Just a few simple (i hope) questions?

Hello everyone,
Let me first say that I have I love this site and love the information that I can easily get in such a fast amount of time. I love hearing and seeing everyone's setup and look forward to growing further in this hobby.

To start off I will try to remember off the top of my head exactly what I have setup, Im in class right now listening to the drama behind the Soviet Union and the end of the Cold War. So...

20 gallons
Coralife 50/50 PC light
lunar moon lights
Coralife proteing skimmer (rated up to 65 gallons I believe)
Aqualife (or something like that) filter running with carbon
2 - #1 Koralia power heads
2- basic power heads

stock -
mated pair of clowns
1- 4 stripe damsel
1- red leg hermit crag
15 or so blue leg hermits

leather toadstool
two seperate colonies of eagle eyes
Colt coral
lavender mushrooms
orange ricordia mushrooms
blue ricordia mushrooms
frogspawn
green candy cane coral

supplements - I use supplements and chemicals to keep everything in balance and I don't have my schedule in front of me but I spread everything out to not overdose but here is what I use.

Strontium
Calcium Carbonate
essential elements
ammo lock
KH buffer

foods-
formula one and two flakes from instaocean ( i believe)
frozen brine shrimp
mysis shrimp
marine snow


my tank has been up and running for over a year now and I still consider myself a newbie with some gained knowledge, I by no means consider myself anything close to an expert and have taken this journey as slow as i possibly can, because i have read so many times to just slow down and take it easy especially when visiting the LFS. it was so hard for me to not to jump in big but I am glad that I have because the knowledge that I have gained. Im sorry i keep babblin on so my questions -

1 - what is your or a normal feeding schedule?
I try to mix it up but I just wanted to figure and try to compare up.

2 - Is it possible to have too much flow?
I ask this because at times it seems as if my clowns are fighting desperatly swim, but I was just wondering could i might have too much?

3 - Regarding flow again, How should the powerheads be set up to maximize flow for a mixed reef?

4 - does anyone order livestock online, I just dont know???

5 - I want to upgrade my lighting to either a MH/t5 combo or something like that, any suggestions?

6- I have also seen some people using what yall call "home depot made" Metal hallide fixtures, is there any info to do this and could i build a combo unit using my coralife 50/50 power compact with a metal halide? Just trying to do cheap like everyone else

7 - I have so many other questions but my professor is closing up so i need to do the same. If you have any questions for me please let me know. I should be home from campus in an hour or so. I thank you so much for your help and I am just trying to expand my knowledge and put ideas to dreams. like I said before I have been takin this slower than anyone has possibly taken it before, because I want to be a reefer for life. I am hooked and got chomped on by the bug and I love every minute of it. Everything about this hobby excites me and I guess its not really a hobby but more of a lifestyle. Thank you again.
BossHogg

 

Hope this helps you out a little bit! Welcome to 3Reef!

 

1. I've lowered it down to once a day.
2. I don't think so, there's alot of currents in the reefs where the fish come from. Your fish probably enjoy swimming against the current.
3. let the powerheads bounce off of a surface so that the current spreads out.
4. I don't my LFS has really good prices on fish and inverts, corals are a bit expensive though.
5. no, I don't know much about lighting, except I need an upgrade.
6. don't know any good diy mh projects, I do know some online fish store sell parts so that you can build your own, If your on a budget you can sometimes find a good deal on craigslist.
7. The bug is very contagious, and will eventually leave grief-stricken and very poor, or your end up living dream(rarely happens).

 

thank you so much for the information i have so many others and sure everyone will be there to help. i appreciate it very much

 

First thing I would do is stop using any supplements or additives, there is nothing "Essential" about them. Unless you have good quality test kits for each and every individual ingredient in all of them and use those kits on a regular basis, never add anything to your tank other than RO/DI water and a good salt mix.
Its too easy to get a system out of balance by indiscriminantly adding so called essential elements, especially a small system like 20 gallons. Everything you need is contained in your salt mix period.

I feed maybe 5 times a week, I randomly skip a day here and there. Consider a fishes stomach to be roughly the size of its eyeballs and feed accordingly. Frozen brine shrimp has almost no nutritional value at all, its much like popcorn, a treat, and should be fed sparingly just like a treat. Mysis is a great source of proteins. I also feed Spirulina flakes rather than formula 1 or 2. I alternate foods and sometimes add frozen Cyclopeeze which both the corals and fish go nuts over.

Powerheads and placement are different tank to tank, its going to depend on how your rockwork is placed, your substrate and your inhabitants. You must also remember each powerhead or pump will have an associated heat load so its easy to overheat a 20G with too many powerheads or those that are not electrically and hydraulically efficient. The Koralias are a good choice as they move a lot of water in a nice dispersed pattern for very little power consumption. I use a K3 in my 20G QT tank and its not too much, I have a K1 in my 16G bowfront nano and I find it to be very weak, I think I'll try a couple K2s next.

For lighting it will depend on what you intend to keep and what colors you like. I am a dyed in the wool MH fan myself and use a 150w DE 15k bulb over my QT and 2x250w over my 100G tank. I still have a 96w PC Powerquad over my 16G bowfront though and it will grow any corals I want too. Old school but it works well. T5 is a good choice is you get good individual reflectors and the bulb and color choices are getting better all the time. I would sugest looking at as many friends and LFS systems as possible and find lighting you personally like. Some like very blue, others more actinic or purple and yet others almost blue/white. Its personal preference when it comes to lighting tastes.

Hellolights is a very good place for DIY lighting supplies, they have about everything you would ever want.