55g to 20g conversion

[ajm]

I was wondering what you guys thought of this setup and if you had some lighting/other reccomendations. Long story short I have a 55g that was started awhile back and due to not having lots of money to go spend on it and wanting to make my turtle happy I have decied to move the 55g to a 20 long and the turtle into the 55g.

Right now in the 55g I have 20-25lbs of LR which is looking great minus the diatoms, a seio 1100, 150w heater and 2 turbo snails as well as a fluval 305.

My plans are to build a simple stand and set up the 20g long with the 20-25lbs of LR, crushed coral substrate, seio 1100 pump, and 150 watt heater. I am very unsure what to do about lighting but found this fixture and planned on using some good bulbs with it. Underneath the stand will be a 10 gallon sump. For the sump I plan on using a via aqua 1200 for return, using crushed coral for substrate and putting some macro algea in it. I am also looking to add a nano skimmer such as the rio to the sump.

[stevelkaneval]

dont use the crushed coral, use argonite or something else. the cc will be a nitrate factory and require constant cleaning.

[00nothing]

If you are planning to keep coral that light fixture is not even remotly sufficient you need someting with a lot more wattage

[ajm]

Originally posted by 00nothing
If you are planning to keep coral that light fixture is not even remotly sufficient you need someting with a lot more wattage

thats kinda what I figured. Do you have any reccomendations as to what fixture and how much wattage I will need? From everything ive read about 100+?

[chem-e]

For lights, it'll depend on what you plan to keep. If you're looking for something cheap, I'd recommend these over the ones you were originally thinking of.

I'm planning to use one of these to light my refugium, but I haven't bought one yet, so I can't comment on the quality of these fixtures (yet).

Another thing to watch out for is the Seio 1100 that you're planning to use on the 20gal. This is a pretty strong PH for a 20gal. It's also quite large, so it'll look pretty big in a small tank, however if it's okay with you, then that's all that matters.

[ajm]

Thanks. The seio definetly concerned me as I just bought it about a week ago but im hoping to just cut the water flow on it and find a way to mount it w/o the bulky 6 suction cup mount etc. As for what I want to keep I am looking into some polyps and a few other soft corals.

[brandon7491]

if u want something that is small and produces 250gph get 2 of the hydrokorilla nano streams they will be perfect for softies and such

[ajm]

The tank is glass and everything ive read about drilling it seems kinda iffy. I was wondering if you guys ever heard of holes being cut with a glass cutter vs drilling.

[mathias999us]

Maybe I'm wrong, but isn't a glass cutter typically for scoring and snapping a straight line? I think only some sort of rotary tool like a drill or a dremel is going to get you a round hole.

For polyps and soft corals, you should be fine going with some cheaper T5's like chem-e suggested.

[ajm]

Thats what I have started to believe as well after doing more thinking. Drilling it seems a bit expensive as the bits are about $60. Would you guys have some sort of reccomendation for a bit that would work with a dremal?

[mathias999us]

Yeah, you need to get diamond-tipped bits for the dremel. I think the ball-shaped bit is the best one to use for this purpose. They can usually be had at local hardware stores for less than $10. I got a 20 diamond bit variety pack from a hardware store here recently for $3.99 (which is a steal). Search around, there are a LOT of threads about drilling glass tanks with a dremel and diamond tip bit. Gotta keep it cool with a garden hose continually flowing, and go slow and steady.