New 15gal. reef tank?

jmgpr7 · 07-13-2007, 06:15 PM

I'm thinking of seting up a new 15 gal. mixed reef tank and few fishes, most gobys and blennies. The dimensions are L24"W12"xH12"I have some question.
1. What type of lighting? prefer between HO T5 and Metal
2. What gap between the lights ans the tank in case of Metal Halide?
3. Is a good size tank?
4. filtration?

I have know some ways to set up the tank but i'm looking for people that have better expirience and can guide my and suggest some tips. thanks

Jose

**CarmieJo** · 07-13-2007, 08:04 PM

Hi Jose and

to TR.

3. Will this be your first tank? Nano tanks are more difficult to keep stable than larger tanks and can crash fast. You will need to be very careful to maintain excellent water quality. Are you planning on a sump?
4. I recommend live rock (LR) and live sand (LS) for filtration. You can also go LR and bare bottom. I'd start out with 15-20 lbs of LR.

Before you set the tank up I'd leak test it with fresh water. Once you are sure it is not leaking empty the tank. Add the sand to the bottom of the tank and then put a big sheet of plastic or a garbage bag over it. Fill your tank 2/3 of the way with saltwater that has been made from RO/DI water (or, in Puerto Rico maybe NSW), carefully remove the plastic and then add your LR. Carefully pour the rest of the water in, trying to not disturb the sand. You may want to drop a raw table shrimp into the tank for a couple of days to help jump start the.

jmgpr7 · 07-13-2007, 08:26 PM

hey thanks for the info. This is going to be my 3 Reef tank.

Yes i'm planning to use a sump with a refugium. I prefer to go with the LS and LR filtration. But the real thing is that i don't know the type of light needed for a nano between T5 Ho and Metal Halide. the question is because i'm going to build a nice canopy for the Nano Tank and i don't know the height of the lights??

Thanks

Jose

**CarmieJo** · 07-13-2007, 08:44 PM

I'm not a big help with lights and hood depth because I've not used either. My nano had PC's and my larger tank has a Solaris LED fixture. What are you planning on keeping in the tank? The T5's will run much cooler than the MH. At 12" deep T5's may be all you need. Wes made a canopy for his 29 Gal Drilled Tank.
It is on page 4 of his journal. I think the canopy it is 16-18 inches tall.

jmgpr7 · 07-13-2007, 09:00 PM

thank agian . il'l look in to it

**wwest** · 07-13-2007, 09:17 PM

I ended up going with 12 inches, 16 just seemed to high and considering my tank is only 17 inches high i didn't see the need for 16 inches. If in fact you do decide a MH and build your own hood then i would have fans in the front sucking in and fans in the back blowing out. MH's put out a lot of heat and i think the nano's with the MH's in them have a bunch of fans. I would be worried about the nano overheating.

Also welcome to talkingreef, great to have you aboard

jmgpr7 · 07-14-2007, 06:38 PM

i had an interest in the Current Nova Extrem T5 system. I has 4x24watts is total 96watts i think is enough for LPS,Softies and pollyps .Less heat and less money!!! With the T5 Ho i think i dont need to worrie for the height of the canopy i'm making , what do you guys think??

GrandeGixxer · 07-15-2007, 08:01 AM

T5s still put out some heat and it would still be a good thing to put a fan up there in the canopy. Under T5, you will be able to keep anything in that tank, including SPS and clams. Good luck with the tank and welcome aboard.

jmgpr7 · 07-15-2007, 01:20 PM

thanks a lot soon i'l start posting some pic of my tank

**CarmieJo** · 07-15-2007, 10:19 PM

Jose,

I'll look forward to seeing your photos. Are you allowed to collect fish or corals in Puerto Rico?

jmgpr7 · 07-16-2007, 10:29 AM

We are allow to collect fishes but if you have a license that will be the collectors you can collect some types of corals and a limit count of fishes per week. In my case i have collectors working for me. Were you from ? if you like polyps and Zoo. when i get home i'l post some nice pic of a friends tank that only has Page Ranking corals i'ts really cool.

**CarmieJo** · 07-16-2007, 06:55 PM

I'm in NC on the east coast of the US. If you use the initials P,R for Puerto Rico, which is where one of my best friends is from, "Page Ranking" comes up.

jmgpr7 · 07-17-2007, 05:33 PM

oooo that cool , have you ever come to puerto rico? If you haven't youll love it. It's great. Have you any caribbean fish or coral that you like???

**CarmieJo** · 07-17-2007, 08:27 PM

I was only in Puerto Rico once for a few hours. We were on a cruise and had taken out son, who was 10, out of school. His teacher had him research the places we were going and he had to write a report about one of them. He became fascinated with el Canuelo so we decided to go there. Unfortunately by the time the ship docked, we found the trolley and got there it was closed! But it was pretty to see all the people flying kites in there. We did walk through the colonial tourist stuff there and then went around San Juan for a while longer. I want to go back.

Gee, you have so many things in the Caribbean that I like! I love the big angels, especially gray, French and queen. Then you've got all kinds of corals including the giant brains. Too cool!