What size of aquarium should I get?

[newnanoreefgirl]

I'm waffling between a 10gal and a 21 gal. What are the pros and cons of each? I work at a pet store and will be able to find an extra lighting unit for the 21. It will probably need four fluorescent bulbs? That's the part I'm finding the most confusing, is the lighting. When I decide on which size I'm going with, then I will be asking a whole lot more questions about that particular size. Thanks in advance for your help!

 

[incysor]

Regular fluorescent bulbs don't really work well for reef tanks, even nano reefs. For either tank you'll realistically need to upgrade to at least PC lamps depending on what kind of corals you'd like to keep. Even mushrooms don't do all that great under standard fluorescent bulbs.
However if you don't want corals, just a couple fish, then you can get away with fluorescent bulbs, cause fish don't care. Most of the large F/O tanks I've seen have been lit with regular fluorescent bulbs.
Really the corals you like are what determines the type of lighting you'll need.

The advantages of the 21 over the 10 is more space for more corals. Larger water volume means it's more stable because changes in water chemistry take longer with more water. If you're wanting to keep fish, you can have more with a larger water volume. A canopy for a 20 is larger and it's easier to fit lights/fans etc...

The advantages of the 10 over the 20/21 is that all your hardware will be less expensive to setup. You'll need less light, smaller filter, etc... Spacewise it limits the amount of corals you can keep, so the urge to fill it up may not be as strong.

B

 

[newnanoreefgirl]

Question about lighting

So even fluorescents that are specifically for marine life (like Marine Glo and Power Glo) are no good? And a really stupid question, what is a PC?

Cora

 

[incysor]

Re: Question about lighting

So even fluorescents that are specifically for marine life (like Marine Glo and Power Glo) are no good? And a really stupid question, what is a PC?

Cora

Sorry, it's not a stupid question at all. PC = power compact flourescent. Higher wattage in a smaller package, and in the proper wavelengths for corals. Somewhere on here is a sticky post with a list of common saltwater abbreviations.

I've got 2 marine glo bulbs over my 25g. At the time it was my best bet for adding some mushrooms and a couple non-photosynthetic corals to help decorate the dwarf lionfish tank. I've had to pull half the mushrooms I put in there back out and, even my palys didn't do worth a darn and had to be removed. These bulbs are 18" long and only 15w. I'm still not convinced that they're the proper wavelenght either, but I'm gonna blame the poor performance on wattage.
There are several wattages to choose from in 20" bulbs when it comes to PC lamps. 55w, 65w, 96w. This from a single bulb. I KNOW that these put out the correct wavelength of light, because I've kept anemones, corals, even a crocea clam under them long-term. I'm actually planning on removing the marine glo bulbs entirely from that system and replacing them with a 65w pc lamp.

Again, if you're planning on keeping corals, you're best bet is to look at all the types of corals, and pick out the types that you like best, they mostly come in 3 varieties. Softies - leathers, mushrooms, some polyps.
LPS or Large Polyp Stony Corals - Frogspawn, torch, candy cane, brain corals, then there's SPS or Small Polyp Stony Corals - Acropora, montipora, birdsness, cup corals.

There are some anemones you can keep uner PC lights, although a lot of research, and only adding them to a mature tank thats been up 6-9 months will increase the chances of them doing well. I've kept a crocea under PC lamps, but I don't really recommend doing so, because of the necessity of changing the bulbs more frequently. Metal halides are really what you should look at if you want to try clams, again not until you're tank has matured, but it's a factor in choosing your lighting.

Try looking at pics and descriptions at:
www.liveaquaria.com
www.etropicals.com
www.marinedepotlive.com
www.fishsupply.com

 

[newnanoreefgirl]

Thanks!

Thanks for the awesome information! What if I had at least three or four marine glo bulbs or two marine glo and two power glo (which supposedly are good for corals and the like as well)? This is on the 21 if that's what I decide to go with. On the 10 gal, I would definitely put two bulbs, maybe three. I have access to all sorts of aquatic stuff, I work at a pet store!

 

[incysor]

Re: Thanks!

Thanks for the awesome information! What if I had at least three or four marine glo bulbs or two marine glo and two power glo (which supposedly are good for corals and the like as well)? This is on the 21 if that's what I decide to go with. On the 10 gal, I would definitely put two bulbs, maybe three. I have access to all sorts of aquatic stuff, I work at a pet store!

Marine glo, and power glo are all NO bulbs. (Normal Output Fluroescent)
Realistically NO bulbs are a waste of money unless you're doing a fish-only, (FO) tank. There's an intensity issue called a PAR value that's very important, it deals with how deeply any given light can penetrate water, and how fast the different wavelenghts drop out. ALL NO bulbs are bad for reefkeeping. 4 15w marine glo or power glo bulbs will take up a lot of space and not equal the wattage of one 65w pc bulb. That doesn't even take into the account the intensity or PAR values.
The fact is unless you're getting the fixtures and the bulbs free from the store you work at, you'd be wasting money. The 4 mg bulbs would take up more space than 2 36w pc lamps. They'd cost about the same for the fixtures and bulbs if you have to pay for them, and normal fluorescent bubls simply aren't as high intensity as the PC bulbs. You could fit 2 65w PC lamps in less space, or a 96w powerquad lamp. You can usually pick up the PC stuff used off RC as people upgrade their lights. I bought a 96w powerquad lamp with mounting legs for about $85 new. I've seen them go for as little as $50 used. On any used equipment you'd take a loss if you wanted to upgrade your lights, but with these you can barely give them away.
I'm not trying to be discouraging, but unless you want to do a FO tank, any money you'd use on the No lights would be better used towards PC lights. Even if you can get the fixtures and lamps for free, most corals require more light than they can put out, so you're likely to lose more money in dead corals than you'd save by going with insufficient lights.

B

 

[newnanoreefgirl]

Thanks, again!

Well, that is really important information, and shows how little our salesman really knows about reef tanks. I will check and see if we have any Power Compact light systems at the store! I get a really good discount, and maybe there is a used one kicking around somewhere.

I'm so glad I joined this forum!

 

[incysor]

Re: Thanks, again!

Well, that is really important information, and shows how little our salesman really knows about reef tanks. I will check and see if we have any Power Compact light systems at the store! I get a really good discount, and maybe there is a used one kicking around somewhere.

I'm so glad I joined this forum!

Even if they don't have one in the store, maybe you could get them to order you one from their supplier.

I'd seriously suggest that you look at the different corals, either in stores, or public aquariums, as well as the sites I mentioned. When you get a feel for what types you like best and want to keep that will really determine what type of lighting you need. My wife and I spent 6 months buying all used equipment, and piecing the our sytem together. During that time we did tons of reading online, and in books on what types of fish and corals we liked and what they needed in order to do well. We had a lot less frustration and killed less animals/corals than lots of new people because we used that time while we were getting all our parts for the system to do a lot of research.

The fact that you're asking about this before you have a tank up and running bodes well for your success. :wink:

B

 

[saltwaterreefsbyray]

Size

HI my name is ray, as the lady says size is not important, its what you do with it that counts. I have sold and setup hunderds of reef tanks and it doesn't matter what size you set up but how you set it up!!! build what size you can afford and if your new to this hobby do a 10 gal to start out with and first find out weather you like the hobby or not. [/u][/b]

 

[saltwaterreefsbyray]

lighting

reeftank lighting

there is no written law for this issue, on one hand yes pc's are better than standard lighting but, on the other hand there is nothing, i mean nothing!!!!! wrong with standard electronic ballast and fluorescent tubes for these small reefs, you just need to use electronic ballast (corallife make an excellent ballast for these applications)and bulbs (vitalight makes some fine bulbs. they have a fine actinic bulb called aquatinic and there standard daylight bulb is very good also, also warrantee is two years on there bulbs which is much better than power compacts.

 

[newnanoreefgirl]

[there is no written law for this issue, on one hand yes pc's are better than standard lighting but, on the other hand there is nothing, i mean nothing!!!!! wrong with standard electronic ballast and fluorescent tubes for these small reefs, you just need to use electronic ballast (corallife make an excellent ballast for these applications)and bulbs (vitalight makes some fine bulbs. they have a fine actinic bulb called aquatinic and there standard daylight bulb is very good also, also warrantee is two years on there bulbs which is much better than power compacts.


I know at the Pet Store where I work, we use a normal electronic ballast with Corallife Bulbs in our 35 gal coral tank, and they seem to be doing fine. I think I do want a 21 gal though. I can afford it, and if I don't like it, then I have plenty of reptiles that would love to live in a 21 gal! Thanks for the info though, Ray, it helps a lot!

Cora