Newbie - 15 gallon reef

I had a very successful 15g long Reef aquarium. I'll just post what I had specs wise and you can take what you want from it.. I used 2 inch aragonite sand, 18lbs live rock. 4xt50 24watt bulbs. 50/50 actinic/day bulbs. (didnt have space for a sump) Aqua Clear filter with phos removers and carbs, live rubble layer in the bottom. Rio nano skimmer I think is rated upto 20g but either way did more skimming than I needed, very simple and small hob and very affordable. 3x koralia nano's 2 toward the front of the tank and one circulating water behind the rock so I had no dead zones. And 1.023-1.024 salinity.. Little more forgiving with evaporation.

Buddy is using the equipment on his 20g now.. same size as the 15 just abit taller.
 
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Yes definitely use RO water RO/DI if available I bought a unit specifically for my reef tanks since i got sick of running to the store with the 5 gallon jugs :D

Lighting i would get the best that you can afford therefore i can't recommend PC lighting it runs hotter and uses far more power/par. T5HO lighting bulbs are also cheaper and last long and run cooler and their color temperatures seem way more crisp. 24" 24watt x 4 gives you tons of options for coral later on too with bulb upgrade you'll be able to grow anything in 12" of water. I replaced my stock current bulbs with ATI bulbs and my sand is literally on fire :) Not to totally diss on PC lighting but it's still fairly expensive and i think the money is better spent on T5HO lighting ;)
 
Hi everyone,

Thanks for all the tips! I really feel dumb when it comes to lighting though. I feel like you guys are speaking chinese jargon to me in that department. I need the lighting types to be explained to me (pros and cons) and then I needs to learn about lighting requirement for various corals. Do any of you know of great "reef lighting for dummies/newbies" articles?

I have a wish list started - good thing that a whole tank takes a least a month to cycle, and then critters are added slowly and it isn't all set up in 24 hours, or I would blow my 1000$ budget way too quickly. ;)

I have a "must-have at startup" wishlist (tank, skimmer, water test kit, hydrometer, thermometer)
A "need when livestock is added" wishlist (fishnet, fish food, algae magnet scraper, specific lighting for corals)
and a "need eventually/would be nice to have" list (refractometer, RO/DI).

I'm also slowly going to start constructing a "livestock wishlist".
I know I want at least a clown and a colorful type of goby.
As for coral, I really need to learn more about them, same with clams, hermit crabs, shrimp, etc.

Thx everyone!
 
you should decide on the kind of coral you want before you go into the lighting.

if you want to jump right in to the deep end and go for stony coral, just get the higher lighting right off the bat instead of buying a little pc fixture, which you will have to sell for 1/3 of the cost and buy a halide or leds all over again.
that being said, i would not do any open top nano, while the cooling benefits are great, sg swings a lot.
if space permits, get a sump, if i had the space i definatley would have a 50 gallon sump for my 15, unfortunatley i dont.
definatley get a refractometer, hydrometers are junk.

i use tropic marin and its got decent levels but that doesnt matter so much to me since i dose daily anyways.

also getting rock from local reefers could be the cheapest way to get a quickly cycled tank, although you could end up getting unwanted algaes or aptasia, which is not as big of a problem with dry rock, i got all my rock for about 3 bucks a lb, but buy new sand since old sand can become a nitrate factory
 
I wouldnt start with sps corals, you could still buy the lighting so down the road when you feel up to the challenge you can do them.. they have tendency to die quickly if something is wrong (i just started sps myself) and if you buy all this sps and it just starts dieing it could discourage you from the hobby and lead you away from it.. its better to start off with lps and leathers just so you get the satisfaction of pretty corals while not having to worry so much right off the bat.. thats only my opp. though. i just dont want to see ya discouraged
 
PC lighting runs a little warmer, the tubes wear out quicker and it doesnt have the penetration depth as T5. Youd need to replace PC bulbs every 6months for best results. Their bulbs are also fairly pricy. But they offer a quick easy way to get the wattage you need in a smaller space...fixtures are generally cheaper from the start.

T5HO bulbs run the coolest, their tubes last longer and you wont need as much wattage as their fixtures often come with individual reflectors which incease performance and the bulbs naturally penetrate the water better than other forms of lighting. Their bulbs also can be used for about 10-12months before needing replaced, their bulbs are also fairly pricy. Quality fixtures will cost more from the start.

For lighting there is no right or wrong answer. I personally run a PC fixture on my 15G high reef...mostly because I got it on a killer sale. Do look for a fixture that will allow you to customize your light patterns...another perk to why I bought this fixture. I have 2 65watt bulbs(1 10K, 1 actinic) each bulb is ran on its own switch plus the 2 LEDs have their own switch. So I can replicate a more natural light pattern during the day/night.

For your first reef I would start out with soft corals, and if you have a good fixture you can add some LPS and SPS later on. I would use atleast 96watts of light on your tank...its common in 20-24" fixtures. Do some research on fixtures, there is no clear cut right or wrong answer when it comes to lighting, Im sure youd find a successful reef under about every fixture out there :)
 
Well, after reading a bit about corals, I think I'm going to start with softies for sure, they seem to be more forgiving and just as "pretty" which is what I'm going for right now. I'll move up to SPS when I feel like I should be up for more of a "challenge" as I gain more experience. I haven't bought a tank yet, I'll be surfing the "used" classifieds and save money this way. I'm probably going to go and buy a refractometer and test kits before I even buy the tank itself. I don't want to buy a whole kit right before Christmas - we'll wait for after xmas.... Do you guys have any good book recommendations for species? I don't want to accidently buy a fish, invert or coral that will outgrow my tank, eat or poison its tank mates or that I simply can't take care of because it has special needs such as feeding habits, lighting requirements, etc.
 
This info has helped me a ton also . I am soon starting a nano reef and this is great info.
thanks all
 
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