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A good skimmer will cost around $150 and you wont need one for a tank that small. Are you talking about 50lbs of sand because 50 lbs would be more than enough. If you get Live Rock you can expect to spend $200 with tank rock, filter heater and everything you will need. You can keep mushrooms under NO lighting sometimes. As for fish you check a place like liveaquaria.com and find 2-3 fish that are 2-3 inches are so that you like. You can feed the fish a large variety of foods and it depends on what fish you get. There are frozen foods, flake foods, and pellets just as in freshwater fish. A proper pH for sw fish is about8.0-8.3, but the salt helps you attain this high pH. Yes you need a salinity test, it is called a hydrometer. You can get a number of inverts. If you don't get live rock though, they kinda seem like they would look cheasy. If you get rock though you can get around 10 snails, 20 hermits, an emerald crab, and a cleaner shrimp. And yes a heater is a heater in sw or fw.

I would say you can put either a percula, or a true purcula clown in a tank that size. They stay small and are very active and fun to watch. I'm sure they will be happier with an anemone, such as a sebea or carpet. But both of those will soon outgrow a tank of that size. I would suggest a 55 or larger if you want an anemone.




Dan

I would not put either of the fish types mentioned in a tank this small. I havent posted on this site in a while and many ideas or methodologies may have changed but one recommendation i keep hanging to see but continue to miss is to buy a good book. Believe me, a good, current (and more often than not expensive unfortunately) book can save you a lot of browsing time and guesswork.

-DL

Last edited by Dark Lotus at 26-Nov-2004 09:02

Cake > Pie

Ok i have an all saltwater fish store and im sure they would have some as with some of the other stuff i need. Would clowns be fine in a tank this small, firefish???

Figi rock is popular and looks good. To help keep your cost down, you can look for reef bones. Soem places sell this for about a $1 a pound. It's just dried out live rock. Put about half reef bones, and half live rock. You can order it, but I like to see what I'm getting, so I buy from a LFS.



Dan

By the way, most of your questions can be answered right in the FAQ portion of this site, under Beginning SW Aquaria.

tHANKS i will look there. What type of live rock would you recommed? Can i get this at my lfs or do i have to order it? What fish would you all recommend for a 20 gallon sw tank? thanks for your help fish1.

First let me add, the 1 inch of fish per 5 gallons of water is a bit leanient. Personally, I use, and tell others of more like 1 inch of fish to 3 gals of water, with fish 3 inches and under. This rule's use is as a baseline only, to understand a tanks capicity when first setting up an aquarium. And, what alot of people do not take into account, is all other creatures in the tank as well. Like the crabs, snails, ect. Though they are small, and each have a smaller impact on the bioload of your system, they still have an impact non the less. And, if you have a reef tank, you will likely have dozens and dozens of these kept in your tank.

Now, what you must understand about this rule. It has nothing to do with the fish you put into the tank. This is a bioload rule for a properly setup and cycled system. Meaning skimmers, LR, LS, filters, ect, all ready in place and a tank that has completed its cycle. The fish that you place in your tank, must be re-evaluated for many things, as activity levels, aggression, size comparisons, food requirements, compatabilities, ect ect ect. As a fish that sits on the bottom and rarely moves, will have a much lower metabalism than that of a fish that almost non stops swimming. For ex the toad fish (sits on the bottom) will eat less often, has a low metabalism rate, and thus produce low levels of waste and ammonia, could be placed into this formula for less gallons of water per inch, maybe 1 inch of fish per 2 gal of water. Whereas a blue tang, you might want to increase the gallons per inch of fish as they are constantly swimming and active, thus have a higher metabalism rate, and thus produce higher amounts of waste and ammonia, thus you may count this fish as 1 inch of fish per 4-5-6 of more gallons of water. This is the reason the formula is so general and rarely ever used. Because many people take it to heart, and do not research the fish they add to their aquariums.

So, in the end, IMO, the newbie, or less experienced SW fish keeper, should not ever use this formula, as it can cause devistation within the tank, if proper knowledge of the fish is not obtained first. Only the more experienced aquariist should attempt the use of this formula.

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There is always a bigger fish...

No, the sand does not change the water to salt water, you need to purchase a salt mix. These can be found at any LFS, but its best to shop around for the best price, as they do flucuate with each store.

The general rule is approximately one (1) pound of live rock per gallon of water, but this is determined by what type of rock you get (density wise) and how you want to aquascape your tank.

By the way, most of your questions can be answered right in the FAQ portion of this site, under Beginning SW Aquaria.

John

Last edited by Kamikaze76 at 25-Nov-2004 09:25

I think i will get live rock cause that seems to be a good thing to have ? is how much do i need?

wow, so i dont have to get a skimmer? i should get the tank at christmas with filter and heater so i should have to worry about that ill probably get money so i think im ready to go, could you find a pic of wat the said looks like? does the sand change the water to salt or do you add anything else?

My mom likes all the saltwater fish and stuff and so i thought i might try one of those 2 gallons with the Clownfish. As i learn that wasnt the best idea. I'm looking into getting a 20gallon for my first sw tank. Could any saltwater fanatic run over the basics with me ( what filter, fish, sand ect ect. I'm definitly the noob to sw so please be patient with my dumb question.

How much will a skimmer cost?
is 50 lb enough for a 20gallon tank?
how much money should i expect to spend (not counting fish cause i can get them when i please. I really dont want any hard{as in anything hard to take care of}corals but is there a type of sw plant/coral type think i can have w/o upgrading lights? What type of fish should i look into? what should i feed the fish? Whats a proper ph for sw tanks? SHould i get a saltanity testing kit? Can i get inverts with this tank? or is it to small/ to big? If so which do you reccomend? Can i use a fw heater in the tank? sry for all the questions but im sure ill think of more so bear with me.

Yes, you can use a penguin, a HOB filter is a good idea to have. It will scrub your water removing the larger particles.

For sand you can use live sand, not worth the cost in my opinion. Or sand from the LFS, very expensive. Or go to your local home improvment store such as home depot and look for southdown play sand. It goes for about $7 for a 50 pound bag. I have 400 pounds of this in my tanks. You want to get about 2" to 2.5" of sand. More the 3" of sand is not worth it.

What a skimmer is seems to have been covered very well.



Dan

Yes you can use a Penguin Filter.

There are several types of sand available. Some of the ones available are: Crushed Coral, Aragonite, Live Sand (similar to Live Rock only sand), and also Play Sand using non-silica based sand (two brands of this type are Yardright and South Down).

What Is Protein Skimming? This is taken from http://www.marineandreef.com/shoppro/protein_skimmers.html

Of the many possible methods for reducing levels of organic matter in aquarium water, one of the simpler and more convenient is foam fractionation, or protein skimming. Protein skimming is a filtration method used to remove dissolved organic compounds before they break down into toxic ammonia and nitrite compounds. In a process analogous to the production of sea foam in surf, injection of air bubbles into the aquarium water creates a meringuelike foam when organic molecules collect at the air-water interfaces of the bubbles. This foam is captured in the collection cup and disposed of.

Foam fractionation is an important part of the successful maintenance of a marine aquarium. It is the only method available that physically removes organic pollutants from the water. All other techniques simply sequester pollution within filter media, which are then removed and replenished with fresh media. Meanwhile, pollutant molecules may be constantly exchanged between the media and the aquarium water, reducing the overall effectiveness of the filtration system. For marine aquariums, foam fractionation is a practical and simple way to control this organic pollution.

John

Can i use a pengiun on it?? What type of sand in particular? WHats a skimmer?? sry for the dumb ?s i just dont know them

It's a very general rule, all fish are different. Some fish need more space then others. It's simply a starting point.



Dan

Very general rule for SW fish.

I would never actually suggest it to anyone though.

is that the new general rule for stocking fish or is that only for SW tanks.

Last edited by haRg0wbOi at 24-Nov-2004 21:08

Well, you got the first part right, bigger is better. So get the largest tank you can.

The basics needed are, tank, top, lights, heater, powerheads, salt, water, substrate, and live rock if you want.

A HOB filter is a good idea, and a skimmer is also a good idea.

A general rule for stocking is about 1" of adult fish per 5 gals of water. So a 20 gal tank will hold 2 small fish.



Dan