Hi guy's was at my lfs yesterday and was speaking to a guy regarding fw to sw and he was very negative, saying it wasn't worth the effort etc etc, anyway my tank is 20 gal and I was asking what I would need he said protein skimmer live rock live sand and this will cost me around 500 pound, after looking on here is a skimmer really vital? Many set ups don't use them! Will my tank be large enough to support one clown fish? Or will I need a bigger tank? Cheers
Thinking about conversion?
- Thread starter Doogle
- Start date
For your size tank no you don't need a skimmer. But lots of live rock is a good idea. Read through here and you can find out how easy it really is to have SW. You could do clowns in your tank, but not much more. It will only be a matter of time before you want a bigger tank 
Do you have to use a Refractometer to get the SG/salinity? or can you use the other one, a hydrometer or something like that?
You can use a hydrometer. Just make sure you clean it with RO water before and after each use. A refractometer is just more accurate. It's actually more important to have steady SG than it is to have a specific one. In a smaller tank the hardest thing to take care of is the fluctuation of your parameters. Make sure you keep a close eye on top offs and you should be fine.
I've ran my tank perfectly without a skimmer for months. Decided to get one and it has made a huge difference, but it isn't vital
Theres a reef tank and theres a fish only with live rock(fowlr). A fowler is as simple as your freshwater, minus a couple test kits. A reef tank is a son of a ***** with an electrical bill. But, i love it!
Tropicalfishking;4186234; said:
I don't even clean mine with FW i just dip in in the tank a couple times and pour out. Also salinity scopes are better, but mine just broke
