20 GALLON SALTWATER TANK

by **luchfo** » Sat Dec 06, 2008 6:11 pm

I was wondering how hard it would be to keep up a 20 gallon saltwater tank.I would like to keep 1-2 fish and some corals and inverts.All i have is the tank.what else would i need?how much would this cost?

by **Deltasigpony3648** » Sat Dec 06, 2008 9:06 pm

depends how far you are willing to go what kind of coral what kind of fish

by **blueshoes2208** » Sat Dec 06, 2008 9:13 pm

keep in mind that the smaller the tank, the easier it is for the tanks levels of ammonia, nitrates, etc... to spike..... ive heard it can happen within a day or so too..... it also depends on how many watts per gallon you are wanting, how much you want to spend on a skimmer, how much you want to spend on a filter, what kind of corals are you wanting to keep?

by **puffedupseagull** » Sat Dec 06, 2008 11:22 pm

Beginners large tank
Expert small tank.
Start big get used to it then low tank volume.

by **blueshoes2208** » Sat Dec 06, 2008 11:33 pm

join me in the biggie tankie section :) , of course seagull never mentions that he could prolly run a 2 gal sps tank with no probs... ha...

by **Snowboss4492** » Sun Dec 07, 2008 1:23 pm

i have a 20 long tank with 2 clowns and a large hermit.................the filtration i have and that would be suggested by most in here would run a 29 gallon or even a 40 gallon ...................... you can get a 38 gallon bow front tank at petsmart for like 90 bucks ...............and believe me that will be the cheapest part of this, lol

filtration for start........a huge HOB filter or even a couple medium ones - -my theory is to filter at least 5-8 times your tanks capacity per hour - -general rule of thumb is 2-3 times pe hour - or you can look into sumps, canisters and refugiums later - the more filtration the better

live sand - 1-2 lbs per gallon of water

live rock - 1-2 lbs per gallon of water

protien skimmer - -optional but will be needed for corals later

lighting - - Powercompacts at least for corals, floresents will work for fish only tanks but you won't like em - - metal halides for crazy nice corals

power heads - - 1-2 for starts

salt mix, testing equiment and chems, spare parts, containers

it's a wonderful hobby and extremely rewarding . . . . .but it aint easy by any means

Good luck we will ALL help you as much as we can and encourage you to jump in, hust be aware this is not a cheap hobby

Welcome !!!!!

Snowboss

by **lionlord3502** » Sun Dec 07, 2008 2:54 pm

what kind of 20g is it long or standerd? if you have a 20 long it makes it alot ezer and cheaper. if you have the tank all you realy need is a filter, salt sand,hydrometer(salt level gage),and a power compact light or 2 floresent light strips. you can git live rock as you go. with sand i agree with boss 20 pounds would work. protien skimmer is good but not a complet nasesity you just need to do a few more water changes. with the filter git one rated for atlest 60g. the biger the better as long as it fit in the tank. i would go with a canister filter it will dubble as both a powerhead and a filter and it look better. with a small tank stick with ez corals like pylops, mushrooms and small leather. all together your looking at around 250 to 300$. but trust me man it will look awsome. and it may seem like alot of money for a 20g tank. but you will by a piece here so it wont hit you all at once it takes time. lol my 75 took me almost 6 mounths to set up but it is finaly all together and was well worth the time:)

by **luchfo** » Wed Dec 10, 2008 1:23 am

i just remembred i have a 55 gallon long up in the attic.how would that work?

by **Snowboss4492** » Wed Dec 10, 2008 1:25 am

would be a great tank - - -you could even use the 20 for a sump............although its a little on the small side for a 55

by **cablemike5003** » Wed Dec 10, 2008 2:03 am

I started with a 10 gallon nano, did everything as the books said too. still kept loosing corals and fish. upgraded to a 20 and it was a bit better but no so stable.. went to a 33 gallon and it was very stable.. now upgraded to a 55 and its perfect. My recomendation is to go with High Output flourescent lighting. They are more intense then metal halide. more lumens per watt. I have power compacts as well but they dont compare to the High Output flourescent. You dont need a crazy skimmer. A small hang on tank style will work great for small tanks. Power filter are ok but i would recommend a canister filled with just chemical filtration media like carbon and phospate removers, the live rock will take care of the biofilter. you will need a couple of power heads of better yet Hydor Koralia pumps. they are more effecient and use less power. Look at my tank and see how well its doing. look at my equipment list and get half of it and you cant go wrong. And plan to spend alot of you life on you tank or it will fail.. after the first year it should become fairly stable.

20 GALLON SALTWATER TANK

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