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View Full Version : 20 Gallon build help


akronreef
05/15/2011, 07:44 PM
I have had a 75 gallon reef tank for over a year now and i am planning on starting a 20 gallon tall nano tank and just need some advice since i have never run this small of a tank before. for lighting i am planning on using a 70 watt metal halide with 4 24 watt t5s which i believe should be a good amount of light for this small of a system to grow almost anything. My problem is what to do about filtration. I was thinking about not running a skimmer (which i am skeptical about) since it is such a small system and just doing 10% water changes every 1-2 weeks. I just didn't know if this would be sufficient enough to maintain proper water quality. Thank you in advance for any advice

IridescentLily
05/15/2011, 08:07 PM
Hi, were starting a new 29g here in the new section too. Our tank is 16" high. Were using 150watt HQI Phoenix 14k.
How tall is your 20g high, and What kind of corals do you plan on having? I ask because it'll help us determine what lights you need :)
You might be able to run it with no skimmer and manage your parameters with water changes but again, it depends on what your stocking plan is.

akronreef
05/15/2011, 09:57 PM
mostly mixed coral tank. the tank is 18" tall. and ya i was thinking about getting a 150w instead just because i am worried since it is a "tall" 20g about light penetrating to the bottom. when i stock i plan ok keeping a fairly low biological load and not starting with too many corals so ideally i can get them all to grow in and look a bit more natural. starting with some lps and once the tank is more established introducing some sps since thats what i did in my 75g and has been successful thus far. since i am planning a lower load thats why i am thinking skimmerless may be better