[Bijan]

Hello, Ive been reading this board and reeftalk off and on for about a month now and have been amazed by reef tanks. I plan on converting my (now boring compared to reeftanks) freshwater tank which is 20 gallons to a reeftank. I have a couple of questions I would be very grateful if answered.

Is it suitable to use an undergravel filter with a live sandbed since organisms might get sucked up?
Is a protein skimmer needed in a 20 gallon tank? and if not at what size of a tank should one be added.
The one thing that scares me the most is the cost of lighting a coral tank. Is there any cheap lighting that would be good for a 20 gallon tank?
Whats a decent depth of sand in a 20 gal tank?
Is a hang on whisper filter good enough to support this tank?
Im clueless on cycling a tank..do i just add live sand and wait for it to start?

I just want to have a tank with some live sand and a few small pieces of live rock..nothing spectacular

Sorry for the ton of questions

I would appreciate any tips

Thanks In Advance

Bijan

[scubadude]

Welcome to RL!

There is a saying in reefing "The bigger the tank the easier to maintain" the reason for that saying is that the more water in your tank the more diluted problems are. With that being said you need to take heed to certain things with your tank because it is a smaller tank. I would definately have a skimmer, that to me will be one of the very most important items on your tank. A good skimmer for that size tank would be a PRISM skimmer they retail for $70-$100 (you may even be able to find one a bit cheaper) The cost of lighting for your tank will be directly relative to what type of inhabitants you want to keep, you really need to research the animals and find out what you want to put in your tank (and see if you can put them in your tank) if you want nothing but soft corals (like mushrooms, button polyps, colt, toadstools, etc) then you can get away with buying a couple of power compacts (Home Depot carries some good power compacts for about $20-$30 each) If you want to get into the stoney corals I would recommend going with VHO's and/or MH's (these are the expensive lights). A whisper filter if I remember correctly has a sponge like filter, which will be fine for the first month or so to start the cycle of your tank as long as you clean it religiously if it gets dirty. Any sponge like filter pads are known to be nitrate collectors though over time. 4" is considered the norm for a DSB level. I would get your sand and protein skimmer and live rock (atleast 20lbs, as the more you get the quicker your cycle will be) put your sand in, then your rock and fill the tank up with SW then turn the skimmer on and maybe throw in a powerhead for more current and a heater if the tank gets colder than 78. then just keep an eye on your Nitrites, Ammonia, Salinity, after about a month your nitrites and ammonia will zero out, once that happens wait one more week and make sure they are still zero then you can put in ONE hardy fish. if the fish is fine for a week then you are cycled and ready to slowly start adding hardy corals/fish to your tank.

[mrok12]

Scuba has given you the meat.. here are the potatoes. Have you ener treated this tank for ick or used any medications to treat disease in your fish? If so just buy a new one because the tank will not be safe for inverts or corals. Enough with that now. DEFINATELY read all yoou can about the animals you want to keep. I think softies would be nice in a 20 gallon and that way you can avoid the cost and heat associated with MH. As scuba said check with Home Depot for power compacts. Happy Hunting.


MROK12

[reefhead]

I have a 20g HEX sps tank.

go with the sandbed and a skimmer--also if you plan on having a sump for the skimmer some macro algea for exporting excess nutrients would be great.

here is a pic of my 20g.





If you HAVE teated for ick with a copper based medication your tank is not good for SW.

[Bijan]

Thanks For the tips everyone. I have never used any medication in my tank so Im ok there. I took a quick trip to my local fish store and noticed that stuff started adding up real fast......should I get used to that? hope not but I feel like Im going to have to. Was Wondering If you guys and gals could tell me if these are decent prices

To start they tryed to sell me 20lbs? of live sand for $36

Then the fiji live rock was priced at $4.99 a pound

They also had pc lights that had room for 1 light each for $25

And wanted $20 for each bulb

When I said I was new to reef they all kinda surrounded me and where trying to offer me alot of stuff.

but from what they were telling me what I didnt spend now would like bite me in the butt later.

In the end they wanted $250 to $300 for 2 pc lights,2 bulbs,20lbs of live sand, 10 lbs of live fiji rock, 2 cheap looking Rio powerheards, salt for 25 gallon tank, Calcium Additive?, and a test kit.

They seem to know what there talking about....they prolly do since they have lots of nice looking corals but who knows.

Thanks again for your time.

Bijan

[mrok12]

The live sand seems high to me. The light seems ok about right. Not bad all together I would say. But you still need a skimmer and I would check on line for places like www.reeffanatic.com on test kits and the other stuff. Get the rock but chesk on line for the rest.


MROK12

[reefhead]

Im a real fan of metal halide lights so, I would say get those not the PC.

make sure the system they get your Live Sand from looks clean and does not have red slime growing everywhere or any other nasty looking stuff.