20g saltwater tank questions

[Elpescador073]

Looking to start a 20g saltwater fish only tank with maybe 1 or 2 corals and was wondering basic equipment needed in doing so. I have a hob aqua clear 50, 200gph power head, 130gph sponge internal filter, heater, digital thermostat and HO t5 light. Would this equipment be sufficient enough and if not what should I delete or add?

[BeefyG]

You can mod the AC50 into a fuge or just use it for water circulation. I would leave out the sponge filter. The real filter is your live rock. I had a nano reef with similar equipment and had no problems.

[BeefyG]

Also, for fish only, that HO lighting might give you algae problems. You don't need much. It would work for corals though.

[Elpescador073]

So what media woul you recommend I use in the ac50

[Elpescador073]

Also about the lighting, could I get away with a single bright led with actinic light? Cause I have one of those

[BeefyG]

I just ran the sponge and some carbon in my AC70 that I used. The carbon was for the corals though. You could also run purigen in it. Just make sure you get a fine enough mesh bag for the purigen or you will get little white balls everywhere. I would go with the single bright led personally. You could also add a small HOB skimmer if you want to but I don't think it would be absolutely necessary.

[charles-n-charge]

The only info I can share that you won't find online is this.

Don't be scared to go overboard. I've found out that there's no such thing as "too much" filtration when it comes to saltwater. And by that I mean attacking filtration from many different directions, not just one.

If you can, you may want to go bigger than 20 gallons. Unlike freshwater, saltwater aquariums are much easier to maintain when they're larger. For beginners, a 55+ is a good idea.

When you hit an issue, or something new pops up, don't panic. That first year is going to be a nightmare. You'll probably hit every issue in the book, and see a lot of things you don't understand at all. Just remember to keep calm, treat symptoms, and allow the tank to cycle through and do what it wants naturally.

Try to keep the stock low, hardy, and useful. In other words, try to only get fish and inverts with a purpose for the first year. "Maintenance Fish"


Other than that, just jump in (gently) and don't turn back. Welcome to the dark side of fish-keeping

[johnnymisty]

The only info I can share that you won't find online is this.

Don't be scared to go overboard. I've found out that there's no such thing as "too much" filtration when it comes to saltwater. And by that I mean attacking filtration from many different directions, not just one.

If you can, you may want to go bigger than 20 gallons. Unlike freshwater, saltwater aquariums are much easier to maintain when they're larger. For beginners, a 55+ is a good idea.

When you hit an issue, or something new pops up, don't panic. That first year is going to be a nightmare. You'll probably hit every issue in the book, and see a lot of things you don't understand at all. Just remember to keep calm, treat symptoms, and allow the tank to cycle through and do what it wants naturally.

Try to keep the stock low, hardy, and useful. In other words, try to only get fish and inverts with a purpose for the first year. "Maintenance Fish"


Other than that, just jump in (gently) and don't turn back. Welcome to the dark side of fish-keeping

Thats pretty darn good advice about what i went through my first year now its all down hill and smooth

[CRUSHER]

Beefy.. how do you convert the AC50 into a fuge?

You can mod the AC50 into a fuge or just use it for water circulation. I would leave out the sponge filter. The real filter is your live rock. I had a nano reef with similar equipment and had no problems.

[mistahoo]

Re: 20g saltwater tank questions

Beefy.. how do you convert the AC50 into a fuge?

Take out all the media and sponges. Then add cross stitching grid by the outflow and by the intake inside the media chamber. This is to keep your macro algae in. Then stuff it with macro algae.

Sent from my spaceship using Tapatalk 2.

[CRUSHER]

cool, thank you!!!

[mistahoo]

Re: 20g saltwater tank questions

There was a diy where someone used an AC110 and turned it into a fuge. The light was attached to the lid so they could keep the lid on and keep the macro algae alive.

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[CRUSHER]

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=601201&highlight=ac+70

[mistahoo]

Saw that a while back. It wasn't that one. I don't remember where I found it. He used a LED puck light and siliconed it to the underside of the original AC110 lid. So it looked like a normal AC110 but it was actually a fuge with light. Looked a bit messy but it worked for him. Used the original basket in the same way as that link as well.

[Elpescador073]

progress

Going to add water tomorrow! Going to use the ac50 for added filtration and aqua tech 20-40 as diy fuge! In yalls opinion what the best macro to use?