starting a new SW tank, new to the hobby.

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anyways heres a pic of the rocks.. crappy cell pic and before they got washed..
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started cleaning them in the hotel tub since it will be a few days till i get home and was bored anyway, tub after first round of scrubbing with a stiff brush..:eek::eek:
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and after second round-much better...
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now just have to wait till i get home to put them in tank,finish my scape and next weekend i should be ready to start stocking..assuming my parameters are fine.cant wait!
 
anyways put the rock in the tank...i think it might be too much. let me know what you guys think.
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also did a quick water test IDK, amonia looks to be at .25 but it doesnt seem quite there.. was thining about getting some crabs and snails.. am i ready? its been like 5 weeks. 2 with the ten # LR. is it even a good idea to get crabs and snails first?TIA guys
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Nice rock. I don't think it's too much. Want to have plenty of hiding places for your fish. Your cycle could take up to 8 weeks. I wouldn't add anything until your ammonia is 0. If you are questioning your results, have your lfs test for you as a back up.
 
well just a little update , after my cycle was finished (or so i think) decided to buy some damsels just to check everything out and a few hermits. they are doing good, looks like i made my rock caves a little to tight because they barely fit! but the dominoe (sp) always cruizes from cave to cave... anyway next big thing is im wondering since eventually im planning to go reef should i build a little ten gallon sump? will it be worth it? what should i do? if i build a sump then there would be no reason to run a reg. filter....am i right or wrong? thanks guys. i have a ton of questions and i try to research as much as possible before hand...TIA!
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I would still run a hang on back filter for catching particulate matter that can float around the tank.
But a sump would be great if you have the room underneath. :) I'd aim for a 20g or maybe a 10g id space is tight.
 
so whats the #1 purpose of the sump? i thought it was mech/ filtration and also biological... i see what your saying though about the loose stuff floating around.
 
The sump is used to give you more water volume to make the tank more stable. :)

Your live rock is like 80% of the biological filtration in a sw tank. You can also stick your heater and anything else that you dont wanna see in the tank.
 
For a tank that small I would do a hob filter turned into a fuge. I would rather have a drilled tank with a sump but since yours is already set up you would have to go with a hob overflow box which I find is difficult to keep quiet and make ti work properly at the same time.

You will probably fall for those damsels and keep them they are little tough guys with an attitude to match.
 
just thought i would post a pic and update a little. unfortunately my domino didn't make it and died on the third night, by morning the crabs (i think) where about 40% done with him, i mean his body looked trashed pretty bad. is this even possible? do craps pounce on dead carcasses? anyways cant really do much because i am working in Tennessee till next weekend but i am having thoughts about getting a bigger tank....(i can picture my wife's look when i bring this topic up) it feels like 20L is an awkward size, to long to design a "nano" reef look and to small to make look like a display tank...what do you guys think? thanks again to everyone who has helped me so far!thanks and GL
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(BTW i feel like my scape is to freshwater looking...any suggestions? thanks again!)
 
I think it looks good. You could try stacking it higher. I use the ugly rock for the back and underneath and small pieces I save for frags. :)

An upgrade is good too, what size were you thinking? If you have 4 feet in length available you can get a 55g, 75g or even a 90g. They all are 4 feet long and the width and depth will change on each tank as you go bigger.
 
I think it's the rock that makes it look like a fresh water tank. Very dense looking and lacking character. Especially that big piece in the foreground.
 
ok so i am the perfect guy for you sir. i have a 20 tall FOWLR that i have had sucessfully running for about 3 months with not 1 problem...this is also my first saltwater attempt. so here is my list of everything. i started with a reg 20 tall with hood. cut the back of the hood to fit an emperor 400 (2 bio wheels is always better then 1 lol ) a jager 50 watt glass heater and a powerhead used for a 55 gall. I have 40 lbs live argonite sand. and cycled for 1 week. found a great deal on CL for live rock. went to pick it up ( guy lost 4k in corals so was done...lucky for me) and got 45 lbs live and cycled figi rock + he gave me a sand sifting satr a really big snail 2 crabs and 2 false percs. i didnt know if it would work but i basically just threw it all in together( after drip acclimating the fish and inverts of course) and bam do my water changes and check everything as normal and i have a beautiful setup. for a FOWLR tank you dont absolutly need a skimmer as the bioload wont be terrible as long as you dont overstock. i aslo recently got a bicolor blenny he is awesome...hope that helps feel free to pm me with any questions... and i am also looking to upgrade to a 55 shortly cause they are so beautiful to watch
 
well i just found a deal i couldn't pass up . so now i have two 55G tanks to work with. thinking about throwing everything over to one of them. whats the best way to do that? should i set up the 55 let it cycle then throw everything from the 20? or just throw everything over right away?anyways not 100% on it yet. i just picked the tanks up bc they where a great deal.thanks guys!
 
Drill them before you fill them with water!
I would cycle the bigger tank with more rock, then transfer everything over after.
 
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