Nano Reef Possibilities?

[jonifyme]

I'm fairly new to this business...had a 30G Innovative Marine (IM) setup a while ago. Had that for a year before I moved and gave the system to a friend. Now I have the 20G IM Fusion tank. Right now, I'm doing a fishless cycle. It's been up for about a week. Going to wait another week or two before I start introducing livestock. Here's my question: How much can this setup support?

I have about 20 lbs of live rock, a 13 watt IM LED light, a GFO reactor, a protein skimmer, filter socks with packed carbon in each, and an auto top-up system. What can I keep in this tank? I'd like to have the obligatory clown pair, cleaning crew, and maybe one or two other small fish. And then SPS, LPS corals.

Does my filtration/lighting support all of this? If not, what are some upgrades I need to be able to handle that? (Besides an additional sump over the one built in, don't have the space.)

Thanks for your comments!

 

[mpderksen]

Nano Reef Possibilities?

Nice start! Not sure of your coral goals, but the lighting is probably going to handle softies only. You can keep it off during the cycle to reduce algae growth. A few more weeks might not be enough time to add fish, but once your tests are good, a CUC is next (not fish just yet). I advise snails only, not a hermit/snail mix.
For stocking, a pair of clowns will be all you add. If you're committed to them, you're done. Cute, but territorial, and as damsels they eventually will bully anything else to death (eventually). Other options could be firefish, Cardinalfish, Royal gramma etc.
Keep in mind that modern concepts of filtration happens in the rock and bacteria it supports. So add slowly. If your rear chambers allow for it, read up on MarinePure balls. I use them in both my tanks and think they supplement the rock to increase capacity. Note that you don't have to run carbon all the time either.