20 gal setup

[assassino]

hello this is my first time posting in this forum,let alone my first salt water tank.

i do know the basics like the nitrogen cycle, live rock,sand etc. as

1. i do keep tropical fish

2. i did lots of research

unfortunately i am not really a good stocker, and i do not need to make any costly mistakes for these pricey fish, i think i have come up with a suitable stocking for my 20 gallon.

btw there will be 20lbs of both live rock and live sand with 2 power heads

court jester goby
purple fire-fish
pink streaked wrasse
tail spot blennie

i also need help on how to keep corals, and am wondering if starting out with mushrooms and tree coral will be okay

[assassino]

does this forum bump?

[assassino]

ok guess it does, bump

please respond, im setting this thing up tomorrow with or without help except from the lfs

[Deathsmile]

Hey, and welcome.

Its late, but we have very very experienced members here that'll stop by and give you some pointers. I know a 20gallon isnt too large so im not sure if you can throw all of those fish plus corals in and not go over your bioload.

Youre LFS will normally tell you anything to make a buck and get it out of their tank and into yours, not saying this is the cause of course, just always do some research.

Check out these Topics, research is key for this hobby!!

Setting Up a FOWLR Aquarium

Fish Stocking Limit - for FO and FOWLR

Its always to be safe then sorry. Good luck with everything and i hope i helped!!

[Steve McKay]

Welcome to Reefland!

The first thing you need to do is read the sticky thread "click here before you ask" at the top of Reef Aquariums Forum.It will answer a lot of your questions.IMO I would start with a bigger tank,somewhere around the 55gal. range.The more water you have the easier it is to take care of.You will realize this in due time.

[Parrothead]

+1 for Steve and Deathy, I would set up a 20 for any fish, a 20 can make a nice nano reef, but I would not recommend it for a first time reefer, to much can happen to fast in a small system like that, think about the actual amount of water once you get the sand bed and the rock in there, you are only gonna have about 12 - 15 gallons of water, if something goes south, its gonna go quick

[assassino]

actually im pretty cleared upon all the details, thisis whyit took me awhile to respond, and the fact im dealing with a 55 feshwater right now as well, however im hopelessly confused on the stocking and would really appreciate it if you could create one out of these certain fish (i know your obviously not gonna put them all, but i have to have a pair of occileress clowns)

6-line wrasse
pink streaked wrasse
tail spot blenny
citrinis goby
fir-fish
chalk basslet
flame angel fish
jester goby

my family is looking for color,activity,and personality


thanks for the help so far!

[Steve McKay]

For a 20gal.you can't have much. I wouldn't suggest the clowns for a 20gal. The Gobies,Blennies,Fire Fish and Pink Streaked Wrasse would be ok but not all together. Again I would suggest a bigger tank,not only will it make it easier and safer for the fish it will allow you more variety.For a 20gal.I would only have one or two fish,probably one that stays near the bottom (Goby,Blenny),and one that stays in the water column (Damsel,Pink Streaked Wrasse,Fire Fish).When your deciding what fish you want research it,it will pay off.

[assassino]

im also will be growing macro algae in the main tank and will hopefully have a protein skimmer which is rated for 100 gallons, so i would assume 5 times whatever turnover a regular fitted ps would be

i also have 2 questions

1. what would be a good acclimation method instead of the freshwater method of float the bag for 15 minutes?

2. how do you cycle this kind of tank? im confused about it. here what i have confused

is curing lr cycling?

is uncured lr not good for cycling?

is putting lr and ls in a tank instantly cyclying the tank?

im confused

[assassino]

i already researched all the fish and was just wondering what you would stock it with, i like them all so it wot matter

[Steve McKay]

1.The drip method.
2.Same as freshwater.
3.If it is in your tank when going through the normal cycle,yes.
4.It is ok for cycling,but I would clean the rock off really good with a stiff brush first.
5.IMO there is no such thing as a instant cycle when setting up a new tank.

[assassino]

thanks for clearing that up, now how do you do the drip method?

[assassino]

o yeah and then your stocking for my tank

[Steve McKay]

I have always just floated,but here is a link for the drip method. New Arrival Acclimation Guide: Creating Ideal Conditions for New Aquarium Arrivals

[Steve McKay]

As far as stocking I would consider a great white but you would have to feed it fur seals.

[Steve McKay]

Kidding aside,that my friend is something you and your family must do.Maybe after carefully choosing several fish for a list you could let your children pick one each or something.

[assassino]

um im the kid lol

[Steve McKay]

Just give me a minute to pull my foot out of my mouth.

[Steve McKay]

If you have a brother or sister you could let them choose one.

[Deathsmile]

Just give me a minute to pull my foot out of my mouth.

Haha, this is turning out to be an excited thread to read, let alone post in