24g aqua pod

[Guest]

hi
i just bought a 24 gallon aqua pod from dr.fostersmith.com and i am looking to set up a small reef in it. i am not new to the hobby but have never really looked in to a reef set up. i have always had a fish only tank with a few plants here and live rock there. but i just moved and had to get rid of my big tank. bumer i am great at keeping my water quality in great shape and have no problems with my tank for the last 2 years. i would now like to venture into something a little more challenging. i have bought my tank and i have a few clown fish in it now but can move them to a smaller tank wile i do what i need.
my question is what should i start with first. i have books that i read alot but i have found that people with exp is the only way to go. i want to buy live rock but dont know how much per gallon. i have heard all diff things 1.0-1.75 pounds per gallon. i do intend to buy live sand too so if that makes a diff please say. lighting i have a question on too. it came with 2 power compats 2x36 watt lighting is very bright. not to shure on what type they are but i can buy new if i got to . if any oone here has exp with these please a little advise would help so much.
thanks for your time
burlinn

 

[ryguy]

Congrats on the new tank.

I would start off with 1.5 lbs per gal of live rock and see what it looks like. Anything over 1 pound will provide your biological filtration, and if you can push it close to 2 lbs, even better. Remember that there is different types of LR with varying densities and this will ultimately be the deciding factor about how much LR you can get away with. You want to keep a good amount of water in a nano and not be shortchanged because of too much rock.

Also, try to get smaller pieces of LR which will give you more aquascaping options.

LS in my opinion is a waste of extra money. Just buy some sugar grain aragonite and seed it with a cup of live sand from an established tank.

Your lights give you 3 watts per gallon which isn't terrible nor is it enough to keep high light demanding corals. You'll get away with lots of softies and such, and you may be able to try some LPS. I'd stick with what you got and only upgrade when you're sure you need to.

 

[Guest]

great thanks so much! what type of liverock would u suggest i know there are some many different types out there. also water movement how should i make that better too i dont want to put a big power head in my tank i was thinking about uping the pump thats in the back of the tank to maybe a maxi-jet 600 or 900.
i also have a lifeguard 25 watt uv lite i had on my big tank that i would love to move over but with the self contained tank like this one i dont know how to go about it.
lighting seems to be ok u say so thats cool but i would like to maybe get beter bulbs. what color spectrum should i look for and what k-temp ?
thanks
burlinn

 

[ryguy]

I don't ever recall seeing anything over 10,000k in PC lighting. I've seen 6700k but I'd stick with 10k.

You'll want around 15 to 20x turnover in a reef tank so you'd need a couple MJ 900's to get you up and running. I realize that PH's aren't to aesthetically pleasing, but I don't think one will cut it in the tank. Maybe keep the pump it has, or upgrade it and try to mount another hidden with an adjustable spray nozzle.

I don't use UV lights so I won't comment either way.

 

[Guest]

cool thanks
i know that power heads dont look good. i will work on something there. i hope. what type of rock should i use. fiji or florida rock?
thanks again
burlinn