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I have a small 30 gallon tank that has been setup for over a year and a half now i have only 2 fresh watter fish living in it and a filter running. i would like to start a small reef tank. i Have a read sea protine skimmer what kind of sand should i get and iv heard of a new inexpencive compack lite to give ur tank more. and whats sould i get for rocks and etc.

In the age of darkness the blind man is the best guide. In the age of insanity look towards the mad man to show you the way

For sand, I'd recommend an inch or so of any of the aragonite sands. This will help buffer the water. The rock I'd look for would be the whatever is very porous, this will allow good biological filtration. It will be necessary to provide good flow, so I'd recommend a couple of powerheads. Maxijet 600s are pretty good. The dual 96w powercompact like the coralife unit might be what you are talking about. It will be plenty of light for most softy and lps corals. I'd also recommend getting an RO unit. It will help control nuisance algae if your tap water is not very good. It's best to start out with an RO unit rather than get one after you've started.

Most importantly I'd do as much research before you decide on anything. You may decide you'd rather do something different, or use different equipment. What I've laid out is just one of the many options. Good luck.

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Critical Fertilator: The Micromanager of Macronutrients

what is a good ro unit


In the age of darkness the blind man is the best guide. In the age of insanity look towards the mad man to show you the way

I got mine on ebay from aquasafe systems. Just do a search for RO unit and it will turn up.

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Critical Fertilator: The Micromanager of Macronutrients

What kind of protine skimmer should i get


In the age of darkness the blind man is the best guide. In the age of insanity look towards the mad man to show you the way

I like AquaC EV. But it's all about preference.

-Formerly known as the Ferretfish

The aqua c ev are for use in sump. The aqua C remora is a good hang on back skimmer. The coralife super skimmers are also pretty good.

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Critical Fertilator: The Micromanager of Macronutrients

I use an excalibur brand skimmer. I think it works great IMO. As far as the sand dont waste your time on the supposedly live sand that comes in bags. Just get the dry sand that Matt was talking about and seed it with some LS from your LFS tank. The LR you can get should be pourus and have lots of surface area to house the nitrifying bacteria needed.