Ok. Well I just bought a fresh water 20 gallon tank off craigslist. Its very very nice but want to convert it over to a salt water tank. I've been out of the game for a LONG time now. I use to own a 55 gallon salt water tank but that was Y E A R S ago, and to be honest I don't remember much about starting a tank up. So the tank I got is 20 L, has a cheap filter from walmart, a hood w/ light ect... I know I pretty much need to start from the beginning and start from scratch. But I've always wanted to do a 20 L so now I have the foundation to do so. I want to do a tank with a few (maybe 2) Clown Fish. Maybe a few other things? I know with a 20 L I can't put a ton in,... but what else could I put in? A yellow tang? A blue lobster / shrimp? Ect? I want a few different things in there but not a lot. I don't want the tank to look really cramp. I like a nice clean look. I want to go with live sand and a few lil things here and there. I like it when the tanks have the " blue " look to it... Do i need special lighting? And what do I do about getting the tank ready? What kinda filter do I need? One that hangs off the back, or underwater? Ect. I know this tank has a heater with it but do I need a special one? Pretty much I'd say I'm a newbie all over again so please please help me out. I don't want to go crazy with this thing, no sump ect. Just a nice simple 20g l, with a few lil things. Help me out!!!! Thanks
Newbie with a 20G L. Wanting to do a salt water tank, Please help.
- Thread starter DeJays Saleen
- Start date
First off, congratulations on your purchase and your decision to start a new Saltwater tank. First you should give the tank a thorough cleaning. Don't use any chemicals, just use plenty of water and a new sponge free of any chemicals. You could use some vinegar if you wanted. That wouldn't be harmful. Just give it a good rinsing. Thats how I cleaned my 20 when I first started saltwater. You probably should stick to only 2 fish max. in the 20 gallon, plus your clean up crew. Your tank is too small for a yellow tang(or any other tang for that matter) Tangs require a lot of room for swimming. They will just get stessed out too quickly in a tank that size. A nice pair of clowns would go good, or some blue/green chromis, or even a cardinal. Like Strout said, read the stickies. They contain a great deal a helpful information.
Yep diluted vinegar should do the trick. 2 clownfish + maybe a firefish max. The don't crap a lot, and their swimming area is small. Drop the live sand, grab some new and fine one ( aragonite ) ..it'll eventually become live + it has high ph. With the money saved from the dry sand vs live sand, you should get a good piece of live rock. Get a porous, light rock. You need quality live rock because you don't have a lot of space. Tokota, Sulawesi, Nui are known for their porosity. I personnaly love them, but they can be hard to find. Fiji Premium is more common, and it ain't bad. Avoid caribbean rock, on your tank size it wouldn't be enough.
Your "blue" look is actinic lighting. I suggest you look at this site Front Page | Current What's Next , they have small T5 ramps with actinic bulbs included + 10 000 Kelvin (k) bulbs. A good mix.
with the rock and water changes, you have some filtration but you might wanna look at a skimmer. Since you don't want a sump, you would have to get a hang-on skimmer.
I would suggest the Remora maxi-jet skimmer, they don't usually overflow and they are quite efficient. Some skimmers need the same waterline to work properly, and you don't have a sump, so water will evaporate..some skimmers wouldn't like that.
Get some wide flow powerheads, maybe just one Hydor Koralia. Water movement = very important in SW.
Your "blue" look is actinic lighting. I suggest you look at this site Front Page | Current What's Next , they have small T5 ramps with actinic bulbs included + 10 000 Kelvin (k) bulbs. A good mix.
with the rock and water changes, you have some filtration but you might wanna look at a skimmer. Since you don't want a sump, you would have to get a hang-on skimmer.
I would suggest the Remora maxi-jet skimmer, they don't usually overflow and they are quite efficient. Some skimmers need the same waterline to work properly, and you don't have a sump, so water will evaporate..some skimmers wouldn't like that.
Get some wide flow powerheads, maybe just one Hydor Koralia. Water movement = very important in SW.
meeeh? Fish only no rocks + no skimmer? Way to have a problem tank, you can't rely only on water changes.
A skimmer on a nano ( in this case it's pretty much the nano limit) isn't mandatory but recommended...but sand over rocks? Nope. Having a 4" sand bed in a 12" inch tall tank is killing 2 much space and sand is waaaay less efficient than live rock for good bio-filtration.
A skimmer on a nano ( in this case it's pretty much the nano limit) isn't mandatory but recommended...but sand over rocks? Nope. Having a 4" sand bed in a 12" inch tall tank is killing 2 much space and sand is waaaay less efficient than live rock for good bio-filtration.
This is my recommendation for your 20 gallon tank. 20 to 30 pounds of aragonite substrate(do not use live sand), 20- 25 lbs of Live rock, 1 Powerhead in the corner pointing to the center of the tank, a small HOB filter like an Aquaclear 30, and a HOB protein skimmer once the tank gets established. Do not use media in the filter. You can use the sponge if it comes with one but rise it out every week. Filter is mainly used for added water flow and surface movement. Use a powerhead like a Koralia. A #1 should do fine when used in conjunction with a filter.
try makin one inbuild filter fitted on back of the filter with 5 chambers
1 for water comin in
2nd for filteration by sponges
3rd by bio balls
4th by small pieces of live rocks
5th for throwing the water out
only one good powerhead can do all that sucking through those 5 chambers throw that water into the tank just next to it
this way you will cycle the tank every minute or so
fast right
i can show you a pic if you want me to
and if get time makin all that
make one sump at the bottom of tank
that will do it
safe and clean
1 for water comin in
2nd for filteration by sponges
3rd by bio balls
4th by small pieces of live rocks
5th for throwing the water out
only one good powerhead can do all that sucking through those 5 chambers throw that water into the tank just next to it
this way you will cycle the tank every minute or so
fast right
i can show you a pic if you want me to
and if get time makin all that
make one sump at the bottom of tank
that will do it
safe and clean
Also, if you decide to use a hob type filter for water movement you can mod this into a small refugium as some here have done with aquaclear filters.....just a thought. A skimmer though not necessary is a nice addition especially if you mistakenly overstock this size tank. It will help. The trick here is to spend money on getting the most efficient live rock you can get ie. really porous light stuff, that way you may be able to get away with a smaller amount and get the same filtration ability as it will have more surface area for the good bacteria to populate.....good luck and please feel free to ask questions.....it is how we all learned what we know.
Hey guys!
I'm extremely new here (made my account after reading this thread
)
I'm kind of in the same boat as the OP, but i already have my a HOB filter, tank (20g L), and a heater from a preexisting FW tank.
I just recently cleaned the tank out and haven't bought any live rock or substrate yet, but i have been reading some books from my local library. I think i know enough to get started now. If i use the filter, live rock, and a powerhead will i be able to get by? If not, what other filtration methods should i use? What should i do as far as a clean up crew?
Thank you for reading this, i hope you guys can help out!
I'm extremely new here (made my account after reading this thread
)I'm kind of in the same boat as the OP, but i already have my a HOB filter, tank (20g L), and a heater from a preexisting FW tank.
I just recently cleaned the tank out and haven't bought any live rock or substrate yet, but i have been reading some books from my local library. I think i know enough to get started now. If i use the filter, live rock, and a powerhead will i be able to get by? If not, what other filtration methods should i use? What should i do as far as a clean up crew?
Thank you for reading this, i hope you guys can help out!
Welcome, Bubby. Yes, you can probably get by with live rock, a powerhead and regular water changes. It may be tricky if you're planning on more delicate corals, but it is possible. The cleanup crew will depend on how deep the sand and what you're planning to have in there. Smaller types of snails will work well, in general. In smaller tanks, stay away from snails that get big.