Beginner Nano Tank (Coralife 32 LED)

FloridianReefer · 12/06/2017, 10:01 AM

I bought a brand new Coralife 32 LED tank for a good deal off Amazon for $231. So I decided to get back in the hobby, they say once your in the hobby and you quit that you'll be back eventually. I used to have a 90 gallon tank in my early 20's it ended up being too much to handle finically and practically, I ended up joining the military and traveling all over the world so needless to say that didn't last long. Now things have settled down I know a smaller tank will be much more manageable . I have some experience in the hobby but that was about 10 years ago. Allot has changed and LED lighting was not in the picture back then. So that's about me and my aquarium background, I have a few questions for the forum. I want to put together a shopping list for my new tank. I'll be ordering everything for the tank online so links work great.

I need to know what's the best skimmer for this size tank I have and which one will actually fit?
What salt brand is the best out right now?
Which chemical filter media should I be using?
What's a good inexpensive RO/DI unit to get?
Good refractometer and ect, what ever else I might need?

Thanks for any suggestions.

urban_s · 12/06/2017, 11:43 AM

I would cut the back out and put a larger hang on.
HW-MARINEMIX is awesome stuff. I use Instant ocean-Reef crystals.
BRS GFO and BRS Carbon..Make #2 a fuge.
BRS RO/DI cant go wrong with that or a ro buddy(they go through a lot of DI)
Amazon Refractometer and some calibration solution.

FloridianReefer · 12/06/2017, 01:28 PM

Your awesome, thx.

emilese · 12/07/2017, 11:47 AM

Aquamaxx WS-1 is a good skimmer, not sure the dimensions of the space your working with though.

I use and like the Red Sea salts.

FloridianReefer · 12/08/2017, 10:14 AM

Will the aquamax fit inside the tank I got with the hood closed?

TexChuck · 12/11/2017, 04:59 PM

Hi there! I have same tank. I've had success with the Tunze 9001 skimmer which fits in the middle section without modifying the lid. Some have had issues dialing it in, but I was able to produce decent skimmate. (I'm currently running it without the collection cup for aeration)

I'm using the InTank media basket, and using it as a small fuge with Chaeto.

When I ran chemical filtration media, I used purigen with success.

Today I'm super simple -- floss, cheato and aeration. I find changing water more frequently is pretty easy with this tank; 1 5g water tote of water per WC. I change weekly.

steveg1980 · 12/14/2017, 02:29 PM

While I have a different tank (28g JBJ NanoCube), my story is actually pretty similar. I had the tank up (along with another 55g tank) back in my 20's. But I took it down about 7 years ago when we moved to a new place. We just bought a new house and I'm setting it back up, but with so much time elapsed, I feel like a newb again. I haven't found a decent LFS nearby yet, so I've also been shopping online... Plus, I work for Amazon, so I trick myself into thinking that spending money there actually comes back to me eventually :-) Here's a list of some stuff I have bought. Can't guarantee it's all the best or cheapest, but I did a lot of looking before deciding on these items.

RO/DI: Aquatic Life RO Buddie Reverse Osmosis Systems Haven't used this yet. I'm cycling the tank with tapwater, since I'll be changing it out anyway. But I plan to use this for all the water once the cycle is complete.

Refractometer: Salinity Refractometer for Seawater and Marine Fishkeeping Aquarium 0-100 Ppt with Automatic Temperature Compensation, By Aqueous Lab The reviews indicated this was a solid product that came already calibrated and accurate.

Dry Base Rock: Nature's Ocean 12-Inch Coral Base Rocks for Aquarium, 40-Pound I really like this rock. It was very clean of any organics, but dusty from being banged around in shipping. Good mix of large and medium size pieces. I ended up breaking up the largest rock into more medium sized pieces since my tank is smaller. I then seeded the rock with some rubble from the LFS. It's gonna be bare for a while, but I'm willing to wait for stuff to grow on it.

Heater: Neo-Therm Aquarium Heater - Cobalt Aquatics Seems to work really great so far. I love the fact that it's easy to adjust and also displays the current temp. Probably not the best if you want very detailed temperature control (the adjustments are only in increments of 2 degrees)

Salt: Instant Ocean Reef Crystals Reef Salt Got this mostly because it was a good deal. But I've been happy with it. Seems to dissolve really quickly compared to some other brands I've used previously that took several hours to dissolve completely.

Test Kit: API Saltwater Master Test Kit I got this one rather than the reef one for now. It's going to be a while before I will have any corals, so I just wanted to cover the basics for now.

I hope that helps a bit. Like you, I'm pretty unfamiliar with LEDs. My tank has CF bulbs in the hood that are pretty crappy. MH was top-of-the-line when I last had a tank, so LEDs seem a way better option for those that don't want the drawbacks of MH (cost, heat and open tops). I don't need to worry too much about lighting for a while, but I've started actually looking at options for replacing my hood with an LED version or even gutting it and DIYing some LEDs in the existing space. That should be interesting :-)

DesertReefT4r · 12/19/2017, 11:35 PM

For salt on a nano reef Hw Reefer is my first pick for overall high quality and price, Tropic Marine PR is my seco d but price is like WFT $$$. IO is cheap and flat out works. 9001 skimmer is great of in the hood or a Eshopps or RO for HOB. Spectrapure or BRS or a quality RO unity at a fair price plus they design their filter for aquarium use in mind and both have great customer support. BRS has a low piced quality refractometer as well. Carbon and GFO in filter bags also from BRS.

12/06/2017, 10:01 AM	#1
FloridianReefer Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2017 Location: Panama City, FL Posts: 3	Beginner Nano Tank (Coralife 32 LED) I bought a brand new Coralife 32 LED tank for a good deal off Amazon for $231. So I decided to get back in the hobby, they say once your in the hobby and you quit that you'll be back eventually. I used to have a 90 gallon tank in my early 20's it ended up being too much to handle finically and practically, I ended up joining the military and traveling all over the world so needless to say that didn't last long. Now things have settled down I know a smaller tank will be much more manageable . I have some experience in the hobby but that was about 10 years ago. Allot has changed and LED lighting was not in the picture back then. So that's about me and my aquarium background, I have a few questions for the forum. I want to put together a shopping list for my new tank. I'll be ordering everything for the tank online so links work great. I need to know what's the best skimmer for this size tank I have and which one will actually fit? What salt brand is the best out right now? Which chemical filter media should I be using? What's a good inexpensive RO/DI unit to get? Good refractometer and ect, what ever else I might need? Thanks for any suggestions.

12/14/2017, 02:29 PM	#7
steveg1980 Registered Member Join Date: May 2009 Location: Bonney Lake, WA Posts: 25	While I have a different tank (28g JBJ NanoCube), my story is actually pretty similar. I had the tank up (along with another 55g tank) back in my 20's. But I took it down about 7 years ago when we moved to a new place. We just bought a new house and I'm setting it back up, but with so much time elapsed, I feel like a newb again. I haven't found a decent LFS nearby yet, so I've also been shopping online... Plus, I work for Amazon, so I trick myself into thinking that spending money there actually comes back to me eventually :-) Here's a list of some stuff I have bought. Can't guarantee it's all the best or cheapest, but I did a lot of looking before deciding on these items. RO/DI: Aquatic Life RO Buddie Reverse Osmosis Systems Haven't used this yet. I'm cycling the tank with tapwater, since I'll be changing it out anyway. But I plan to use this for all the water once the cycle is complete. Refractometer: Salinity Refractometer for Seawater and Marine Fishkeeping Aquarium 0-100 Ppt with Automatic Temperature Compensation, By Aqueous Lab The reviews indicated this was a solid product that came already calibrated and accurate. Dry Base Rock: Nature's Ocean 12-Inch Coral Base Rocks for Aquarium, 40-Pound I really like this rock. It was very clean of any organics, but dusty from being banged around in shipping. Good mix of large and medium size pieces. I ended up breaking up the largest rock into more medium sized pieces since my tank is smaller. I then seeded the rock with some rubble from the LFS. It's gonna be bare for a while, but I'm willing to wait for stuff to grow on it. Heater: Neo-Therm Aquarium Heater - Cobalt Aquatics Seems to work really great so far. I love the fact that it's easy to adjust and also displays the current temp. Probably not the best if you want very detailed temperature control (the adjustments are only in increments of 2 degrees) Salt: Instant Ocean Reef Crystals Reef Salt Got this mostly because it was a good deal. But I've been happy with it. Seems to dissolve really quickly compared to some other brands I've used previously that took several hours to dissolve completely. Test Kit: API Saltwater Master Test Kit I got this one rather than the reef one for now. It's going to be a while before I will have any corals, so I just wanted to cover the basics for now. I hope that helps a bit. Like you, I'm pretty unfamiliar with LEDs. My tank has CF bulbs in the hood that are pretty crappy. MH was top-of-the-line when I last had a tank, so LEDs seem a way better option for those that don't want the drawbacks of MH (cost, heat and open tops). I don't need to worry too much about lighting for a while, but I've started actually looking at options for replacing my hood with an LED version or even gutting it and DIYing some LEDs in the existing space. That should be interesting :-) __________________ - Steve Current Tank Info: JBJ 28g Nano Cube Quad PC Deluxe

12/06/2017, 11:43 AM	#2
urban_s Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Posts: 53	I would cut the back out and put a larger hang on. HW-MARINEMIX is awesome stuff. I use Instant ocean-Reef crystals. BRS GFO and BRS Carbon..Make #2 a fuge. BRS RO/DI cant go wrong with that or a ro buddy(they go through a lot of DI) Amazon Refractometer and some calibration solution.

12/06/2017, 01:28 PM	#3
FloridianReefer Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2017 Location: Panama City, FL Posts: 3	Your awesome, thx.

12/07/2017, 11:47 AM	#4
emilese Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Taiwan (formerly, Atlanta area) Posts: 199	Aquamaxx WS-1 is a good skimmer, not sure the dimensions of the space your working with though. I use and like the Red Sea salts.

12/08/2017, 10:14 AM	#5
FloridianReefer Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2017 Location: Panama City, FL Posts: 3	Will the aquamax fit inside the tank I got with the hood closed?

12/11/2017, 04:59 PM	#6
TexChuck Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2017 Location: Texas Posts: 107	Hi there! I have same tank. I've had success with the Tunze 9001 skimmer which fits in the middle section without modifying the lid. Some have had issues dialing it in, but I was able to produce decent skimmate. (I'm currently running it without the collection cup for aeration) I'm using the InTank media basket, and using it as a small fuge with Chaeto. When I ran chemical filtration media, I used purigen with success. Today I'm super simple -- floss, cheato and aeration. I find changing water more frequently is pretty easy with this tank; 1 5g water tote of water per WC. I change weekly.

12/19/2017, 11:35 PM	#8
DesertReefT4r Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2015 Location: Mesa Az Posts: 771	For salt on a nano reef Hw Reefer is my first pick for overall high quality and price, Tropic Marine PR is my seco d but price is like WFT $$$. IO is cheap and flat out works. 9001 skimmer is great of in the hood or a Eshopps or RO for HOB. Spectrapure or BRS or a quality RO unity at a fair price plus they design their filter for aquarium use in mind and both have great customer support. BRS has a low piced quality refractometer as well. Carbon and GFO in filter bags also from BRS.