Nooby needs a bit of guidance

[Jodah]

So, Recently acquired a 20g tall tank, I've always wanted to do SW tanks. My main question isn't about fish per-se. To put your minds at ease, I have not even remotely started this tank.

My main question is that I think I'm over thinking the filtration/overall setup. I planned on getting a 10g tank as a sump for the refugium and skimmer. I saw a bean animal setup (youtube actually) and thought it was an amazing overflow, but I think it's overkill for a small 20G. Basically what would be the simplest setup? I do not want, nor will I run a HOB setup. Hence why I'm building a sump (also to increase the total system capacity) I also plan on doing foam/LR walls and would like to hide as much of the equipment as possible, so I figured the overflow would be build into the back wall, with the returns (I'm thinking 2 at most) also being hidden in the walls. Geeze this seems to be longwinded!

Also, lighting. How much do i really need? Planned on using T5 HO's. Would a simple two-bulb setup (1 10k, 1 actinic) be sufficient? I do plan on putting corals in the tank (probably softies, maybe SPS if I get really comfortable wiht the whole setup)

Oh! Before I forget, planned fish are going to be 2 B&W clowns, maybe a firefish/purple firefish. Was really hoping to be able to get a scissortail, but the tanks just not large enough.

So, yeah, thats about it. Sorry if this seems uber noobish, but I'd rather ask silly questions before buying stuff and setting myself up to fail. (On another note, a lot of the guides and tutorials are either not working, or not really touched upon) Thanks in advance!

[Playerdrm]

If you're thinking of SPS I would atleast get a good 4 bulb T5 fixture like a Tek light or ATI sunpower for a bit more. Overflows I've always just used the ones from gl*******s so can't give much advice on that.

[dlp211]

I know you said you do not want a hob, put you should look into a lifereef overflow. Your tank is quite small and I believe that this will save you a bunch of room.

[Jodah]

just took a look at those, for the price, I could easily build 10 of those myself. But, thanks for the info!

[Jodah]

No other opinions? tips etc? I feel like it was my first major post and I already ****ed people off. I read all the stickies already, a fair amount of the links are broken, or do not give specific info (perhaps i misread them?) Idk, I just don't want to set myself up for failure.

[harthag12]

It's only been 2 hours on a wknd, patience. :) I'll second gl*******s.com to setup the sump lines based on the video's & responses I see posted on their forums. I'm making a purchase from them once they get back from what I assume is vacation. For the SPS grab a 4 bulb fixture. Also a heads up petco has 1$ per gallon going on if you wanted to grab a 40gallon just to have more space for fish / corals, not sure if it's an option for you but it's cheap. Tek / Sunpower are quality but maybe overkill on a 20 gal but upto you.

[mjhall85]

So, Recently acquired a 20g tall tank, I've always wanted to do SW tanks. My main question isn't about fish per-se. To put your minds at ease, I have not even remotely started this tank.

My main question is that I think I'm over thinking the filtration/overall setup. I planned on getting a 10g tank as a sump for the refugium and skimmer. I saw a bean animal setup (youtube actually) and thought it was an amazing overflow, but I think it's overkill for a small 20G. Basically what would be the simplest setup? I do not want, nor will I run a HOB setup. Hence why I'm building a sump (also to increase the total system capacity) I also plan on doing foam/LR walls and would like to hide as much of the equipment as possible, so I figured the overflow would be build into the back wall, with the returns (I'm thinking 2 at most) also being hidden in the walls. Geeze this seems to be longwinded!

Also, lighting. How much do i really need? Planned on using T5 HO's. Would a simple two-bulb setup (1 10k, 1 actinic) be sufficient? I do plan on putting corals in the tank (probably softies, maybe SPS if I get really comfortable wiht the whole setup)

Oh! Before I forget, planned fish are going to be 2 B&W clowns, maybe a firefish/purple firefish. Was really hoping to be able to get a scissortail, but the tanks just not large enough.

So, yeah, thats about it. Sorry if this seems uber noobish, but I'd rather ask silly questions before buying stuff and setting myself up to fail. (On another note, a lot of the guides and tutorials are either not working, or not really touched upon) Thanks in advance!

Go with the 10 gallon sump it will give you lots of flow but like above post mentioned petsmart is have the 1galon sale so if you can go get a 40breeder then use the 20 as the sump/refgium if thats an option. As far as lighting go with the 4 bulb or if you can spring for it go with led less heat and more energy efficient and leds last longer

[Jodah]

$1 per gallon? ***? Nothing bout that on their web site. dang. I'll Have to check that out.

It's actually been 12 hrs since i started this thread. :-P

I would LOVE to go with LED's, but, as much as I know people hate hearing the word, I'm trying to do this as cheaply as possible without cutting corners like crazy.

The lighting setup I'm looking at is either the AquaticLife t5HO Link (x2) or go all out with the Aquaticlife T5HO 4x24W setup (built in timer, lunar lights etc)

in the sump I've figured I'm going to go with the AquaC Remora. Just seems like the best bang for the buck (thanks to the guys in the chatroom for that btw!)

Thanks again!

[mjhall85]

Yeah cheap is one thing this hobby is not, I don't think its advertised on their website but thats the price in store well worth it then you have more room and will probably be happier overall. I just started and I got a 60gallon. i don't have any lighting yet as my tank is cycling. A lot of options for lighting but I think overall LED's will be cheaper in the long run but from what I read T5's are great lights. A lot of great threads on this site and I used google for quite a bit as well.

[spieszak]

Cheap is fine, but before you know it, you're likely to want more than cheap can provide... also, in general you buy good equipment once, where as with cheaper equipment, you tend to buy more than once, or eventually buy better...
"Cheaper" is something you can do... Eshopps makes some good stuff at decent prices, not high end, but not cheap either. Craigslist tends to be a decent alternative too. Lots of folks buy the best, and realize they don't have the patience or time to keep up with the demands of a tank...

oh.. and a few noob posting hints, from my general perception..

1)Shorter posts with direct questions get answered faster than longer ones.. People don't like to read through it just to get to the questions. When you need to explain, questions at the top, explanations below...
2) The forum seems more popular in the east/middle of the country. Posting in the morning or evenings for that time zone gets quicker responses because that's when people seem to be reading. (avoid mid day, or expect that it will be a couple hours before you see anything)
3) Patience is a key in this hobby, bumping a post after only a couple hours makes people wonder how much you have.

[daplatapus]

First of all... Welcome to RC! I've found TONS of info here that is vital, read, read, read.
As far as over flow's definitely look at herb style's and Durhso's. I found the Duhrso a bit noisy and now run a herbie. Totally silent.

[Jodah]

My version of "Cheaply" is buy quality equipment, but not necessarily top of the line.

LED's would be my preference. Still trying to see if I can build a good LED setup for less than the Aquaticlife 4x24w setup i mentioned earlier.

Thanks again for the help! I'm sure I'll be asking for more later on!