First Reef Tank - 16 Gallon Bow Front - Updated as August 17th

CuC

I plan on purchasing a CuC from http://reefcleaners.org/ on the 1st. I was looking at the 15 gallon CuC for my 16 gallon bow front.

Does look like a good package for my tank?

 

you can provide your info of your tank, what you have, what you plan on having etc.

John will email you back with a custom CUC just for your tank. Some of the best customer service out there.

 

This is what I have:

16 Gallon Bowfront
Aqua Clear 50 HOB/Penguin 550 Power Head
2 Blue/Yellow Tail Damsels
T5 Lighting 2x 24 watts
20 Pounds Live Rock
20 Pounds Live Sand
1 Aqua Clear 50 HOB with no filter media in it just running for water flow.
3 small colonies of zoos
1 green mushroom head
2 red mushroom heads
1 mat of GSP

How do I find John?

 

I posted a new thread in the sponsors forum. Thank you for the advice. I think I provided enough information about my system.

 

Question about upgrading?

If I was to upgrade my tank to a 40 gallon breeder, would my lighting (2 24 watt t5 bulbs - 1 10,000k and 1 actinic) be enogh to maintain my GSP, zoos and mushrooms? My current setup is in the my signature.

 

Hi,

Nice tank, so far.

The T5's would be enough for most anything; however, you may need another fixture, or build a DIY hood with 2 more bulbs just for coverage.

 

Thanks for the reply. I was thinking that the lights would be good for now considering it isnt even 18" tall. I am planning on putting the corals towards the middle of the tank where there would be the most direct light coverage.

The reason I am upgrading is because Petco has the awesome sale going on and my wife will let me get a bigger tank, I just don't have the money to completely upgrade the lighting right now. I'm going to try and talk her into a protein skimmer as well.

 

New 40 Gallon Breeder

I got my new 40 gallon breeder tank today from Petco. I'm so excited. Once I find the right place to set it up, I was thinking of just transferring everything over with the exception of the sand. All the equipment that I have is in my signature, but my main concern is the lighting. I think that since the 40 gallon is the same depth as the 16 gallon bow front that I have that I should be alright with my current lighting if I keep the corals in the center for now. I will eventually get a more appropriate lighting fixture for this tank that is 36" long.

Or would it just be better to wait to set it up until I have the new lighting. Of course I am excited and just want to set it up, but I know the best thing in this hobby is to go slow. I just know that with more water volume the better a reef tank runs as well.

 

As long as you keep the corals under the light until you upgrade, you'll be fine.

 

OK, so I postponed the buy of the CuC because I want to wait until I have my new tank all set up. I didn't want to have to transfer over a CuC as well as everything else. I've been very busy at work, but I will post some new pics here in the next day or so.