Nano Reef Tank?

[Adam]

Hey,

I've been reading at www.nano-reef.com , but nowhere do they have suggestions as to what to use for the tank itself.  I have a couple 10 gallons sitting around empty, but I think I want something a little wider, perhaps a little taller.  Something like 20" x 18" x 18", or perhaps 18" x 16" x 16".  Are there any size tanks out there like these dimensions or smaller?

Secondly, the lighting.  What is the difference between T5's, VHOs, HO's, CF, and the multitude of other lighting options.  I don't want to be limited by my lighting as it will be a large expense, and I don't want to go out and buy it again, but I just need something sufficient, not overkill.  I don't want to go metal halide for obvious reasons (heat, hydro, replacement of bulbs frequently, too much intensity for a small nano).  Any ideas on what to put on it?  Does it have to be the exact length of the tank?  What kind of watts/gallon am I looking for if I want to keep corals, specifically zoos and other relatively easy to keep corals and live rock.

Water movement and filtration.  Powerheads should be used, but in what formation?  Where should they be aiming?  External filter like an HOB?  Should there be media in the filter or not?

The livestock would come much later, after it has stabilized.  For now, those are my questions.  Thanks.

Adam

PS I'm looking to do this as Inexpensively as possible.

[mseguin]

I would say lots of liverock and several powerheads. Where you want them pointing depends on what kind of corals you eventually have (i.e do they want lots of current or not).

[kennyman]

Something like 20" x 18" x 18",

I have a 20"x18" x (24"tall) cube I got a BA kanata (37gal). I love this tank and run it like alot of people would stock a 20gal nano. It's not really a nano but more like a mini reef however I treat it much like a nano and you can see how I went about solving some of the questions you had by taking the link in my signature.

[Julie]

Mine is the 20 long, about 12" deep.  With pc you can have 6-7 watts per gallon and lighting for alot of corals.
I have a frogspawn in there for about 9 months and it is split into 3 heads.  My ricordea has tripled.
My mushrooms are spreading all over the tank.  My brains are growing.  Not a lighting issue for LPS.
Haven't tried SPS of late, but may.  The need meticulate water and not sure if I'm there or not because of my like of fish over sps.

[Adam]

Thanks for the information.

I'm looking for a not so tall aquarium because of the lighting issues.  As for your link, some very nice pictures, but those were all I could see, no writing of sorts.

I still need to decide on a tank size, but I'm inching towards a deep 20 gallon, approximately 18 x 16 x 16.  What length of lighting fixture would I be looking for if this were the case?  As the length decreases, so does the wattage.  What kind of PC would I be looking for in this case for 6-7 watts/gallon.  I don't really care much for sps, too much care and money for what I am going for. 

Thanks. 

[Julie]

I have 130watts (2x65w) on 20 gallons.
so 130/20.

My tank is shallow so light reaches the bottom quite well.