2 weeks into my 1st 20gal reef...

[BigEfromthe813]

Im new to the site as well as being new to the SW aquarium game. I purchased a 20gal long (30in x 12.5 x 12.7) tank with a Marineland Emperor 400 Pro series for filtration. I made my first mistake and bought an aquarium hood with a generic bulb that I cant even find out what wattage it is, so any advice on reasonably priced lighting for growing multiple corals would be appreciated.

I've done some research and have been hitting the forums diligently but im still concerned about which corals work well together and which ones to stay away from so if there are any stocking tips I should know like some of the MUST HAVEs and also the ones to STAY AWAY from.

My tanks been running for 2 weeks so any advice on the aquascape would be great too!

Pumped and Impatiently waiting,
Your boy Big E

 

[iDream]

30in 2Bulbs fixtures

^ That's a great fixture to start with

Look for soft corals like polyps and certain leathers, and mushrooms as well and LPS for the fixture I suggested. For now I wouldn't add anything

 

[BigEfromthe813]

Thanks dream

I just tested 0 for nitrites for the first time..

What bulbs would you suggest? I'm thinking 2 T5s white n blue with blue LED moonlighting-- would that cover most corals? I want to put 1 or 2 good looking clams in there too

 

[Starchar]

Clams will take a stronger light source I believe.

 

[iDream]

The colors you have right, the LEDs will most likely be for a moonlight look which is just for your viewing pleasure

For clams I'd suggest getting the 4 bulb at the very least

 

[BigEfromthe813]

4 x 24w? 2 white 2 blue?

 

[thominil]

Half and Half on the 10K and actinics is really just a starting point. As you look around, you may see other tanks with various bulb combinations which you may want to try. You are fine to try these, you don't need to do half and half to keep stuff alive. You could easily do all 10k, etc.... You get the point. Most bulbs 10K+ in color temp have enough of the blue spectrum in them to eliminate to need for actinics, making actinics eye candy.

 

[BigEfromthe813]

Thanks for the input on the half n half idea

I don't want to just keep them alive I want them to THRIVE and look (Mod Edit) lol what is the best lighting for (Mod Edit)??

 

[iDream]

6 bulbs would give you a great deal of light, you could keep anything under that

 

[Sarcothelia]

Softies are really easy...I had my Sarcothelia Edmondsoni survive a cycle completely intact. You just need to make sure you have at least 2 watts per gallon in hopefully the 10k+ range for them to be happy.

 

[hackteck]

i like the aquascaping you did

 

[thominil]

Softies are really easy...I had my Sarcothelia Edmondsoni survive a cycle completely intact. You just need to make sure you have at least 2 watts per gallon in hopefully the 10k+ range for them to be happy.

Watts-per-gallon is a relatively useless rule now with advances in lighting. Factors such as PAR, intensity, reflector type, and overall depth penetration are far more important. An example is that 150w of Metal Halide is better than 150w of PC.

 

[BigEfromthe813]

Would too much light be detrimental to some corals? Or is it just better for all? I don't plan on putting anything I want to keep in until I'm sure my tank has cycled.. Any stocking/rockscape advice??

 

[thominil]

Light that is too intense could cause bleaching issues. I suggest that you simply look into softies first since they are the hardiest IME, and zoas act as sort of an alarm because they will close up when something with the water isn't right. Rockscape....stick rock directly on the glass to help avoid any slippage if something decides it wants to burrow under the sand/rock.

 

[BigEfromthe813]

Ok all, my water parameters have zero-ed out.. Where do I go from here??

 

[thominil]

Did you add a legitimate ammonia source, or did you just stuff the rock in and go from there? Die off from the rock is usually not enough to cycle a tank, and with just two weeks under your belt, I'm rather doubtful that you are completely cycled.

 

[BigEfromthe813]

Well here's how it went-- I originally had the chromis in there, then a friend who keeps a pretty nice reef told me to throw a raw shrimp in, and I did.. We go to the same LFS and when I told my guys up there about it they told me to take it out.. So I did.. Lol this was a week ago and now everything is 0s

 

[BigEfromthe813]

30in 2Bulbs fixtures

^ That's a great fixture to start with

Look for soft corals like polyps and certain leathers, and mushrooms as well and LPS for the fixture I suggested. For now I wouldn't add anything

Dream I'm thinking about doing the quad got any other good lighting sites to research?

 

[iDream]

Good sites to research or look at fixtures?

 

[BigEfromthe813]

Yea