Newbie 20L Setup!

T

TBLDiver

New member
Hi All,

Just want to start by saying this looks like a great forum and I've learned a lot from you guys so far. I'm a newbie to saltwater setups, coming from freshwater. I started cycling my new 20 gallon long on Monday. So far I have:
-20lb live sand
-About 10lb live rock
-About 10lb base rock
-HOB 30 filter
-50 watt (I think) Heater
-Florescent light
-Koralina 240 on the way

I'm planning on keeping this a fish and live rock tank. If I can handle this, and once my life situation is more stable (might be relocating in the near future) I will upgrade to a larger tank with sump system, and then try some coral. For now, I know the absence of a skimmer and sump isn't the best, so I'm planning on water changes every week. Questions:
-Anything else I should need?
-Good fish to start with after the cycle? I definitely want a clown.
-Cleaning crew?
-I'm starting to see a little black coloring on the base rock near where it contacts the live rock. Bad? Good?

Thanks!
 
Firstly welcome to the forum, you should read all the stickies on how to set up a tank and basic water chemistry. Right away you'll want to get the following test kits to measure your water : Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate, and maybe phosphate. Also pick up a refractometer to keep your salinity in check.

You are 100% correct in saying that no sump or skimmer will be less than ideal, and that you will have to keep up on water changes and other maintenance more frequently.
I really would get a simple HOB skimmer but it's your call.

I would wait on the fish and after you know the cycle is done by using your test kits and registering 0 on all ammonia and nitrite you will want to add in a clean up crew of hermits and snails. I'd head over to reefcleaners.com and request a crew. Pick the "light crew" option, for the bigger crews are simply too huge. These will help with algae and detritus.

Before we talk about your fish choices I'd just like to say that it would make sense for you to purchase a dual t5 fixture and put some reef type bulbs in it, not for corals but for the algae growth. More yellow lights will cause bad algae to grow but purple/blue will cause that nice pinkish coralline algae to grow (which you want) A fixture like this is quite low cost and really makes the tank look better, and if you ever do want corals you will need a better light, might as well upgrade now.

For your HOB filter you will have to clean the sponges AT LEAST weekly to reduce nitrate buildup. This will eventually get pretty annoying and I'd forgo it for just a bag of carbon. You really don't need the sponge for filtration as your live rock will do it for you.

As for fish I would recommend an ocellaris clownfish pair and either a shrimp and goby pair OR a banghaii cardinalfish. Try to keep the fish low due to the lack of filtration.

Personally macroalgae in a reef really appeals to me, especially in non coral dominated tanks. I'd look into some macro algaes for your decorations.

Hopefully this helped a bit and I'll be subscribing to this thread to help out some more. Try to take some pictures and I can help a little more, you can ask me anything.Good luck and have fun with your tank!
 
Reef noob_ said:
Firstly welcome to the forum, you should read all the stickies on how to set up a tank and basic water chemistry. Right away you'll want to get the following test kits to measure your water : Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate, and maybe phosphate. Also pick up a refractometer to keep your salinity in check.

You are 100% correct in saying that no sump or skimmer will be less than ideal, and that you will have to keep up on water changes and other maintenance more frequently.
I really would get a simple HOB skimmer but it's your call.

I would wait on the fish and after you know the cycle is done by using your test kits and registering 0 on all ammonia and nitrite you will want to add in a clean up crew of hermits and snails. I'd head over to reefcleaners.com and request a crew. Pick the "light crew" option, for the bigger crews are simply too huge. These will help with algae and detritus.

Before we talk about your fish choices I'd just like to say that it would make sense for you to purchase a dual t5 fixture and put some reef type bulbs in it, not for corals but for the algae growth. More yellow lights will cause bad algae to grow but purple/blue will cause that nice pinkish coralline algae to grow (which you want) A fixture like this is quite low cost and really makes the tank look better, and if you ever do want corals you will need a better light, might as well upgrade now.

For your HOB filter you will have to clean the sponges AT LEAST weekly to reduce nitrate buildup. This will eventually get pretty annoying and I'd forgo it for just a bag of carbon. You really don't need the sponge for filtration as your live rock will do it for you.

As for fish I would recommend an ocellaris clownfish pair and either a shrimp and goby pair OR a banghaii cardinalfish. Try to keep the fish low due to the lack of filtration.

Personally macroalgae in a reef really appeals to me, especially in non coral dominated tanks. I'd look into some macro algaes for your decorations.

Hopefully this helped a bit and I'll be subscribing to this thread to help out some more. Try to take some pictures and I can help a little more, you can ask me anything.Good luck and have fun with your tank!
Click to expand...

Thank you for the info! I picked up the proper test kits yesterday. Figures, I just recently bought the light fixture I have and already threw away the box :headwally: . Should I pick up one of the blue tubes for it?

My HOB filter doesn't have sponges in it. It has the carbon bag and then this plastic insert with a bunch of rubbery "feet" on it in circles. Should I remove the plastic piece and just keep the carbon bag? Should I do this now or after cycling?

For the macroalgae...do you suggest a specific type? My local store doesn't have any. I have one more in my area I can check, but I will most likely be ordering online.
 
TBLDiver said:
Thank you for the info! I picked up the proper test kits yesterday. Figures, I just recently bought the light fixture I have and already threw away the box :headwally: . Should I pick up one of the blue tubes for it?

My HOB filter doesn't have sponges in it. It has the carbon bag and then this plastic insert with a bunch of rubbery "feet" on it in circles. Should I remove the plastic piece and just keep the carbon bag? Should I do this now or after cycling?

For the macroalgae...do you suggest a specific type? My local store doesn't have any. I have one more in my area I can check, but I will most likely be ordering online.
Click to expand...

Nice work on the test kits, try to send some numbers our way as soon as possible.

As far as the light goes if you have a brand and model name for it that would be great, but if you cant find that does it have one bulb or two? are the bulbs t5 or t8 (t5= very thin, t8 is thicker) posting a picture of the light would help, it might be useable.

I think keeping the media basket (that's what that plastic boxy thing is) would be fine, running with carbon only is still your best bet

I wanted to make it clear that macroalgae is not necessary but i like the look of it so i include it in my tanks. You do not need it. that being said i think macros look really nice an will also, if your parameters are good, will keep nuisance algaes at bay. I order all mine from liveaquaria and a site called http://live-plants.com/ i would wait until afrter the cycle and once we get your light figured out to buy these so you really dont have to think about that yet.

Oh btw have you gone through a diatom bloom yet? most new tanks do. Diatoms will look like a brown coating like cinnamon has covered all surfaces inside the tank. Diatoms are ugly but they signal that a cycle is moving along and they eventually die off. ALso, have you seen other algaes yet?

Good luck! :bounce2:

oh ps I'm in a somewhat similar stage as you with my newest 90 gallon build, if you want you can ask me things there or check it out. The link is in my signature.
 
If you haven't already, you should check out the nano reef section of the forum. There is a lot of very helpful info regarding smaller tanks there. You should be able to pick up some tips from folks that have been running small tanks for a while.

-Ivan
 
i have a 20L set up going strong for over two years with plenty of easy coral and a few fish. No sump, or skimmer. just a simple HOB filter that I occasionally run carbon in if i see my chem leveling increasing. if you have the basics down such as a steady maintenance routine and good light and flow with no dead spots the tank will do great. Mine had a rough start with algae blooms but after about the 4-6 month mark the tank settled and the algae became very manageable with just a light scrapping of the glass with each water change.

I did add a HOB refuge with chaeto to help clean the water a bit and give a place for pods to live and breed.
 
There are several hob skimmers you can get, just don't get a remora. Worst decision I ever made. Don't do it. I hate it. It has no effect and is pointless. Had mine for a year. If you
Don't want to do a sump, at minimum I would find a way to set up an automatic top off. For a 20 gallon tank, it only takes a few days of not topping off before serious issues happen. I use a completely different method though for using a hob filter. I run carbon when I need to, but otherwise I fill mine with pillow stuffing or batting fabric and remove it every few days. It will catch leftover food and trap it, then I throw it away. Normally I use batting fabric from Walmart, it will be in the quilt section. It is essentially filter floss, but less expensive. If you decide to go that route, you will need powerheads because the flow will be decreased in the filter with the fabric, but I would get powerheads anyways, even if I didn't do it. As far stocking, you are going to be limited. I would do a pair of percula or occelaris clowns, cleaner shrimp, and a small goby/pistol shrimp pair. That's it. Or a mantis shrimp( but I wouldn't add any fish you would be sad if they got eaten). In addition, do snails OR hermits, not both. Hermits will kill the snails. And snails are better clean up crew anyways.
 
Merry Christmas! Ok so attached is a pic of the light I have. And I also attached the pic of what I think is suggested I keep out of the HOB?
image.jpg
image.jpg
 
Something I haven't seen being discussed yet is what are you using as your water source? A RO/DI unit is another one of those things that is almost a MUST HAVE. Especially if u plan to keep anything a bit more sensitive like corals. I say almost because with a tank as small as a 20 gallon you can just as easily use distilled water. A bit more expensive in the long run to do it that way but it's definitely an option. I've been using distilled for almost a year now. Another thing to be sure is clear is that when u top off your tank from evaporation use freshwater not saltwater. Although your water is evaporating, the salt stays behind. Those are 2 lessons I learned the hard way.
 
DJasak said:
Something I haven't seen being discussed yet is what are you using as your water source? A RO/DI unit is another one of those things that is almost a MUST HAVE. Especially if u plan to keep anything a bit more sensitive like corals. I say almost because with a tank as small as a 20 gallon you can just as easily use distilled water. A bit more expensive in the long run to do it that way but it's definitely an option. I've been using distilled for almost a year now. Another thing to be sure is clear is that when u top off your tank from evaporation use freshwater not saltwater. Although your water is evaporating, the salt stays behind. Those are 2 lessons I learned the hard way.
Click to expand...

Yes I will be using the distilled water for now (or the water from the "water machine" at the grocery store). I will definitely invest in an RO/DI unit once I figure out if I will be relocating or not .
 
Good catch on the water source, we should be thinking about these things.


That is a single T8 tube from what I see, you should upgrade to a dual light fixture. Here are a few ideas:

http://bit.ly/1m
http://amzn.to/1TlxBOXGrB91

Or really any other dual T5 light. I'd go with two ATI bulbs in there.

Have any pictures of the tank itself? It'd be a good idea to post some of just the tank, it helps us see what's going on inside.
 
Reef noob_ said:
Good catch on the water source, we should be thinking about these things.


That is a single T8 tube from what I see, you should upgrade to a dual light fixture. Here are a few ideas:

http://bit.ly/1m
http://amzn.to/1TlxBOXGrB91

Or really any other dual T5 light. I'd go with two ATI bulbs in there.

Have any pictures of the tank itself? It'd be a good idea to post some of just the tank, it helps us see what's going on inside.
Click to expand...

Those links didn't work for me?

Here is what the tank looks like so far

image.jpg
 
> I'd look to get some more rock, to me that looks a little lacking.
>Have you been testing? Any numbers? I would think by now that there would be some type of algae showing if the cycle has begun.
> This is the bulb you want if you're not upgrading the lights:
http://www.amazon.com/Zoo-Med-50and...xgy_199_2?ie=UTF8&refRID=060EMFK44D5D6CSF1P5W (15W model)
>Other than that the tank looks really good. Go ahead and test then send some numbers our way if possible, hopefully you will be ready for a CUC soon! :beer:
 
Today's testing:

0 Ammonia
0 Nitrite
20 Nitrate
7.5 pH

78 Degrees F
Salinity 1.024

I agree, need more rock. Do you think I need live rock or will more base rock be fine? I found a good deal for 15lbs of base rock on ebay.

Thank you for the link to the bulb. I'll go ahead and pick one up. I'll have to measure and see what the length on mine is.
 
Just realized that the last post i wrote didn't send through, oops!

So here it is again I guess:

> As far as the cycle goes i would throw in some fish food or a raw shrimp and them monitor closely to see how long it takes for the thing to decompose into ammonia and then go through the cycle and turn into Nitrate. It should be roughly 24 Hrs.

> For the rocks, either will work just if you're buying Live make sure it is fully cured, adding uncured rock will make your tank completely re-cycle. I personally would Go live for the small amount that you would be getting.

So far so good, if you go with liverock a fish can be added within a week after getting it!
 
I'm a fan of simplistic design, so to me I think it looks great! But rock is where a majority of your bacteria live, so I would invest in some more rock and maybe build an arch. That'll give you more surface area that u need but still leave open space for your fish to swim around :)
 
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