Low-tech Aquarium

[N.Sreefer]

The people at fragbox can outline alot of what you'll need they know their stuff, they're in toronto so not to far of a drive for you. If I wasn't in the maritimes I'd live in that store lol.

 

[davidcalgary29]

The people at fragbox can outline alot of what you'll need they know their stuff, they're in toronto so not to far of a drive for you. If I wasn't in the maritimes I'd live in that store lol.

I'll admit it: I sometimes troll their site at midnight to see the steals they post at night. I've picked up more than one cynarina that way...

 

[Adrift]

Welcome to R2R glad you joined us

 

[mdb_talon]

It seems like some interpreted "low-tech" with not wanting have a nice reef tank or sticking with very simple livestock. I read that a lot differently and interpret it to meant you dont want to have everything ran by controllers/phone connected apps/etc.

There are many ways to do this and create an amazing reef tank. Some of the gadgets and apps controlling things can simplify things, but are far from a requirement. Just be careful in your equipment selection to ensure it will work even if you dont have a smartphone to connect it to. An increasing amount of hardware can either require it to operate or at least need it for full functionality. Especially when you select your lights I would pay attention to making sure you can do what you need without the gadgets Some for example are impossible to fully control if you dont have a smartphone or sometimes a separate extra gadget and a PC. The kessil a360x for example you mentioned you will need an app and a separately purchased wifi dongle if you want to do anything other than basic adjustments of spectrum and intensity. Will also need a standalone timer. For those reasons I would not consider a light like that. Even a cheap blackbox light now for a fraction of the price you can at least have some controllability built in to the light.

As far as questions like whether you need a skimmer or sump you can get lots of opinions either way on that. I personally would not do a tank without a sump or a skimmer, but it is far from a requirement to have a nice reef tank.

 

[EricR]

My only gripe about TopFin is that I want a rimless tank. That said, I believe they have one and quite possibly at my city store too. I just held off on getting it for fear that if it was at that store it must be of low value in some way.

I missed the rimless part, sorry.

Only pointed out this (20 gallon "kit" for $99) because of the "low budget" tag/label on your post, plus you mentioned low-tech.

It does include everything you need to get started in saltwater (tank/filter/heater/light), then you'd add powerhead and better lighting when ready for corals. (Whether or not TopFin = low quality is opinion but most would probably agree that more $$$ tends to lead to better quality, most of the time -- I think the glass tanks are perfectly adequate but doesn't matter because they're not rimless)

My only recommendations are:
-- post your realistic budget (unless I just missed that again)
-- research and consider if a traditional tank on stand with sump/refugium in cabinet below fits your needs

 

[Dom]

In terms of livestock: a cleaning crew (snails, shrimp, maybe some crabs), a couple clowns, maybe a wrasse, maybe a couple blennies or gobies. I don't think a 20 gallon tank can support a bunch of fish. I am aiming more for the reef with all other life going to support maintaining that reef.

You aren't talking about big fish here. You can start with a 20 Long from Aqueon. It isn't tall, but it will give those little guys a lot of lateral room to swim back and forth.

If you are committed to FAITHFUL weekly 20% water changes, you can have good success. Faithful weekly will remove the need for a protein skimmer. You can also use a hang on back filter for now. I'd go with the Aquaclear 110. Keep it clean and it will run forever.

I noticed you haven't mentioned corals. Will this tank be fish only? I like the idea of a Newbie starting with fish only. But if you're thinking coral, then it gets more complicated.

The Aquaclear 110 almost certainly would not provide adequate flow for most corals. So you would have to supplement flow with power heads. Also the quality of lighting required goes up, and so does the price.