Need advice to start a small salt tank fish only

[cptfnch]

Ive been a fresh water tanker for a long time and would like to start a small salt tank with no large fish just clowns and smaller, maybe a tang. I have a 20 long that i would like to start with, without the tang, thats later down the line with a larger tank. What would I need, filtration (i have a wisper for the tank) ground, rocks etc.? also, how much harder is it to use a 20 gal compared to a larger tank. Thanks for the help in advance.

[Reefland]

Hi cptfnch, Welcome to Reefland!

Well the 20 gallon is going to require more persistent work to keep things stabalized; specificially salinity and temperature. You are also very limited in what you can keep in a 20 gallon as far as fish. The clowns you mention would be a good addition and you could probably add 1 other small fish such as a Royale Gramma but that would be it. I would really suggest a larger tank to start with if at all possible.

Either way, a good skimmer will be needed for the tank. You will need liverock and if you decide, livesand; some people opt for bare-bottom tanks. You should do a search for deep sand bed and bare bottom but do limit yourself to these two options. A couple of powerheads will be needed for water movement, ditch the Whisper and your about ready to go.

[Samper]

CPTFNCH.

I keep a 20 gallon nano and enjoy it very much. I tend to disagree with the guys who say that it's better to start with a larger system. I look at it like this. When you learn to play a guitar it's best to learn on an acoustic...if you can master the acoustic you can play any guitar. Same way for the nanos IMO. Learn to keep a small one because you have to be almost perfect in your husbandry and when you decide to move up to a larger system it won't worry you so much to throw down that larger chunk of change. You'll make mistakes yes but that's just something that happens. Just my .02. Feel free to ask me anything you want about my maintenance schedules etc. I'll help ya as much as I can. I learned almost everything about keeping mine through this site and hands on trial and error.
Good luck

[Reefland]

Samper is Mr. 20 gallon (for now right? ) so he could provide much more help than any of us.

[The R/C Man]

Hi cptfnch and Welcome!

Well I have a 25 gallon that I love. Although I do wish I would have started larger. For the amount of cash that is invested I could have spent a few bucks more on say a 55 gallon and would have had more options with live stock. Samper makes a good point about husbandry. Tank perameters do change rather quickly but once you know your tank it isn't that hard to maintain. I personally opted for a shallow sandbed lots of live rock and a refugium. Oh, and Remora AquaC hang on skimmer. They are kind of pricey but worth there weight in gold.... So for starting a new tank I have been suggesting that skimmer with the shallow sand bed and live rock. That will get you going. After the tank cycles you may want to consider a hang-on refugium. The macro algae housed in these little "boxes" are great for nitrate reduction and the propigation of pods for your tank. With the small powerhead that powers them will add some flow to your system as will the return from the hang on skimmer.... The "Ecosystem" method as some call this has been recomended by many "pros" in the hobby as well as Coral Magazine. It has worked great for me as well.... Ok I am rambling, hope that helps...