In the planning stages

[MCHRKiller]

Ive gotten seriously bitten by the reef bug again. Its terrible really it is. So I have a 15G high that Ive honestly lost interest in as a planted tank....and due to its height it would make a beautiful reef I think. With that I dont want to spend a ton on this tank as Im going to be moving in about a year-year and a half, and will most likely pre-setup a much larger reef at my new place before taking this one down. :11:

But anyway, I thought about this light in 14000K
http://www.fishneedit.com/150w-metal-halide-pendant-lig.html
And this skimmer...
http://shop.aquatraders.com/Odyssea-ProPack-Protein-Skimmer-p/43014.htm
...with this powerhead
http://shop.aquatraders.com/Odyssea-EX250-Powerhead-with-Sponge-Kit-p/71013.htm


And for extra circulation Id probably go with a Powersweep 214 pump, Substrate would be 20lbs of Arag Alive special grade sand. Im probably going to get the 24lb box of Premium fiji fancy branch live rock from Liveaquaria.com
http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=393+2813&pcatid=2813

For Corals Im looking at probably just buying the Nano 5pack of Polyps and the Nano 7pack of Mushrooms also from Liveaquaria.com. If I dont get a Starburst polyp Ill probably get one of those eventually as well.

My cleanup crew right now Im just planning on
3 hermits
8 Turbo snails
2 banded coral shrimp
3 peppermint shrimp

The only fish Im really interested in is a single clown, probably a Cinnamon or a Black Percula. I may also get a featherduster or two

Opinions? I have kept a reef before and have a couple of SW tanks at my LFS now...so I know the basics, but its been many years since I had a reef and Ive never had one this small:11:

[ILuvMyGoldBarb]

IMO That light is big time overkill for what you are planning for corals. A T5HO fixture would suit your needs fine and wouldn't cost nearly as much to buy or run.

I wouldn't buy any kind of skimmer from Odessa personally. I've heard their skimmers are not really all that reliable. If you don't mind the extra, the CPR Bakpac is a good skimmer as is the Octopus line.

As for the powerheads, you may want to look into the Koralias. I know they cost a bit more than your typical powerhead, but their flow is a lot more natural for your corals. It is not quite as harsh and something like the power sweep.

Your clean up crew looks good for snails and crabs, however the shrimp need tweeking. :) 2 Bannded Coral Shrimp in a 15 is more than likely going to end up with one of them dead. Add the 3 peppermints and they could all go as well. Typically in smaller tanks with a coral banded shrimp, they need to be the only shrimp. You can get away with 2 of them in larger tanks, but not usually smaller ones.

[rageybug]

I agree about the shrimp. Coral Banded Shrimp are even tough to keep in pairs in some larger tanks unless they are mated. I would even think about just getting a skunk cleaner as the only shrimp in this tank.

[MCHRKiller]

Yeah I had only considered it because it looked so similar to the BakPak, but I have heard such wonderful things about the AquaC Nano Remora Im probably going to go with it.
http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_viewitem.aspx?idproduct=AC3411&child=AC3411&utm_source=mdcsegooglebase&utm_medium=cse&utm_term=AC3411&utm_content=AquaCNanoRemoraProteinSkimmerSkimmerOn ly&utm_campaign=mdcse&site=google_base

Ive also thought about cutting the number of proposed turbos down to 2-3 and stocking up on a few Nerites as they are omnivores so they would do more for the tank. Thanks for the shrimp suggestions, very strange only stocking one cleaner shrimp, I guess I forget how small this tank is. Would the Koralia Nano be enough? The cost really is no different than the Powersweep.

Now for lighting how many watts of PC or hoT5 would you guys recommend? Would the Coralife 96watt Quad Tube be sufficient?
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+3733+13734&pcatid=13734

Also what brand of supplements would you suggest for this setup?

[ILuvMyGoldBarb]

Supplements are actually not an absolute necessity. If you are keeping up with regular water changes then your ASW will provide all you will need.

If you decide to go with PC lighting then I'd personally do a 4 bulb fixture since a 15 is a deeper tank, however a 2 bulb fixture would likely be fine.

The Koralia Nano would be great for that tank.

[MCHRKiller]

Thanks for the help ILMGB!

Im doing some shopping on marine depot to go ahead and order the equipment sometime this week. So far I have:

AquaC Remora Nano Skimmer
Coralife 20" 96watt 50/50 PC fixture
Hydor Koralia Nano Pump
100watt Tronic Heater
20lbs Red Sea Reef Base
50gal Mix of Seachem Reef Salt
and the Seachem Reef Fundamentals pack of additives

I will probably set the tank up with 50% RO water and 50% tap water, as Im gonna be getting RO from my LFS and dont want to carry all that home at once. But I will probably be doing 20% waterchanges every other week and will be using RO for that.

My plan is to set the tank up and let it run for a week or so with just substrate and water and then order my LR, and let that re-cure in the tank. Probably wait an additional 4-6 weeks. Then I will order my clean up crew, and probably wait another month before I start stocking any coral. Ill most likely order the 7pk of nano mushrooms first. Ill give the tank another 4-6 weeks and order the 5pk of nano polyps and the star polyp. Ill probably just keep corals and inverts for a good while before getting a fish. Id like the tank to be atleast 5-6months old before complicating it with the bioload from a fish anyway.

[ILuvMyGoldBarb]

I would actually advise you to the the rock in first before you get the substrate. Reef tanks have more current then FW tanks, and the substrate is going to somewhat shape itself. If you place the rock on top of the substrate, you run the risk of having it fall when the substrate is shifts from the current. You can actually cut small pieces of PVC pipe, stand them on end on the bottom of your tank, and set your rock on those rather then directly on the bottom of the tank. That will give you the solid base you need and will expose more rock out of the substrate.

The plan you have for your inverts sounds great though. You have a nice slow plan and that should set you up quite nicely for a successful stable reef. Rather refreshing to see someone truly take it slow.thumbs2:

[MCHRKiller]

Hadnt thought about that aspect of it...thanks ILMGB, Ill make a base out of PVC pipe and put some plastic grid on it to hold the rock up and then surround that with sand. Probably be more natural looking anyway to have the rock sunk around 1/2" into the sand bed anyway than right on top of it. Honestly to me I dont at this point really care to much about having a fish in the tank...this tank is about having a pleasing scape of corals rather than jam packed with a bunch of fish. I dont expect to start on this tank until late July-early August. Im rusty on all this reef stuff, so Ive got a good bit of refreshing to do.

I will probably be feeding the polyps lightly every week, how does 1/2 mil of Phytoplankton sound? Also what are some opinions on the Seachem Reef Fundamentals additives?

Since I may not always have the ability to use 100% RO although I will use no less than half RO water at setup and waterchanges(i dont want to invest in a unit for just this 1 small tank when I have a unit at my LFS) Would you recommend running some chemical media to remove phosphate. I would probably run it and some floss in a 120GPH power filter, in addition to the Remora Nano skimmer and the Koralia nano. Also I will be placing the Koralia about 40% up on one side of the tank near the front and have it blowing dead in the middle of my rock. The HOB and Skimmer return will be coming out near the top. So I plan to keep most of my Polyps near the top region of the tank due to their love of light and higher flow needs than the mushrooms which will be scattered near the mid-bottom of the formation and maybe even have 1-2 of them actually on the bottom of the tank. My plan as of right now is to utilize the height of the tank in comparison to the length to create somewhat of a "V" shape in the middle of the tank with rock

[ILuvMyGoldBarb]

Seachem Reef products are not bad. I personally prefer Dr. Brighwells line of products, however that is because they are generally more concentrated and for my 125 I don't have to use as much to get the same result. :)

I personally would skip on the floss in the filter. I think you might find it to be more trouble then it is worth. While it would provide some water polishing, it would also be a bit of a nitrate factory. The phosphate media isn't a bad idea though. I personally use Phosguard from Seachem and I love it. It works really really well.

The feeding sounds ok, but it is not a necessity either. Many people find that the addition of Phytoplankton actually contributes to unwanted algae growth. While it does benefit the corals, many feel that the benefits do not outweigh the cons of using it.

You are likely going to have to play with the placement of the powerhead. Your idea sounds good, but you will really only know what will work best once you have it up and running. You will want the bulk of your flow to be near the surface to aid in gas exchange, and also, you will want to keep the strongest part of the flow away from the mushrooms as they prefer lower flow than the polyps.

[MCHRKiller]

hmmm....perhaps 2 feedings of 1/4mil a week would yield more stable results than the 1 feeding...and the corals would probably suck up that much pretty fast before it sat in the water column long enough to affect alage. Thanks for all the replies ILMGB! :22:

[ILuvMyGoldBarb]

WEll, when feeding corals with phytoplankton, it is recommended that you turn off the skimmer for about 30min-1hr and then turning it back on to remove what is not taken in by the corals.