First SW Tank for the summer!

[Cornstar]

After receiving an offer from a bank for the summer, I have decided that I am going to reward myself with a 20g fluval tank for a SW tank. (Nano reef?) or maybe a 29 HQI biocube. Suggestions?

I am not sure what are something's needed.

What I do hope to keep are:
Live sand
Live rocks
Maybe some cool wiggly things in reef tanks? I'm not sure what they are called, anemone? (Can I even sustain them?)
I also hope to have a pair of clownfish. Would that work? Also I realized that there are different types of clownfish. What are some of the ones that I can look into?

What are some essential things I will need? I am in no hurry, I intend to do a lot of research prior to buying this and setting this up.

 

[Dchi225]

I have a 20 gallon long tank myself. If you want an anemone check out the bubble tips. Not the condy anemones that you see most at the big name stores. I used a emperor 400 on mine and it worked pretty well as long as I kept up the water changes. I also have a pair of clowns in mine that are doing great!!

 

[Bectan01]

Check out some of the awesome bio cube builds on here, as well as the setting up/cycling threads. There is plenty to learn so be patient! Anemones are difficult creatures to care for and require pristine water conditions, so most people advise waiting a year or so before adding one. Without the right lighting and water conditions they can nuke your tank! I bought a book and still refer to it daily. Salt water can be expensive and without the proper research you can drop a lot of cash if you rush in, a properly set up reef is so rewarding tho and worth it

 

[Cornstar]

Check out some of the awesome bio cube builds on here, as well as the setting up/cycling threads. There is plenty to learn so be patient! Anemones are difficult creatures to care for and require pristine water conditions, so most people advise waiting a year or so before adding one. Without the right lighting and water conditions they can nuke your tank! I bought a book and still refer to it daily. Salt water can be expensive and without the proper research you can drop a lot of cash if you rush in, a properly set up reef is so rewarding tho and worth it

Thanks! How would you describe the lights that comes with the biocube 29 HQI? Would I be limited in regards to anemones/corals?

 

[Bectan01]

That I cannot answer I am afraid. Anemones need very intense (expensive!) lighting. As I mentioned before, check out the bio cube threads here, those guys can point you in the right direction...

 

[tsharkey]

If you are looking at a more common anemone such as the bubble tip, I would suggest t5 ho lighting. I am not sure of thy lighting bio cubes have but t5 ho is great for bubble tips. If you are looking for something a bit more majestic such as a sebae anemone or the ritteri anemone, I suggest very high wattage metal halides. Somewhere around a 400 watt is good. If you are like me an like all types of anemones, then use very high power lights. I use three 400 watt metal halides and 4 80 watt t5 ho bulbs over my 210 gal tank. I have a huge ritteri anemone (12-15 in) a yellow sebae anemone (8-10 in) 3 bubble tips (one is 12-15 the other two are 5-8 in) I also have a Haitian anemone (3-5 in) all are fantastic unique creatures that bring a lot of joy to people when try see them! Good luck with your tank!

 

[Cornstar]

If you are looking at a more common anemone such as the bubble tip, I would suggest t5 ho lighting. I am not sure of thy lighting bio cubes have but t5 ho is great for bubble tips. If you are looking for something a bit more majestic such as a sebae anemone or the ritteri anemone, I suggest very high wattage metal halides. Somewhere around a 400 watt is good. If you are like me an like all types of anemones, then use very high power lights. I use three 400 watt metal halides and 4 80 watt t5 ho bulbs over my 210 gal tank. I have a huge ritteri anemone (12-15 in) a yellow sebae anemone (8-10 in) 3 bubble tips (one is 12-15 the other two are 5-8 in) I also have a Haitian anemone (3-5 in) all are fantastic unique creatures that bring a lot of joy to people when try see them! Good luck with your tank!

I was told the HQI lights are actually metal halides. I don't have the exact specs on it. But would they give me good options for a 29g?

 

[tsharkey]

The oceanic 29g biocube is equipped with a 150 watt hqi (metal halide). This would be about 5.2 watts per gallon. This would be efficient however, my tank has about 7.2 watts per gallon. This is a significant difference and my anemones are all located at halfway up in the tank or higher. (Excluding my sebae which naturally prefers the sand bed) I would say you would get along fine with the 150 watt fine as long as you are keeping relatively common and easy anemones such as the bubble tip. If you are looking at something harder to keep such as the ritteri or sebae, then I would suggest higher lighting wattage especially for a sebae considering they like to "root" in the sand bed.

 

[Cornstar]

The oceanic 29g biocube is equipped with a 150 watt hqi (metal halide). This would be about 5.2 watts per gallon. This would be efficient however, my tank has about 7.2 watts per gallon. This is a significant difference and my anemones are all located at halfway up in the tank or higher. (Excluding my sebae which naturally prefers the sand bed) I would say you would get along fine with the 150 watt fine as long as you are keeping relatively common and easy anemones such as the bubble tip. If you are looking at something harder to keep such as the ritteri or sebae, then I would suggest higher lighting wattage especially for a sebae considering they like to "root" in the sand bed.

Thanks. In that case I may want to consider a 29g biocube without lights and get my own. Are there any metal halide strong enough for the tank to give me maybe a 7.2watt/gallon?

How are LEDs lights in comparable to MH?

 

[tsharkey]

The my and LEDs are both very high priced lights but if you want more bang for your buck go for the mh. However, you will have to pay more on your electric bill with mhs and they are hotter. But they are a bit cheaper than LEDs and will work bet for anemones. I would look at ThatPetPlace.com or drsfostersmith.com. I really like Aquatraders.com as well. Aquatraders has odyssea lighting systems which are a LOT cheaper than coralife and they are just as good of quality. They have some great MH T5 combo lights but I'm not sure of their size. Do some browsing and look for the light that gives you about 7-7.5 watts per gallon. Any of these sites have great customer assistance and will happily answer any of your questions!