New to SW converting from older FW tank

The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an interest in aquariums or fish keeping!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.

deathmatch782

Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Joined
Sep 1, 2005
Messages
22
Location
River Falls, WI
Hey, I'm completly new to this forum and to SW aquariums.
I had FW tanks for bout 5 years now. Had to leave them at my parents when i moved to college 2 years ago though. But now that I have an apartment i wanted to get an aquarium up and running again.
So... I wanted to convert my old 20gal tank into a SW one. I was thinking of doing a reef setup w/ 1 clownfish. Other than the basic supplies for any aquarium i still need
--sand
--live and base rock
--salt mix & test kits

Is a 20gal adequate for what i have planned? I wouldnt get corals or annenomoe's(sp) for a long while. At most when its finished cycling 2 fish and whichever cleanup critters i buy.
And any suggestions or tips for a SW newbie?
Thx in advance
 
Plan your lighting now as you will not be able to do the things you want, such as anemone and coral, until you do. It is also the most costly of the things you need to consider. I would look at a protein skimmer as well.

Although a 20 gallon can house what you want, you should get the largest set up that you can afford, and afford to maintain. Larger tanks are easier to keep stable.
 
i would try and go larger as well, maybe use your 20 as a sump, unless you can't aford too, can always try a 20 first, but my bets are you will be wishing or you will be buying a bigger tank, which in turn forces you to buy different lights, and skimmer etc...
 
well i wish i could have a bigger tank, but space doesnt allow for that to happen. i share an apartment w/ 3 other people so yea..... might try a 30 gal then but i cant go much larger than that
any tips for setup? or good species to put in after a while?
 
You may already know, but the smaller the water volume the quicker the water parameters can change. If you are on top of things and good about keeping all your levels (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, ph, alkalinity, phosphates, calcium) where they should be, then you can have as small a tank as you want. The bigger the water volume the more forgiving it is to changes in water quality.
As for the two fish and a cleanup crew, that is what I started with. I think its a great idea to start slow and get used to what you already have before adding the next cool fish or coral.
 
got a q bout substrate... should i go all argonite sand or would a 50/50 of sand and cc work better?

I wouldn't advise mixing sand and CC. In fact, I would use sand only. CC will create problems for you down the road.


Mike
 
Back
Top Bottom