Pro Opinion Please : )

[Toygrr]

I could really use some expert advice on what equipment i would need for a 29g nano.

I plan on softies, Maybe a couple seabae or condylactis, Crustaceans (shrimp, hermits), turbo snails, anemone fish.

So far i have the tank, glass hood, Magnum filter, cycling with live sand,
Powerheads. Waiting on lighting, not sure what wattage i should use 110=4 watts per gallon? HQI's? PC's?

any help would be greatly appreciated!! :D

[mfp1016]

Well, you need to be more specific about what corals you want to keep in regards to lighting. Softies would do fine under PCs, while anenomes require very strong lighting. Furthermore, I just really don't recommend keeping any kind of anenome in a nano.

You say you're cycling, hopefully you have some live rock in the tank as well?? Aside from the lighting issue, the Magnum filter is a fine supplement to your filtration (I use it on my BC 29). Is this an All in One tank, or just an AGA 29 gallon? Reason being is that there are a number of mods that are easy to do to enhance the all in ones. Otherwise you could set your tank up so that it has a fuge (highly recommended but not required). In the refugium keep live rock rubble and chaeto. Since your bioload is low I wouldn't recommend a skimmer, just a weekly water change.

Also, make sure you have a good amount of flow for your corals and to promote gas exchange. I'd recommend either Maxijets or Koralias; as they are reasonably priced and will afford you many different flow options.

To be honest I would get the nicest light you can afford. If you can honestly say you will only keep zoas, shrooms, and leathers then a PC fixture (like a Coralife) would be perfect since you'll avoid any heat issues. But if you have even entertained the idea of LPS, SPS, anenomes or clams then save yourself some money and invest in a MH or T5 fixture. I'd recommend either a Sunpod (MH) or a Tek fixture (T5).

Also, watts/gallon is essentially meaningless. The lumen output is more important. Here is an easy to follow guide to lighting and what they can keep.

MH = T5 (SPS, LPS, clams, anenomes)>VHO (SPS, LPS, clams, etc, but good luck finding a small fixture for a 29 gal)>PC (can keep most anything except clams and SPS, but I've seen some Montipora do ok under them, just don't expect great growth or color)>NO Fluorescents (shrooms and some zoas will do ok but not in any way spectacular)

I won't even mention LEDs.

[Toygrr]

why thanks, i mean i want softies and an anemone for a clarkii here and there. Mostly a community such as damsels, anemonefish and a few inverts such as polyps (stars, green) clams, shellfish too.

i mean i dont understand weather i should go on t5 or hqi, i dont understand a lot of it, im no pro.

i have good circulation, and yeah that magnum is nice. ill purchase some fili pink next paycheck. But i mainly wanna see the results of a nice colorful tank. I love the setups that the pros use, but i need experience and help : \

so for a final answer should i get a t5 or just pc for what i wannna focus on.

[Toygrr]

what do i need for starfish, ive kept brittles, but theyre beginner easy stuff.

[121a]

by all means avoid PC's. They are horrible IMO. Metal halide is fairly cheap: http://www.aquatraders.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=337
just replace the bulb, and ballast then your ready to go.

[Toygrr]

thanks soo much, so all i need is one, not hqi+pc+t5. thats perfect, i weas checkin out this guys setup, hes got an outer orbit 150W hqi, so im stoked.

thanks.