Keeping corals in a 24 gallon Nano

R

rmeugene

Premium member
Ok...so I bought the nano used and the gentleman I bought it from said the lighting would be enough to support most corals excluding SPS. When looking on the web for any type of information regarding the lighting in the hood there are sooooo much different info. I called JBJ and they said there are 5 white 10k & 8 blue 20k - all 1.3w.

I was talking with a guy at my LFS and he said he did not believe that the 'intermediate' version of the hood by JBJ would support anything but low light things like mushrooms. But with the amount of differing information out there maybe my hood was not the one he was thinking of????

So...drum roll please...will the lighting I have be enough to support corals other than those requiring a lot of light????
 
JLee1469

JLee1469

Member
I still have stock PC lighting in my biocube 14 and kenya tree, mushrooms, frogspawn etc are doing fine. Just stick to low lighting softies LPS.
 
caragol

caragol

Member
Maybe not... but it's enough to start and LEDs will be pricey up front but cheaper than replacing those bulbs long term anyhow. Do you have fish/coral/live rock in the tank now or is it empty?
 
R

rmeugene

Premium member
The tank is currently empty except for 30lbs of live rock. This was something I purchased used and it came with a sump which promptly cracked a week ago and I am just now getting everything back together with my new sump (long story). I kept my live rock hopefully ok with having it in the tank with enough water to cover it and 2 pumps circulating the water.
 
R

rmeugene

Premium member
I sure would like to at least start with what I have...after purchasing it and immediately having to put almost $200 into a new sump I am still kind of stinging...although I am kind of glad the sump broke as the new one built by Will Latman is AWESOME.
 
caragol

caragol

Member
Just get it up for now I'd say. Get something simple in there and make sure you can keep it, get your flow and nutrients to the right levels (nitrates stay 0, little to no cyano or hair algae) and then think about upgrading to keep what you want to keep.
 
M

Midnight

New member
Hey Rick. No reason to rush into it. The biggest expense at one time is pretty much over. You got the water, sand, rock, sump, tank, and a pump all up front. Start enjoying it. You probably should wait on corals for a while anyways. Make sure it will support life and get used to maintaining the system before you add them.

The kit that I have on my tank is a Rapid Led kit. It is pretty easy to build yourself. But, like I said place that in the future after you get your clowns swimming and enjoying the tank.
 
FishBeard

FishBeard

New member
Eugene, can you come over to Streamwood tomorrow after 5:30? Ill set you up with a few easier corals to get u going and make sure your tank is good to support them. You can just pay them forward later when you start filling your tank with nicer stuff.
 
jfarris1976

jfarris1976

Member
ya also keep an eye out for Group Buys when you want to upgrade to LED's unless you are wanting to keep stock hood. I have a 12g nano and I have been looking into Steve's LED kits.
 
R

rmeugene

Premium member
Thanks so much everyone.
FishBeard - I will have to take a rain check as I just setup my tank Sunday!

I was mostly posing the question to get an understanding of what I should be planning to do with my tank. I had all intents of making it a reef tank with only a couple of clowns. But if my lighting will not support corals then I am thiinking I would just go with a FOWLR.

Everything is up and running fine now. First time taking params:
Ammonia: .4
Nitrite: .2
Nitrate: 0

Again I am not sure what type of cycling my tank will go thru. I was hoping spending the $'s on 30lb of live rock would help move it along but with everything that has happened who knows.

Again...I am NOT looking to rush into the coral thing. Just trying to make a good game plan for what I can logically support in the tank. There is so much different information about this particular tank/hood that I am confused. When I called JBJ they said the tank would definitely support soft corals!

And I know this hobby can be $ intensive but after listening to my better half after the sump broke after one day and dumped 15 gallons of saltwater on her brand new carpet...I must tread lightly!
 
caragol

caragol

Member
We're all here for you. Get it up with a couple of clowns first with FOWLR, don't put in anything that's not reef safe and you can add coral from there when you're ready. Also, there are a lot of local clown breeders, I'd post here first to see what people have and buy local rather than some fish that's been shipped all over.
 
windycty420

windycty420

Member
caragol said:
We're all here for you. Get it up with a couple of clowns first with FOWLR, don't put in anything that's not reef safe and you can add coral from there when you're ready. Also, there are a lot of local clown breeders, I'd post here first to see what people have and buy local rather than some fish that's been shipped all over.
Click to expand...
If your near midway airport anytime soon I have a pair of clowns for you. FREE
 
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