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

[MaxTremors]

I did a lot of talking to friends who have been in the reef hobby for a long time and watched father fish and asked him a couple things, he swears by deep sand beds because there is evidence about the health of the sand bed in the 1st 10” or so directly correlates with health of the reef. I’d probably do 1” of mud 2” of sand then layer a bit of rubble of shells and crushed coral

Deep sand beds work until they don’t. Methane can build up and then a rock falls or it gets disturbed somehow and the Methane bubbles are released and nukes your tank. DSB have been out of vogue for a while, just like undergravel lifters, and wet/dry filters, they all work (or work for a while), but more efficient and effective filtration/nutrient export methods have beed found.

 

[dhnguyen]

Is there a cheap way to get blue lights for aesthetic. I’m gonna use floodlights as the main lighting

You'd be better off using something like this instead

Par 38 Led Reef for sale | eBay

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[NoahLikesFish]

could I do 1 of those then 2 floods?

 

[NoahLikesFish]

I want a reef with as much microfauna and macroalgae as possible so I need a dsb and crushed coral. The coral gets dirty but there’s lots of microfauna then the mud powers the macrofauna

 

[NoahLikesFish]

And macroalgae

 

[NoahLikesFish]

I like this tank

 

[dhnguyen]

could I do 1 of those then 2 floods?

2 of the e38 PAR and no flood light at all is my suggestion.

 

[NoahLikesFish]

Alright. how many watts do I need?

 

[dhnguyen]

I want a reef with as much microfauna and macroalgae as possible so I need a dsb and crushed coral. The coral gets dirty but there’s lots of microfauna then the mud powers the macrofauna

You're setting yourself up to be a hair algae farmer is what you're doing. That and diatom and dinoflagellates.

 

[NoahLikesFish]

And how do I mount it. I don’t see any good ways to mount it for sale.

 

[NoahLikesFish]

Should i just do a reverse UG 1” mud 2” sand?

 

[NashobaTek]

You tube probably has a video on everything you're asking about.

 

[dhnguyen]

And how do I mount it. I don’t see any good ways to mount it for sale.

You're going to have to make a mount for them. Get a hanging lamp of the same socket size or something.
If you want to keep things cheap you're either going to have to DIY or buy used.

 

[NoahLikesFish]

(Substrate) and I will also have a carbon and chaeto hob then a extra powerhead for max flow

 

[dhnguyen]

Alright. how many watts do I need?

2 X 23W would be good for that 20g, You're just growing softies and macro algae right?

 

[NoahLikesFish]

So 2 kessils 24w works? On a fixure probably like 8” up. Then 20 lb gulf rock on a skeleton of pvc mortar a 75g hob 1” mud 2” sand with a reverse UG and then a powerhead for maximum random flow.

 

[NoahLikesFish]

Yup

 

[NoahLikesFish]

I might do very basic lps but that’s about it

 

[NoahLikesFish]

25% wc a month and I will use seran wrap as a lid so I don’t get jumpers and less evaporation. is it cheaper to mix sw (without rodi unit I’d buy distilled or use fridge rodi) or just buy sw and distilled

 

[NoahLikesFish]

Is top off without rodi a bad idea? My water is hard and I was wondering if it would help with like calc and things when I’m not wc-ing or dosing those calcium blocks.