Filter Question

[themartins]

We picked up this 30 gallon set up on cl. It came with a Fluval 204 canister filter. What do we need to purchase for filter materials to get it up and running?

 

[joy13]

I know some people that run it stock others take everything out and just put live rock down there with chemi pure elite and still others run it with filter floss and charcoal. Do you plan on making it a reef tank at some point?

 

[themartins]

Thank you for help with the filter.

Yes, hopefully it will be a reef set up eventually.

Are there any corals that will do well under standard t8 fluorescent lighting using a single 10,000K bulb?

 

[joy13]

Not any that I know of. You might look into something with at least 4 t5 bulbs maybe something from T5-HO Light For the price they aren't to bad but bulbs aren't the greatest they are fine for a first set but upgrade to a better bulb the next time. With the t5 you will be able to grow most softies and LPS.

 

[themartins]

Thank you for the link. That cost is pretty good compared to what I've seen for T5 set up.

 

[themartins]

We have a couple of other questions:

Would this lighting fit where the strip light goes, or would we need something else for a cover?

How do you switch between the white day time lights to the blue actinic nightime lights?

Would this be enough light for an anenome?

 

[joy13]

It wouldn't be enough for an anemone unless it is like a maxi mine or a rock anemone neither of which move much or will host a clown fish. For that get a 150MH. The down side of those at fishneedit is there is now fan. They both come with legs and I think the MH comes with a hanging kit as well I have give 2 MH lights away as gifts. I got the t5 for myself. There is two ballasts and two switches for the T5 light I have mine set up kind of crazy since it is on a corner tank I have an actinic and a white together instead of two and two. Neither the MH or the T5 have night lights but I end up using a flashlight when I look at my tanks anyway at night.

A 30 gallon is really to small for a bubble tip anemone.

 

[themartins]

Thank you. So it sounds like we really need to go more with MH lighting when we're ready for anemones. What anenomes would do well in a 30 gal that would also possibly host clowns?

 

[joy13]

There are none that would do will in a 30 that a clown will host. My clown only started hosting after it got stressed out but a lemonpeel. It hosted an acan coral until it nearly killed it then I got an anemone for it. I took the lemonpeel out after only one week it was going to be the 3rd and last fish in my 55. I never saw saw any type of active aggression between them it was just more of a stress like I can't stand you stress.

This is a quick simple read on bubble tips anemones Anemones | Aquariums Life

There are no anemones that will live in a 30 gallon tank that a clown will host but there are some beautiful ones you can get that will work like the maxi mini Mini-Carpets: The Perfect Small Sea Anemones? | Coral Magazine

The rock aneomone Rock Flower Anemone