Starting a 20 gallon this saturday ADViCE AND TIPS WELCOMED

daboyprince23

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
May 2, 2007
121
0
0
BROOOOKLYN
whats up guys this is my first saltwater tank im doing a 20 gallon im doing it for a chemistry project and for myself so its a win win for me lol i already have a 55 gallon and 29 gallon both freshwater. i wanted to show the pros my future purchases for this weekend im not sure if i will buy all products online or in a LFS depends on prices. Let me know whats up thanks in advance! i will post pics of the process of this tank until the final result.

1.is this a good test kit?
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+4345+15475&pcatid=15475
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+4345+15477&pcatid=15477


2.Hydrometer
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+4690+4952&pcatid=4952

3.RO water should i buy the unit or buy the water(how much is the water? i plan on having tank for a while)
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+4395+12093&pcatid=12093

4.Saltwater mix
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+4685+4856&pcatid=4856

5.Filter
Aquaclear 20 gallon hang on back

6.Heater
Im not that dumb :screwy:

7, Sand
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+10741+7321&pcatid=7321
or
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+10741+16765&pcatid=16765
or
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+10741+7318&pcatid=7318

8.Live Rock
http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=393+2649&pcatid=2649

9. Lighting
GIVE ME ADVICE!:headbang2

10. What else am I missing?(Protein Skimmer?)
i have a air pump anything else
 

Danyal

Gambusia
MFK Member
Nov 26, 2006
935
5
18
woodland, ca
don't need an air pump, it will just cause a lot of salt creep. upgrade to something like an AC110 or AC75 and do a HOB refugium. and definitly get a skimmer, a good one too.
 

sweeTang21

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Mar 10, 2007
2,009
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Wisconsin
yes the larger the filter the better for the system, and the more efficient for that particular tank it will be. They work great for making into a fuge if you don't purchase an HOB fuge.

an HOB fuge is this:

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+3579+3618&pcatid=3618

Just a cheap one, and you can upgrade or downgrade as needed. Very nice for smaller tanks, helps keep algae under control. Or you can get one with a skimmer built in. Not going to be that great for the entire tank but they work alright. This might suffice for your system.

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+3579+12591&pcatid=12591

I vote for getting your own unit. If you like me you'll find that starting a small tank is great, but your going to want to get a bigger one lol. If thats the case its going to be much better to get your own system. I also like it because you can monitor the consistency of the water, and the levels of whatever is being let through.

liveaquaria's LR is great. I ordered 100lbs for my cousin and the rock looked great and it was not even fully cured yet. IMO worth the money.

If you want to keep coral, the i would suggest the T-5 HO models. They work great and create very little heat. This would work fine:
http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_ViewItem~action~view~idProduct~CU01120~idCategory~FILTFIT54U~category~24in_Units~vendor~.html

this is an amazing fixture for the money. 4 Bulbs is over kill but you can grow a large range of corals with this unit.

otherwise this unit will grow some softies for ya:
http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_ViewItem~SearchStr~2x~action~view~idProduct~CU01124~idCategory~FILTFIT54U~category~24_inch_Current_USA_Nova_Extreme_2x24_watt_T5_HO_10K_460nm_24in_Units%26vendor%3d.html

It says its an HO unit, but I'm not to sure if i buy that or not lol. I have a lighting system very similar to this one and it does a great job on softies and is not an HO unit.
 

daboyprince23

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
May 2, 2007
121
0
0
BROOOOKLYN
is a HOB refugium necesarry at the beginning? i plan on putting a clown fish in the tank in the future once my tank is settled can i use a reg flourescent for just fish and invertabrates
 

BIGgourami

Polypterus
MFK Member
Jan 31, 2007
6,181
12
92
34
Chicago, IL
nope you can make due justing useing any over sized filter... my 10 gall has a AC 20 on it.. that's it..

i have a pipefish and a few corals in it.. params are all good..

i did recently fuge it though, get some more bugs for the pipe.. the tank is now litterally crawling with them...
 

BIGgourami

Polypterus
MFK Member
Jan 31, 2007
6,181
12
92
34
Chicago, IL
you were looking to eventually do a reef? yeah a powerhead or two would be a good thing to have...

some people don't even have 'filters' just alot of LR and a few PH's..

aquaclear makes ok PHs but i think the penguins are badazz.. the zoomed sweeping ph sucks as it quickly loses th ability to rotate, and the hydor koralia is pretty cool in it's own rights...
 

sweeTang21

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Mar 10, 2007
2,009
0
0
Wisconsin
the hydor koralia nano's work great. Two of those in your 20 with a HOB filter and fuge would be great. The fuge might not work especially if you don't have enough room on the back of the tank with the filter.
 

daboyprince23

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
May 2, 2007
121
0
0
BROOOOKLYN
when cyclling the tank should there only be live rock and sand in the tank? heater/ filter or anything? and also]the live rock im purchasing off of live aquaria is it going to be good to use or will i have to do anything specific?
 
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