds water movement and thats good. So I guess there are reasons for both. JMHO.

[mnreefgeek]

Joe -I have a 20H set up right now. Here's what I run. Some folks would steer you away from this, but it works for me.

-20H display tank
-7 gal amiracle sump w/ overflow / approximately 4 gallons of water, the rest is for siphon from the tank
-mag 7 return
-100wt hagen heater
- Ice Probe chiller
- Remora skimmer with MJ1200
- MJ 600
-Rio 400?
- IV bag Kalc drip may need to supplement with a 2 part
-DIY Light Hood with 2x4" fans
- 250wt MH currently 6500K looking at 20000K
-150wt MH currently 50000K burns at about 13000K
- 55wt pc 03
- 13wtpc 03

I keep various SPS, Frogspawn, open brain, zoes, carpet, 1 perc, and 1 royal gramma

[Ray1214]

My Son's Nano tank is a 10 gal tank. His filter is a 20 gal high refugium with a lee's countercurrent skimmer. He has a 175 Ebo Jager heater, 36 watts of PC lighting. He has a 75 Watt Sho-Grow bulb for his refugium with a reverse lighing scheme. He is going to modify the hood to accomdate a 150 Watt MH.

Outside of a powerhead, that is all of his equipment.

Ray

[JoeJoe]

I do in fact plan on having LR and LS in the tank. I wanted to house various corals and like I said, maximum of two fish....possibly a clown and goby. I was looking at the following setup:

Tank/stand/canopy
lights
filter


Would a skimmer be needed for my tank? I was also thinking about adding a powerhead for some current, along with the filter which will give two different water currents for the kids inside. Was also wondering, is a heater needed for my size tank? Wouldn't the lights heat the water enough? If it's not needed and the lights will do the job, I'll probably place a fan on the camopy that will hit the lights and the water to keep the tank from becoming a stew. Thanks again for the help, and any additional input will be appreciated!!

[ckreef]

LIghts may or may not heat the water depending on your canopy setup. Either way you will still need a heater for stable heat. The easiest way to maintain a stable temp is to have fans in your canopy keeping the temp down and use a heater to maintain a stable temp. Relying on your lights as a heat source will give you a big flucuation between day and night.

A protien skimmer is optional and many people (including myself) don't feel it's necessary as long as you preform regular water changes (10% weekly).

I would recommend some type of surface skimmer for you filter. That will keep all the surface scum out of your tank.

[budzstr]

my 20g consists of a Eclipse II hood which has lighting and filtration already in it. on a 20g seaclear acrylic tank. added a heater.

i used 25lbs of LR and 1/2inch of CC in front of LR
i rely on water changes for more filtration.

this tank has a few coral cuttings and 1 fish and has been running since june'03 i have a very similar setup on a 30g thats been running good for 2years.

This is a clean looking simple setup that works for me.

IMO Yes, get a heater for temp. stability.

[gobywankenobi]

joe,

i dove into the same plan about a month ago and everything is going great for me so i urge you to go for it!

i got something called a "nano cube" by jbj, which is a 12gal with a curved glass front and a light fixture with a 50/50 bulb. it's pretty attractive and came with a built-in air/dry (sort of) filtration system in the back, w/carbon, ceramic rings, sponges, bioballs, and a little pump. it only cost about $125.00 and, though cheap, was a great way to get started. i bought live sand (Nature's Ocean) and live rock and the whole thing cycled in just a matter of a few days!

i've got five snails, four hermit crabs, a shrimp, a goby, a damsel, a few muchroom coral, a feather duster fan, and an anemone and everybody seems pretty happy (though they'll be much happier when the damsel gets kicked out).

i am HOOKED! now, it's just a matter of time and money before i upgrade to a bigger tank and we all live happily ever after...