Thinking of making the big jump to SW

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shady3210

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Aug 31, 2005
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I'm a long time FW owner that is thinking of making a jump into the SW world. I have a 25 gallon tank that I am thinking of making the jump with but am still a bit confused.

A little history on the tank it was originally a pretty heavily planted community tank and the current hood houses a 55w CF unit putting it at abou 2.2 WPG. I could actually add another 55w CF to it but would prefer not to(would require another hood). I am hoping this is enough for a few fish some inverts and coral(nothing crazy). My goal is to make a relatively simple and low maintenance reef tank. Now I know the smaller the tank the more fickle they can be and I do have a 75 gallon drilled tank that is empty but not sure I want to make the financial commitment to a project that large.

As for the questions:

Is the 25 gallon large enough to make a stable environment(I don't want to agonize over it daily after it's established, weekends were made for hobbys!)
Is the single 55w cf enough lighting for some beginner coral and what type of bulb should I use?
Do i need a protein skimmer?
I should be able to use my aquaclear 50 for a mechanical filter correct? Would prefer not using a sump/refuge if possible.
What else do I need? Powerhead hydrometer... ect
As for water I'd like to skip the RO/DI unit at first. Could I simply buy water from the grocery store? And does distilled work or only RO?

And finally stocking my 3 year old desperately wants to see nemo so I would like a pair of clown fish. What else would make a good tank mate and what should I use for a clean up crew?

Sorry for all the questions but this wont be happening this week just trying to gather some information!

 
TL1000RSquid

TL1000RSquid

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Apr 6, 2011
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55w CF isn't really enough light for most corals, a couple low light things you could keep. Even with doubling them CF's aren't really good enough for hard corals. (I'm running 96watts of T5HO on a 20g)

25g can work but bigger is better especially for someone new to it. Skimmer is highly recommended with corals, with the 25g you can get a decent nano skimmer for $60. Distilled water is no good likely to be distilled using copper piping. Some fish stores do sell RODI water though.

If you do the 25g stick with either Percula or OScellars clowns. CUC of several snails, hermits. You could a watchman goby and pistol shrimp combo, and maybe a clown goby.
 
greech

greech

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May 13, 2009
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55W of CF is enough light on a 25 gallon to keep softies and many LPS corals. Acans, favia and other brains will do fine under that light (might want new bulbs). Stay away from anemones, clams and SPS (although some might survive, they will not thrive).

I strongly encourage you to use RO/DI but RO from the grocery store is better than distilled or tap. RO/DI here at my LFS is $0.40/gallon. Premixed SW with RO/DI is like $0.75 gallon.

The 25 or 75 will make a fine starter tank. The rub on the smaller tank is whether or not you will get the itch to upgrade so you can add more fish (would limit the 25 to 4 small fish total).

If you were to stick with the 25 and were committed to weekly 15-20% water changes and you don't overstock/overfeed, you should have no problem without a skimmer. However, this is where using RO/DI becomes increasingly important. Water is everything so there is no reason to skimp if you want a successful tank.

The AC 50 will be fine to run some media. By good quality, and good GFO (or use a bag of Chemipure Elite or Purigen) and change it out as needed. Keep the AC filter clean (fully clean it bi-weekly).

Good water, good rock, good flow is what you should be focusing on. All the other stuf can be added later (if you determine you need it).
 
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shady3210

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Aug 31, 2005
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Thanks for the replies!

On the lighting it is a 55w kit from ahsupply.com I actually have 4 of them(they ran for years in the 75gal) but only 2 can really fit over the tank. Right now I have one fitted into a cheap florescent light hood and could add another if I build a hood. On the bulb what temperatures do I want? 10k and actinic? Also how long during the day should the coral receive light? I'd like to start with the single then down the line add the second if I need to(would like to look into anemones at some point).

I may see the cost at my LFS for ro/di or premix. I would like to get my own system at some point but for now the few gallons a week I would need shouldn't be a huge deal.

I was also planing to do 15 lbs of base rock and 10 of live. Would that be fine?

As for the stocking would a jawfish be an ok tankmate with the clowns? I was also thinking about going 1 clown and maybe Royal Gramma.
 
greech

greech

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15/10 sounds fine. Just make sure it's good and porous. Jawfish, 2 clowns and a gramma would be fine.

No nems with these lights, not any that will host clownfish anyway. You should also consider a skimmer if you decide to add a nem to this tank and definitely don't add the nem if you are not going to use RO/DI. 10-20K is what you are looking for and you will definitely want at least 2 bulbs if you plan on keeping any corals. If these bulbs don't have decent reflectors, you may be looking at softies only.
 
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shady3210

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Aug 31, 2005
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The reflectors are actually pretty amazing having 4 of them on in my 75 planted made it hard to look at the tank for long. Might just make the hood since it would only take an hour or 2.

On the hood is a wire mesh preferred to cover the tank instead of glass? I notice a lot of SW fish tend to like to try and be birds....

Also would 2 of the 600 model provide enough flow? http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=23760#BVQAWidgetID
 
greech

greech

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Yes, the mesh prevents jumping, heat build up and doesn't have to be cleaned constantly to remove salt creep (which looks bad and blocks light). Bulk Reef Supply sell the 1/4" mesh if you can'y find it locally. 1/2" is typically too large.

The 600s should work well. What are the dimensions of the tank?
 
greech

greech

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The 600s should be plenty. You may want to get a 400 and a 600. If you get 2 x 600s you may need to get creative with your rock work to help block/redirect some flow. MJs can move some water.
 
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