1st reef tank, needs to be done cheap (I keep freshwater planted ecosystem aquariums)

[Biokabe]

Then what corals are you planning? Do you have a list? We can probably tell you what is or isn’t feasible...

OP has actually said this multiple times. He wants to keep softies and macroalgae and possibly some low-demand LPS corals in a 20l. The corals he wants to keep are actually the most reasonable part of what he wants to do, he just has a not-terrific method of communication that makes confusion easy.

 

[Ricksreeefs]

Then what corals are you planning? Do you have a list? We can probably tell you what is or isn’t feasible...

list plz I get it but like specifically

 

[NoahLikesFish]

Im using that china radion on Amazon and I’m basically using a 3 gallon sump (my hob is 3 gallons) on my tank I can make the flow on it like 200 gph and I’m gonna use a scrubber and occasionally do carbon and probably throw chaeto and floss inside or smth and get a 400 gph powerhead so I can get crashing flow. I’m going to keep a pair of clingfish orange spot blenny a small goby and a trio of bass or a bass and a flasher or fairy wrasse. Crushed coral substrate 25 lb lr pvc with mortar for more rockwork pots and bottles for naturalisim. Simple macros like caleurpa corals like xenia gorgs and sun Coral (can they be feed every other day whennim on vacation or can I use a auto feeder and like drop pellets on the coral and shut the powerhead off on a timer for automatic nps feeder? And I’m gonna keep like palyzoa and mabye cheap brown lps and mabye cucumbers nems and things. I want biodiversity over form

 

[DazAquariums]

I just found this and went through all 17 pages! What a wild ride this has been!

 

[NoahLikesFish]

I don’t know crap about coral types im probably just gonna ask my lfs what’s the cheapest

 

[Sharkbait19]

Look, this won’t be your conventional betta fish or silver dollar. If you choose to do a reef tank, it will take a lot of time and effort, and maybe a little more money than you’d hope. And it won’t be easy!

Have you considered something more on the rare side of freshwater, like a dwarf puffer or spiny eel? It would be a bit more challenging than typical FW fish but it would be a lot easier than a reef tank, especially at a limited budget!

 

[NoahLikesFish]

people are ticking me off and making all this hard to explain. I’m going to go offline for like 10 minutes and write a word doc for all this I need a break rn

 

[dedragon]

Link the light because sometimes they are trash other times they may even be over powered. I always recommend branded and trusted lights like the orphek or3 bars because you can add more in the future for relatively cheap if your tastes change and you want more light demanding corals. I highly suggest you check them out on their website as it is pretty cheap for just 1 fixture probably reef day plus color for the macroalgae

OR3 Reef Aquarium LED Bar •Orphek

Orphek OR3 Reef Aquarium LED Bar, OR3 60 / 90 / 120 / 150 for Coral Pop Fluorescent Color Growth and Illumination – 5Watt Dual Chip LEDs

orphek.com

 

[Camaro Show Corals]

Waste of money and it is an aio

A AIO will be better then anything you can do with your 20

 

[ying yang]

Maybe show the floodlight you planning to get.as it should say all the details of kelvin and etc and then can see if what corals like i think you mentioned xenia and some macro algaes and what light they actually need as imo we think what fish/ inverts/ corals we want and see if they all are compatable with each other and research what flow is needed and what light is needed and we then try our best to cater for the needs of the livestock we want and if we can then we continue and if we cannot then we change something till we can achieve to look after our livestock to best of our abilty

 

[Sharkbait19]

I don’t know crap about coral types im probably just gonna ask my lfs what’s the cheapest

Cheap does not always mean easy. I recommend a couple large leather corals and maybe a Xenia and that’s it.

 

[NoahLikesFish]

Look, this won’t be your conventional betta fish or silver dollar. If you choose to do a reef tank, it will take a lot of time and effort, and maybe a little more money than you’d hope. And it won’t be easy!

Have you considered something more on the rare side of freshwater, like a dwarf puffer or spiny eel? It would be a bit more challenging than typical FW fish but it would be a lot easier than a reef tank, especially at a limited budget!

I’ve done both they aren’t rare and they aren’t challenging

 

[NoahLikesFish]

Maybe show the floodlight you planning to get.as it should say all the details of kelvin and etc and then can see if what corals like i think you mentioned xenia and some macro algaes and what light they actually need as imo we think what fish/ inverts/ corals we want and see if they all are compatable with each other and research what flow is needed and what light is needed and we then try our best to cater for the needs of the livestock we want and if we can then we continue and if we cannot then we change something till we can achieve to look after our livestock to best of our abilty

Ok it dosent have like specific kelvin but it’s 4000 lumen

 

[dedragon]

sharkbait, he has many forums up right now and is only in middle school so he is just learning how to make his tank right now

 

[Sharkbait19]

I’ve done both they aren’t rare and they aren’t challenging

Okay, how about brackish fish, like waspfish?

 

[NoahLikesFish]

Cheap does not always mean easy. I recommend a couple large leather corals and maybe a Xenia and that’s it.

Those corals are 99.99% the cheapest and I’m doing gorgs too

 

[dhnguyen]

WHAT IM NOT KEEPING ACROS

The point I was trying to make is that you need to choose the right kind of lighting. Even for softies, you can't just use any floodlight. You need to make sure they're at least full spectrum.

 

[NoahLikesFish]

Okay, how about brackish fish, like waspfish?

Wasp fish are impossible to find. I’d get one if I could find one in a reef tank but the one I know of that lives in brackish is Impossible to Get

 

[Sharkbait19]

sharkbait, he has many forums up right now and is only in middle school so he is just learning how to make his tank right now

I’ve gathered that much, so just want to see him succeed, as reefs are very rewarding when done right.

 

[NoahLikesFish]

IM LEAVING FOR 10 MINUTES DONT SAY ANYTHING HERE