Hello all. I've been doing some reading around this forum and decided it had the most relevant information and was the most active so I decided to join!
I recently got an IM Peninsula 20 - which is basically a 20L that has compartments on one end for nano-type equipment. This tank will be sitting on my counter island in my living room. My vision is to have a reef tank with a few fish and trying to keep it as simple as possible - so no sumps or refuge tanks etc. I'll be starting with live rock and live sand and once that is cycled, introduce some hermit crabs and snails, then shortly after a shrimp or two. I still haven't fully decided on fish but I know I won't have more than 5 in there to keep the bioload reasonable.
Here's what I have or plan on getting - any thoughts are welcomed:
As for my process, since I'm a newbie, I've been doing a lot of reading and from what I can tell, my process would be as follows:
1.) Purchase live rock and live sand from store (duh.. lol)
2.) Pre-rinse live sand with salt water to get any loose debris off
3.) Lay sand in, then salt water then aquascape live rock as desired
4.) Let nature take its course, testing for ammonia a few times a week
5.) May or may not introduce an accelerator (Turbo or just use one raw shrimp)
6.) After all levels have settled, do a 50% water change (still unsure about how much - is 50% ok?)
7.) Introduce clean-up crew
Is this pretty much it? Am I missing something? Sorry for the long post.. it's my first so I gotta make it count.. haha.
I recently got an IM Peninsula 20 - which is basically a 20L that has compartments on one end for nano-type equipment. This tank will be sitting on my counter island in my living room. My vision is to have a reef tank with a few fish and trying to keep it as simple as possible - so no sumps or refuge tanks etc. I'll be starting with live rock and live sand and once that is cycled, introduce some hermit crabs and snails, then shortly after a shrimp or two. I still haven't fully decided on fish but I know I won't have more than 5 in there to keep the bioload reasonable.
Here's what I have or plan on getting - any thoughts are welcomed:
- IM Peninsula 20L tank
- Current Orbit Marine LED 24"-36" (wondering if it'll be sufficient for my goals)
- InTank Media Basket w/ Chemi Puer Blue & Purigen & floss
- Sicce Syncra Silent 1.0 251 gph pump
- Current eFlux wave pump 1050 gph (main current pump)
- Hydor Koralia wave pump (mount near water level for agitation)
- eShopps Protein Nano Skimmer (for later when bioload is higher)
- Mesh top (do not have yet.. considering making my own?)
- LED mount (not sure if I'll have space to mount with the skimmer.. waiting for parts to get in)
- Heater (would like to get one ASAP to include in cycling - recommendations?)
- Thermometer (same as heater)
As for my process, since I'm a newbie, I've been doing a lot of reading and from what I can tell, my process would be as follows:
1.) Purchase live rock and live sand from store (duh.. lol)
2.) Pre-rinse live sand with salt water to get any loose debris off
3.) Lay sand in, then salt water then aquascape live rock as desired
4.) Let nature take its course, testing for ammonia a few times a week
5.) May or may not introduce an accelerator (Turbo or just use one raw shrimp)
6.) After all levels have settled, do a 50% water change (still unsure about how much - is 50% ok?)
7.) Introduce clean-up crew
Is this pretty much it? Am I missing something? Sorry for the long post.. it's my first so I gotta make it count.. haha.
