Newbie seeking advice

[rzerwas]

Hello Everyone
I am a newbie that has been reading for a few weeks now and wanted to get some productive criticism and or feedback on the following (1. Equipment, 2. Proper tank setup 3. Fish selections.)

1. I have already purchased a 20 gallon clear acrylic in-wall aquarium (Dimensions: 48" L x 6" W x 16" H ). I have read through filtration system posts on this forum and others but have not yet run across a setup that would be ideal for this tank. I don’t mind spending the extra money for quality. What would everyone suggest?

2. Through the reading have found out the following

• Live sand / 1.5 to 2 inches (1.45 inches per gallon)
• RO water
• Proper test kit (suggestions?)
• Live Rock / 1 pound per gallon (narrow tank / how to arrange rock?)
• Proper lighting suggestions (according to possible rock/anemone selections below?) Considering metal halides.

3. I selected these fish mainly due to meeting these criterias

Size: 1-2 inches (have small tank)
Care Level: Easy
Temperament: Peaceful
Diet: Pellet, Flake
Minimum Tank Size: 10 gallons

What combination below can I use in order to not overstock the small tank. All of these should be compatible.

1x Black & White Percula Clownfish – Aquacultured
1x Clarkii Clownfish – Aquacultured
1x Percula Clownfish – Aquacultured
1x 4-Wheel Drive Goby
1x Shrimpgoby - Yellow Watchman
1x Pistol Shrimp - Randalli
1x Sixline Wrasse
1x Strawberry Crab - Hawaiian
1x Neon Dottyback – Aquacultured

*Now the descriptions of the clownfish all read that you can have these with other clowns and that these particular ones do not require Anemones. The Anemones I did pick where the smallest ones.

1x Pink tip Haitian Anemones
1x Rock Anemone

Any small friendly flake eating crabs or crallers that can be recommended? I am open to any and all suggestions and or items that you may feel I may have overlooked.

[Devilishturtles]

Hey rzerwas. Welcome to AA.

1. A good skimmer and plenty of flow. The Remora skimmers are a good choice. I would also consider a sump. They are very nide and allow you a place to put all your equipment so it won't be viewable. It also gives you more water volume, which means a more stable tank. With an in-wall tank, a sump would be a neccesity I woud think. With a skimmer, 2-3 powerheads for flow, and a sump you would have a very nice filtration system, IMO.

2. All looks good. Test kits...any kit really. Aquarium Pharmaceuticals makes a saltwater master kit that would work. You may also want to pick up a calcium and phosphate test kit before you add livestock. Metal halides need lots of ventilation around them. With in wall setups, you may want to look at compact flourescent lighting. Less heat, still lots of coral choices.

3. My first suggestion, accept that an anemone probably won't be doable. The only that I'd suggest for a 20 gallon would be a bubble-tip, and no, clownfish DO NOT need an anemone to live. They'll be just dandy without one. With proper lighting however, you may be able to keep certain types of corals that the clown will host if it wants (clowns may never decide to host anything, even an anemone you provide for them).

I don't know about all of those fish, but honestly, I would stick with 1-2 clowns of the same species, and maybe a goby of some sort, and that's it. A 20 gallon is a bit small for most.

HTH

[melosu58]

The only filtration you will need is LR and a skimmer. A sump will give you more water volume for your tank. Anenomies need at least 8 month old maturity and as DT stated your clowns might not host it at all. My two clowns host a bubble coral and a pagoda cup coral and completely ignore mt BTA. As DT said also 2-3 fish will be it fo a 20 gallon.

[roka64]

WELCOME TO AA!!

Actually, the two previous posts took all the words out of my mouth.
Now that I think about it, what kind of lid are you thinking? Keep in mind, a tight fitting lid will make it hard to have a higher pH. When I had mine, it stayed around the mid 7s. Also, lower is not that bad, stable is more important, but I like to keep my parameters around what is suggested.

[rzerwas]

Thank you all for your words of wisdom. Have not decided on the lid yet. Will now consider flourescent lighting instead of Halides. Will do some more research over the weekend and will put something together that everyone can critique. I would rather do it right the first time to avoid problems in the future. Any recomendations on any crawlers that I can add to the tank to liven it up a little?

[roka64]

If by crawlers, you mean clean up crew. I like nassiarus and cerith snails. Others like turbo snails (they tend to move the rock because they get big and clumsy). You might look at brittle stars as well.

[theatrus]

My pick would be T5 fluorescents. They drive more light per watt to the tank due to their individual reflectors (if the light fixture has a single common reflector its not worth getting), and have a large variety of bulbs to choose from, AND the bulbs maintain their color and light much longer than any CF I've ever owned.

I would not recommend a new CF fixture if you're intending on keeping light demanding corals.