Hi, I'm setting up a new reef and would like to know how my list sounds so far. I'm on a budget so cheap but good is what i'm going for.

20 gallon tank (purchased)
looking to make a LED lighting system. possibly 18 3 watt 8000K LED's and 8 Actinic (really just blue 426nm) LED's.
20-30 lbs of live rock
20 lbs of live sand
Bio System Power Filter & Oxy Surface Skimmer 25
2 power heads (need to know what a good type is)
200W heater
thermoelectric chiller

Hows it sound?? I know i'm leaving out testing materials but that's a must anyway.

Something u might really want to consider is a protein skimmer. in fact, u don't really "need" a power filter/surface skimmer for a SW tank. protein skimmers remove dissolved organics that power filters can't pick up. protein skimmers are very expensive, though, (the cheapest one in the world is probably $70). u can run a tank without the, though, u would need to be specially routine to doing weekly water changes.

EDIT: Hydor Koralliaspowerheads are considered as one of the best brands, though they are expensive, too.

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I'm so sorry I haven't been on the forum in so long! Don't worry, I haven't forgotten this lovely website! I moved to a different county back in May 2011 and started high school in a totally different school district. So I'm still adjusting and studying hard, and don't presently have any aquariums. But once I do, I'll be right back on this forum!

I don't think you need a protein skimmer for a tank that size. I think that powerfilters still help a lot if you have one, as long as you change out the media religiously, because if you don't it will cause a problem. Everything else looks fine though. I don't know a whole lot about LED lighting though, so you might want to get someone elses opinion about that. I know that T5s are good though, if you don't want to have to spend so much money on a LED setup.

FIRST...... what type of corals are you looking at keeping? Ditto with the power filter, dump it, it will only cause you headaches. A protein skimmer would be nice but if it's out of the price range you REALLY need to do weekly 10% water changes.

For Corals you really want to be looking at T5 lights at the least, even the LED lighting on sale at the moment is still in its infancy.

For a tank that small a Protein Skimmer isn't a must have so long as you don't start slacking on water changes but at the same time getting 1 wouldn't be a bad thing.

I can't really see you needing a chiller either even with my 4 tube T5's I don't need a chiller if you had Metal Hallides then you may want or need to get a chiller.

Tunze and Koralia make good powerheads with Tunze seeming to be the best choice, I use Sun-Sun wavemakers they are way cheaper than the rest and Ive had no problems with them at all infact Ive been impressed with them and they cost about a quarter of the Tunzes.

Your tank holds 20 gallons I would have tried to get a bigger tank than that but you say you are looking at 20 to 30 lbs of Rock, that amount should be enough to act as your filter combined with water changes, TMC does a nice range of smaller Skimmers that are supposed to be pretty good if you do decide to get a Skimmer.

+1

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I can't see where you would need a chiller for this tank. LED's produce very little heat. Take that money get a hang on over flow grab a 10gal.tank (very cheep) and add a sump. The more water volume you have the easier the system will be to keep in check. Small tanks take some work because they can go sideways on you in a heart beat. And don't cut corners on your setup because in the end you'll pay more then if you went out and do it right from the start. And one more thing add test kits to your list and learn how to use them. Don't take you LFS's word on where you water levels are.

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Hey all, thanks for the advice. I had to do some research about the difference between a surface skimmer and a protein skimmer.

I think i'll stick with the TE cooler. It gets quite warm here in the summer and I think it will be a good way to help with the heat. I'll be building that myself also. If its successful, I'll post the build. This may be where a power filter may come in handy. Otherwise...

For the power filter, after hearing about what everyone says I think I'll skip it (if i dont use it for the TE cooler). If i do use it, would it be wise to add some live rock for some bio-filter benefits? I was told that a refugium is a good supplement. Does anybody have any experience with those? The 10 gallon sump seems to sound good but also sounds like a lot to set up and I'm not big on room here, hence the 20 gallon tank.

The main attraction for the LED's for me is the power conservation (for which i'm a big advocate for) and life-time. I was told that T5 lights and others need to be replaced a few times a year to keep the spectral response adequate for aquarium life, whereas, the LED's need to be replaced between 20,000-50,000 hours depending on heat, voltage, and amperage. I'll be building that system as well. I've seen some sold for several hundred dollars that are supposed to work and reviews seem to agree. They use something like 56 1 watt white LED's for a larger tank than I have. Another LED setup specified for a tank my size had 18 1 watt white LED's so I'm assuming 18 3 watt LED's will be better. One question arises, how does the potentially uneven illumination effect the corals? Anyway, I guess my set-up will be a test bed for everyone else! haha!

Test kits are definately a must. I have been keeping tabs on my freshwater setup so i know about that.

I'm not entirely sure what type of coral I'll be getting. Does anyone have any information on the popular/general types of coral, the bio-load and aquarium environment associated with them?

Thanks for everyone's assistance in this!

Usually you can put a refugium in a sump. A sump would be great but a little costy (although sump protein skimmers are cheaper than hang-ons). A sump would need an overflow box and a pump as wel.

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I'm so sorry I haven't been on the forum in so long! Don't worry, I haven't forgotten this lovely website! I moved to a different county back in May 2011 and started high school in a totally different school district. So I'm still adjusting and studying hard, and don't presently have any aquariums. But once I do, I'll be right back on this forum!

At first you are going to definately want to stay away from LPS and SPS corals. After a few months your tank should be ready for LPS and SPS corals (assuming you have the right lighting, etc.) Some of the easier LPS corals are good beginners also. (such as frogspawn, torch, etc.) I would definately recommend pulsing xenia, and zoanthids, because for one, they are nearly impossible to kill, and for two, they grow quickly and look good too. Zoanthids come in TONS of different varieties, some being more rare/expensive, and others being fairly common and cheap. You can usually get a good size frag of zoanthids for $5-$10.
If you decide to build the chiller, definately do a thread on it! We all want to see your DIY ideas. (at least I do...)
Also, if you do decide to use the power filter, yes, it is a good idea to add LR rubble into there. The more live rock you have, the better, because the more stable your tank is going to be the more biological filtration. (plus, it looks cool)
Kaiden