Thinking about starting a salt tank and need advice...

[Darbex]

Flamingo. If you have money and room I would suggest the biggest fuge you can find stocked with LR and macros and a skimmer. In regards to cycling I would double your cycle time usually people like to cycle for about 4 weeks before adding anything. And when you do add things go slowly dont rush it because you will more than likely kill something.

[xxPinkFlamingo]

The main thing i am worried about is that it is only 26g and which doesn't give it much breathing room for any type of error. I have a 37g sitting in storage that ive been trying to get rid of and thought about using, but that means i would need new lights a stand and a large fuge/sump. So much to think about and so much money i would have to pour into it, its hard to decide if im willing to chance a reef tank or just redo my planted tank.

[soymilk]

Most likely you would need new lights for this tank as well. All depends on what you wanna keep.

First thing first, make a list of what you wanna keep. There is a very limited selection of thing you can keep since it is a small nano tank. From there on, it'll dictate what you need to buy to keep things happy.

There are a few famous tanks that do well with no sump/fuge/skimmer. Only natural filtration. Research on what you want. One more thing..... No Tangs please.

[xxPinkFlamingo]

Tangs get ich way to easy, so no, no tangs. They also belong in a very LARGE tank.

[snookfish]

O.K. man, I've been reading the thread and I have been doing saltwater for about 6 years now and my biggest tank was a 55. So let me throw in my 2 cents and tell you what I would do with your tank size and situation.

Get a hang on filter, I highly recomend the aquaclear, or the marineland biowheeel but ditch the actual biowheel, get the one rated for 50 gallonish. Take all the filter media out and replace it with cheatomorphia (it's a type of macroalgae) this will do 2 things for your tank, 1) it filters it and 2) the macroalgae with suck up the nutrients and allow you to go without a skimmer. Be sure to put either a power compact light or LED light with a Kelvin rating of 6700 close to the macroalgae so it will grow for you. This is now your refugium/filter/skimmer.

You need at least 20 pounds of Live rock but somewhere around 30+ would be ideal. As far as sand goes I would go very minimal. classic thought was more sand= more bacteria= less chance of a crash, but there is now ALOT of scientific studies saying thats not the case. I would add just enough to cover the bottom of the tank, like less than 1/2 inch and thats mostly for aesthetic reasons, if you like barebottom, more power to you, eventually the whole bottom will cover in purple coraline algae and some like that look, but thats like 9 months to a year of staring at bare glass until then.

Sterilizers, are added expense and not needed, but do not go without RO or RO/DI water. I've been getting mine at the watermills for years and have had no problems that i could ever attribute to thier water. and with a 20% water change of 5 gallons of water every 2 weeks + salt, your looking at about maybe $5 in water changes, thats nothing really. only the start of 26 gallons + salt will be the big expense. But without skimming, You HAVE to do water changes every 2 weeks. Plus I can tell you with absolute certainty, water changes every 2 weeks will head off or resolve most problems you might encounter. if it doesn't do 50% water changes.

Corals, stick with "softies" zoos are very colorful and will multiply like crazy. You can't go wrong with pulsating xenia ( I have some and will donate you a small frag when you get it set up, in a year you'll have 1/2 a tank full of the stuff) mushrooms, kenya tree and green star palyp are all great starter corals that look good. just be sure your tank is past the cycle by a month just to be sure. As far as fish, really no more than 3 fish without a skimmer. plus 26gallons isn't much room, But the ocellaris clownfish or a pair of them and only the pair would do nice to enhance the look of your corals. But you can look on Liveaquaria.com and they have a list under "nano" fish under thier marine fish section.

Finally lighting, rule of thumb is 4 watts per gallon with corals and if you have the 26gallon bowfront I do believe that a 4 light 24" T5-HO fixture would do you perfectly. Or look into the PAR 38 LED light. They screw into a typical light socket. I think each "bulb" cost about $80 but 2 of those versus the cost of a 4 light fixture T5 HO setup and it's basically the same cost, figure in no bulb replacement for like 8 years with the LED and less power consumption and LED might be the way to go. But throw out the watt per gallon rule with LED lights, those PAR 38 bulbs are the shizzznit!

Don't forget some of the basic equipment like a heater, thermometer, algae scrapper, etc. and you will have a tank that both looks good and you won't have crash on you. thats my 2 cents but I can PROMISE you that if you follow these steps, you will have a great tank. and don't forget, go slow, and look for used stuff here or on MARSH reef. between those 2 alone, you can probably find live rock for aboout $3-4 a pound versus $7+ retail. and the Live rock will probably be the biggest expense.

[myjohnson]

I would get a elos mini complete without the light and get the Al sol led.

[xxPinkFlamingo]

How do yall feel about the Nano cube HQI?

[myjohnson]

Which size?

[Darbex]

Going to need a chiller. I have fans on my cube and I removed the hood and suspended the MH above the tank. It's to hot. I wish they would sell a chiller with them or say something about it because there is no way you can keep HQI in a hood and not have crazy high temps.

[xxPinkFlamingo]

28g http://www.fosterandsmithaquatics.co...m?pcatid=18694 this one

[soymilk]

Thats why I like the Biocube 29 hqi system a little better. The mh light is suspended above the tank. It looks kinda ghetto though.

For most corals the cf light solution on the standard jbj works well. Depends on what you wanna keep. You can also always get a sunpod 150w mh fixture.

[xxPinkFlamingo]

The issue with the 29 is its $150 more.

[myjohnson]

Led light mod would be better.

[xxPinkFlamingo]

whats that?

[xxPinkFlamingo]

also, how much live rock would i need for the tank. I like the way its set up in the pic