Starting a reef?

[Bowie41]

I'm looking for information on starting a reef system for my 20 gallon tank. Any links to good websites with info would help. Thanks!!

 

[Fishguy2727]

Here is a good start. Have you done sw at all before? A reef?

What kind of fish are you thinking of?
What kind of corals?
Any ideas on filtration so far?
Any equipment so far?

 

[Bowie41]

Yes I've done sw before, not reef though. I have a 30g bio-wheel filter. T5 high output lighting, I currently have a yellow tang, black trigger, and tomato clown fish. They are small but The trigger is aggressive so he is gonna be relocated.

 

[Fishguy2727]

Are you rehoming the other two fish as well? They should be in bigger tanks IMO.

I wouldn't use the HOB, at least not with the regular filter media. Stick with more natural filtration. In most tanks the live rock should be about 80% of your filtration, the rest coming from a skimmer and refugium. On a 20 you can probably skip the skimmer and rely on a healthy water change schedule. Without a sump or HOB fuge you may have to skip the fuge too, making water changes that much more important.

 

[Bowie41]

Ok thanks for the info!

 

[Bowie41]

What about an overflow box with a canister?

 

[Fishguy2727]

If you are starting new just drill the tank, don't use overflow boxes. They are a great way to add a sump to a running tank, but if you are doing it from the beginning and have the chance, do it right.

I wouldn't do a canister on a sw tank. They trap a lot of debris and tend to get neglected, turning into a nitrate factory. In a reef natural filtration should do a great job.

 

[Bowie41]

Ok awesome thank you