New 20 gal reef

[jjh302]

So I've decided to change my freshwater 20gallon tank over to saltwater. I'm getting ready to leave home and make the 3 hr trip up to that fish place in Lancaster pa and hope to find a small skimmer and filtration. Is there any products someone could recommend that are budget friendly for the transition. Do I need to use anything special to clean the tank with before I add sand and saltwater??

 

[bribo12]

Wait until next weekend. They have their annual sale then and a lot of stuf is really cheap.

 

[jjh302]

This is my only weekend free for the next few or else I'm all about waiting for a sale! Lol

 

[BigRedsReefs10]

I would soak/scrub the tank with a vinegar water solution. You don't "need" a skimmer if you don't want one, and an aqua clear filter would work great for you to run some media.

 

[jjh302]

I would soak/scrub the tank with a vinegar water solution. You don't "need" a skimmer if you don't want one, and an aqua clear filter would work great for you to run some media.

Which aquaclear do you suggest? And how about a power head? Size?

 

[BigRedsReefs10]

Which aquaclear do you suggest? And how about a power head? Size?

Honestly anything from the ac30 up would work fine. There are some nice after market products for the larger ones (70-110) and you can find a heater that will fit inside them. For ph I would say a couple k-nano 240's (or something similar) would work fine, or I've been thinking about getting a jaebo wp10 for one of my 20s. There a little more than korillias but they offer controllability similar to the vortechs which is nice

 

[jjh302]

Would it be of great benifit to have the skimmer? Basically is it worth the 50 bucks to have it?

 

[BigRedsReefs10]

Would it be of great benifit to have the skimmer? Basically is it worth the 50 bucks to have it?

That's up to you really, but a skimmer is always a nice have. I gave 2 20 longs 1 with a skimmer 1 without, the maintenance routine is the same

 

[jjh302]

That's up to you really, but a skimmer is always a nice have. I gave 2 20 longs 1 with a skimmer 1 without, the maintenance routine is the same

Mine is a 20 tall. It was originally a Walmart kit aquarium. It has angels in it right now. They are going to go to one of my many other tanks.

 

[BigRedsReefs10]

Setup would be pretty much the same, hopefully bribo checks back in because he's got a very impressive 20 tall setup.

 

[carey]

If you are looking at a skimmer that only costs $50 i would say leave it off. A decent skimmer for that tank should run about $100 or so.

I was at that fish place last week and I was surprised by how expensive they were. They do have a back room with a bunch of marked down stuff though, so its worth a looksie.

 

[Supergummy]

If it were me, I'd do a skimmer.

 

[carey]

A skimmer is nice, if you can afford a decent one. Getting a crappy one defeats the purpose and it pretty much a waste of money.

Water changes on that size tank will pretty much take care of exporting out the bad and replenishing the good.

 

[jjh302]

This is the skimmer I was thinking of. Decent reviews.

http://www.thatpetplace.com/aquaticlifeinternal-mini-skimmer-115-30-gal

 

[BigRedsReefs10]

Your not running a sump on this are you? If not, which I'm pretty sure is the case, I would just throw that $50 towards lighting and skip that skimmer.

 

[carey]

Ahhh the aquaticlife skimmer. Gotta be honest, I have had two of them and it works ok. Not the worlds best skimmer and hard to dial in but it does pull gunk.

Probably the only $50 skimmer I''ve ever used and liked. lol

 

[jjh302]

I am buying two koralia 240gph... Will the koralia pump controller work with these and if so would it be a good addition?

 

[carey]

The controller will work with them. Two powerheads are good too, balance the flow out a bit. I love my koralias, great pumps and they have top notch customer service if anything does fail.

 

[jjh302]

What exactly does this smart wave controller do?

 

[carey]

You can adjust when each one comes on and off and create a wave of you like. It will not adjust the intensity though, just switches the flow back and forth. My honest opinion is you dont need it and can save the $50 for something you can use more.