• please help with the sea

  • Rachel

I want to make a cube of about 40-60 liters. Can I manage without a sump and a protein skimmer in such a volume but with more frequent water changes? I have a canister filter, Hydor Prime 20; can I rely on it but replace the sponges with live rock? Iā€™m thinking of starting with a couple of ocellaris clownfish and an anemone, and a few Black Sea hermit crabs if possible. I also have one more question: can I keep a sea urchin in this volume? Thank you in advance for your feedback.

Chad9037

Of course, you can. The only thing is that without the sump, the pump and heater will stick out in the aquarium and slightly spoil the appearance, but other than that, everything is fine. 40 liters is better than 60 if you're doing water changes. The best (foundational) topic is this:

Natasha7622

I have a flow heater installed at the outlet of the external filter. Inside, there will be a water intake and circulation pumps. I don't plan to add anything else inside. By the way, is a 150W LED light enough? The aquarium will be focused on keeping fish and invertebrates.

Mitchell7972

for 60 liters 150W??? and the refrigerator? P.S. 70W is enough for 60 liters, but T5 or compact lights would be better for that volume or LEDs

Shawn

There won't be a refrigerator. I have an air conditioner in the room where the aqua will be, so I think I can manage without it.

Kathleen

At the moment, I have the equipment that I listed. I don't want to buy anything. I plan to set up a proper system with a capacity of 400-500 liters in about a year, so I don't want to spend too much right now. I read on forums that a system like mine or similar is viable, so I'll stick with this for now. As for corals, I don't want to keep them at all; they don't really interest me.

Angela

Sanya, it's actually 150 watts. The MH won't heat the water much... Moreover, the 150 can be hung higher. I would make a cube of 60 liters with an MH of 70 or 150 or LEDs. I recommend LEDs for additional lighting, which will replace the actinics. 150 watts won't be too much for 60 liters. Hang it higher. It will hardly heat the water, and a chiller won't be needed. A cube with T5 in this case won't work. 24 watts. T5 lamps are 56 cm long (if I remember correctly). So whether it's 40 or 60 liters, it won't work. It will only work with 8-watt T5s, which will clearly be insufficient.

Kathy

Then I'll set the MG to 70 and the LEDs for backlighting )))) Thanks for the tip)

Angel2396

By the way, in the future, I plan to set up a large aquarium of 400-500 liters with a sump. Can I use this skimmer?

Stefanie9771

You can do without additional LED lighting, in that case, you need to get a bulb with 20000K. However, I prefer 14000K with actinics. The pen you mentioned is not suitable for 500 liters. After purchase, you will need to invest another 500-600 for modifications, and it still won't be able to handle a large system. It's very relative... It's unknown what kind of aquarium you will have, what load it will have, what stones will be used for the setup, etc. Don't rush ahead. Start with a 60-liter setup.

Brian7092

Alright, I'll tackle problems as they come up))) By the way, how is the quality of the Tetrav salt?

John828

Great salt for starting, you can basically use it all the time, it dissolves well, not expensive...

Kimberly4253

That's why I chose her. I don't think there will be any particularly demanding ones, so I can manage with her for now.