New 20 gallon Reef

[jester23]

Hello everyone. So I am thinking of converting my 20 gallon FOWLR into a Reef. I would like some help and suggestions on stocking it with corals. I currently have a 20 gallon tall tank with about 20 lbs of live rock and thinking of getting more. I have a 2 inch sandbed. My inhabitants are as follows:
1-Ocellaris Clown
1-Pink Spotted Goby
1-Skunk Cleaner Shrimp
1-Sea Urchin
Hang on back Aqueon Filter but thinking of getting some more filtration. Any suggestions on cheap good filtration?
I am also getting 24" power compacts 110 watts. I currently have some mushrooms doing ok under my weak 40 watts of light.
Any advice is greatly appreciated.

[pokmijn]

If you want a reef i think it'd be best for you to run a sump/fuge. And with the new light you should be able to keep better corals under it.

[iDream]

well several people here swear by the AquaClear HOBs, just get one rated for gallons higher than the size of your tank will be better

maybe a canister filter, but those dont come cheap usually.

PC lights are good, but T5's or LEDs would be good, if your budget allows that is.

as for a sump or refugium with a tank that small you shouldnt have to worry about that

[jester23]

Thanks. Any suggestions for coral species?

[th08tu]

Maybe start off with some Zoanthids? They are fairly hardy, so it will give you good practice as you learn the differences between FOWLR and Reef.
Also can I ask why you are getting that fixture? Not saying there is anything wrong with it, but LED's are kind of the new thing right now, and have some amazing results with very lost maintenance costs. Although they are a little pricey. Or you could look at T5 HO, this will give you many more options in the colour of bulbs you pic, and they work as well as PC at half the wattage. (40W pc = 20W t5HO) OR if you want to go crazy with corals like SPS, you could go for Metal halide, which are fairly expensive but awesome.

Sorry to question your choice, as I am sure you have done your research, but I find lighting is almost as important as water quality so just making sure you looked at it. Watts isn't the most important thing anymore :P

[iDream]

yeah, go with some zoanthids/polyps. you'll love em. or you could do some mushrooms and they like just about any light.

some green star polyps would be good starters too.


.. but whatever you do.. TAKE PICS

[jester23]

alright thanks. how about some xenia? easy or difficult? I've been wanting one.

[ChizerBunoi]

I think xenia is very easy. However, don't start with that one. Go for a zoanthid or palythoa as they are indestructible.

[jester23]

Thanks for the help and suggestions. They were most insightful. Another question...how about ricordea? I heard they are easy and I think they are beautiful.

[iDream]

xenia are near indestructable as well, i have some and it's growing magnificiently (others say its like a weed, hard to get rid of)

anyway im fairly sure rics are another softy and are easy to care for as well, good choices you're coming up with!

[jester23]

Thanks for the advice. Greatly appreciated. So these will all do well with my new lights? I wanted to go for easy corals because I've heard too many times of people that got into corals that were more difficult and lost a lot of money. In the future would I be able to have other more difficult corals with these lights?

[kingman8610]

Originally Posted by th08tu

Not saying there is anything wrong with it, but LED's are kind of the new thing right now, and have some amazing results with very lost maintenance costs. Although they are a little pricey. Or you could look at T5 HO, this will give you many more options in the colour of bulbs you pic, and they work as well as PC at half the wattage. (40W pc = 20W t5HO) OR if you want to go crazy with corals like SPS, you could go for Metal halide, which are fairly expensive but awesome.

Sorry to question your choice, as I am sure you have done your research, but I find lighting is almost as important as water quality so just making sure you looked at it. Watts isn't the most important thing anymore :P

Why are LEDs the new thing? what was being used before? and why are they better? also, how many colors of bulbs are there? and what are they?
-sorry I'm still pretty new at Aquaria

[iDream]

with PC lights, not a whole lot more than softies like the aforementioned, sorry =/ i'm stuck in the same boat!

and kingman, they are new because they werent very practical for the price, now that its coming down and will continue too, they are becoming a cost effective option, they are just as strong as MH,(as in you can keep all types of corals, and clams as well) but only a small fraction of the electricity to run and very little heat (if set up correctly) added with the features of dimming and the different intensities you can run the lights on, the possibilites are endless.

as for colors so far what i've seen is white, blue, and yellow as they basics, but you can set them to different powers to get any color or look you want, also they make corals and clams pop like you wouldn't believe!

no problem on the questions, i enjoyed replying. this is best place to ask questions as you'll get multiple solutions for a problem and everyone's nice! the only dumb question is the one you don't ask!