Starting up a FO. Possibly WLR eventually.

[SaltwaterTeen]

Hey guys, its been a while since my last aquarium (55gal). Anyways, my wife and I want to start a Fish only aquarium (possibly some LR later). I want to do about a 20 gal. I plan on doing some crushed coral or some other substrate like black sand. Since this is not going to be a reef, can I just do NO fluorescent lighting? Whats the max fish I can throw into it? I want a Green clown goby, firefish goby, scooter blenny, two perculas, and a cleaner shrimp. Also want to add some snails and some hermits for clean-up. Live rock question, can I just add dry rock and throw it in the tank while its cycling or do I have to cure it seperately in a different tank or bucket? Thanks guys.

 

[catmel]

Maybe a pair of clowns and a clown goby might work in a 20 gallon. I wouldnt do much more than that.

Make sure you're cycling the tank before adding the fish. You can do just dry rock if you want, its usually cheaper that way. If you're able to get a small live rock piece to add in, that would help bring in good bacteria. You dont need a lot, especially for a fish only tank.

Iwould recommend sand over crushed coral.. easier to clean. Just make sure you use a arganite basted one, helps keep PH stable.

Lighting doesnt matter either, you can use whatever with fish only. Just be aware, unless your parameters are good ( which they should be anyway) regular aquarium ( non reef) lighting may cause algae to grow quicker.

 

[melosu58]

Just NO flourecents is all you need unless you are doing a reef so you`ll be OK. If you could I would throw the rock in while you are cycling. Kill two birds with one stone. Cycle the tank and cure the LR at the same time. Good luck on the tank.

 

[six2sevenproductions]

Just wondering, what will you be using for filtration?

 

[SaltwaterTeen]

Just wondering, what will you be using for filtration?

Well, Im not sure. I dont want to get a canister.. Would a HOB filter be good?

 

[iDream]

yeah for a small 20G you could get away with that, an Aquaclear HOB like a AC50 would be good.

for me personally (i tend to max/over-stock) all those fish would be fine, except the scooter blenny, but for a different reason than stocking. scooter blennies (like mandarin gobies/dragonettes) feed on copepods, a small animal in your aquarium, problem is, they constantly eat and could wipe out a 20G in weeks and die of starvation unless you supplement pods(expensive) or have it eat prepared foods(training i wouldnt reccomend to a beginner, and buying one that eats it doesnt always work)

dry rock you could throw in as long as you leave it in some SW(seperate, like a bucket) for a while and make sure it doesnt cause any PH swing or an ammonia spike.

as for lighting i'd listen to what was said above, i'm not too keen on lighting

 

[six2sevenproductions]

Well, Im not sure. I dont want to get a canister.. Would a HOB filter be good?

I never liked canister filters. The tank in my daughters room is a 20g fish only tank with a bio- wheel. It is lightly stocked. I once added some chaeto algae from my refug of my main tank because it was crawling with amphipods. After a month the amphipods had relocated into the filter pads of the biowheel and i removed the chaeto. Now i have four pads in the biowheel only replacing two at a time to keep the good bacteria and amphipods.

With regular water changes this has been a great low maintenance tank.