20 gallon extra high

[jackleroy]

Hi, everyone, thanks for reading this. I just have a quick question and I'd appreciate any input you might have.

I've had freshwater aquariums my whole life and I've been giving a lot of thought to starting my first saltwater tank. I'm still learning about running a marine tank, but a friend just had a 20 gallon extra high tank that she wanted to part with, so I took it off her hands for her.

Is this a feasible tank for saltwater?

If so, what kind of fish should I be looking at?

I've read that you should get some experience before trying to incorporate live rock. Should I stay away from it?

Any input would be great, thanks!

[Sniperhank]

First, that tank would be fine. It isn't the best for scaping IMO, but that doesn't matter much.
But live rock is THE biological filtration for your system. You want 1 lbs per gallon of rock and sand.
In terms of livestock, check out liveaquaria's nano fish section.

[jackleroy]

Great, thanks for the input. I actually wrote the wrong thing with live rock. I know that's the filtration and that I need it. I mean to ask about coral instead. That's what I've seen as not being great for beginners and I don't know if an extra high tank would be good for it.

[SaraB]

I'm not sure coral is good for a beginner, they can be extremely fussy

[jackleroy]

Great, thanks! That's all the reason I need not to do it. This just occurred to me, but if the live rock and sand are my biological filtration, does that mean that I don't need biological media in a filter?

[Sniperhank]

Coral can be easy or hard. It is a really wide swath in terms of difficulty. The key is stable and pristine water with lighting that will provide what it needs. LEDs have made this much more easily to obtain and affordable for most, but many end up getting very low powered LEDs that aren't more than mood lighting and wondering why their corals die.

And no, you won't need to run biological media and pick another route of filtration...usually mechanical of some sort.

[jackleroy]

Great, thank you both very much. You've been extremely helpful!