Reef Sanctuary - View Single Post - Newby im a lil conufsed about my 20 g fowlr

Maxx · 02-05-2004, 09:33 PM

Wilson,
Welcome to the Sanctuary!!
Couple of things from my perspective here...
First off as this is going to be a FOWLR a skimmer isnt an immediate requirement. If this was going to be a reef tank, then it would be a different story. If you think you will eventually get into a reef tank, buying the best possible skimmer is something to think about, that way you are only buying a skimmer once...Just My Opinion. As it stands, yes, buying a skimmer is a good thing, but not necessary for a FO set up, and especially since none of the fish you mentioned were especially delicate. You can get buy w/ frequent water changes if you don't have a skimmer. No, its not optimal...yes this amounts to almost heresy to some people...but remember, marine fish were kept quite well for many decades using only undergravel filters. A skimmer will help you out immensly, but its not necessary to have a successful saltwater aquarium. You will be required to do water changes religiously though. Think of your aquarium as a toilet. The fish gotta go somewhere, and if you dont remove it through water changes, they're gonna die. That simple.
Keep in mind that for a 20 H you're not gonna have a whole lot of real estate to keep these fish in, and marine fish are kinda like dogs...they get territorial sometimes.
I would personally reccomend no more than 3 fish the size of adult Occelaris (false Percula) clownfish, in a 20 H. You might be able to keep more in there, but your margin for error/ ability to recover from a mistake, (overfeeding, miss a water change, etc) will be MUCH smaller. And since you are just getting involved in this hobby, (and need to be able to get your mom to help you out occaissonally while you're out working to earn money for college etc....) you want to cut yourself as much slack as possible.
Do you know what the Ammonia/Nitrite/Nitrate cycle is? Its important, but kinda lengthy, so if ya already know about it, I wont bore you w/ another version of it.
Live rock....I'd go w/ 1-2 lbs per gallon.
Live sand....ya dont need it for what you're doing. Buy the cheaper regular, (unlive) sand and let it be seeded w/ life from your rock.
Water movement...hmmm....not really applicable to this type of tank since its not going to be a reef, and you're not going to be able to keep the type of fish that like lots of water movement in it due to its size. A couple of powerheads, (two) will be fine, and the hagen aquaclear filter will be fine to help you w/ filtering out all the big stuff. Just remember to rinse out the filter sponge on a regular basis, so stuff doesnt rot in there.
wow...for what was sposed to be a short reply its gotten kinda long..sorry bout that.
Good luck and welcome to the Sanctuary,
Nick

02-05-2004, 09:33 PM	#21 (permalink)
Maxx Manta Ray Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: St Louis Mo Posts: 3,079 View Gallery Karma Komment	Wilson, Welcome to the Sanctuary!! Couple of things from my perspective here... First off as this is going to be a FOWLR a skimmer isnt an immediate requirement. If this was going to be a reef tank, then it would be a different story. If you think you will eventually get into a reef tank, buying the best possible skimmer is something to think about, that way you are only buying a skimmer once...Just My Opinion. As it stands, yes, buying a skimmer is a good thing, but not necessary for a FO set up, and especially since none of the fish you mentioned were especially delicate. You can get buy w/ frequent water changes if you don't have a skimmer. No, its not optimal...yes this amounts to almost heresy to some people...but remember, marine fish were kept quite well for many decades using only undergravel filters. A skimmer will help you out immensly, but its not necessary to have a successful saltwater aquarium. You will be required to do water changes religiously though. Think of your aquarium as a toilet. The fish gotta go somewhere, and if you dont remove it through water changes, they're gonna die. That simple. Keep in mind that for a 20 H you're not gonna have a whole lot of real estate to keep these fish in, and marine fish are kinda like dogs...they get territorial sometimes. I would personally reccomend no more than 3 fish the size of adult Occelaris (false Percula) clownfish, in a 20 H. You might be able to keep more in there, but your margin for error/ ability to recover from a mistake, (overfeeding, miss a water change, etc) will be MUCH smaller. And since you are just getting involved in this hobby, (and need to be able to get your mom to help you out occaissonally while you're out working to earn money for college etc....) you want to cut yourself as much slack as possible. Do you know what the Ammonia/Nitrite/Nitrate cycle is? Its important, but kinda lengthy, so if ya already know about it, I wont bore you w/ another version of it. Live rock....I'd go w/ 1-2 lbs per gallon. Live sand....ya dont need it for what you're doing. Buy the cheaper regular, (unlive) sand and let it be seeded w/ life from your rock. Water movement...hmmm....not really applicable to this type of tank since its not going to be a reef, and you're not going to be able to keep the type of fish that like lots of water movement in it due to its size. A couple of powerheads, (two) will be fine, and the hagen aquaclear filter will be fine to help you w/ filtering out all the big stuff. Just remember to rinse out the filter sponge on a regular basis, so stuff doesnt rot in there. wow...for what was sposed to be a short reply its gotten kinda long..sorry bout that. Good luck and welcome to the Sanctuary, Nick __________________ "Chaos, confusion, despair...my work is done here." ...Some guy named Murphy.... A good friend will come and bail you out of jail...but, a true friend will be sitting next to you saying, "Damn...that was fun!" Reef Sanctuary Knowledgebase (Answers to all your questions and then some!)