converting 20 gallon FW to FOWLR

[iceshade]

Hi guys, so this will be my first salt water tank, I have been doing tons and tons of reading over the years but always got scared off, and never ended up setting one up.

 

I'm tired of it now and I WILL be converting my 20 gallon to a FOWLR, I know lots of stuff already like 3 or 4 fish MAX, salt mixing, powerhead, testing, etc.

 

but i have some questions that i will number to make easier.

 

1: no skimmer, i've read and been told that i don't need one, it's a big chunk of money which i don't have right now, so i will be using my aquaclear 30 which should be ok (10% water changes weekly, like all my FW tanks) question is, what media do i use? i get mixed answers, sponge, carbon, and chemipure elite ok?

 

2: live rock, i know, 1 pound per gallon or more, but at the main LFS i go to they freaked when i mentioned 20 pounds of rock for a 20 gallon and said it's way too much, now correct me if i'm wrong but if they wanted to be salesmen wouldn't they tell me i need more? this is a very nice shop with amazing staff we are talking about, and the best selection in my city (montreal, qc canada) that i have seen. so for cycling and all that can 10 pounds be enough? it's 5.99 a pound, cured and porous and very nice, haiti live rock.

 

3: would 1 powerhead or wavemaker be enough? i was shown a wavemaker for 30$, but i've seen powerheads for 20$, less GPH though, it's something i'm confused about, powerhead or wavemaker for water movement and circulation?

 

4: I have a glass top, a few people online said do not use them, makes no sense as tons of tanks use them i've seen, will it be ok?

 

5: last question for now, my lighting is a LED light, marineland strip light, 351 lumens, also has the blue night lights, at one point while using this light, and not doing much else for them can i put any zoa's or mushrooms or something? just for some color and character. would even zoas and mushrooms need better lighting and something else added to the tank? can they get by without a skimmer?

 

and lastly stocking wise i'm not really sure, i'm not one of those guys who is like omg i want a nemo! although clowns are beautyful, especially the black occelaris.. wow.. but i am looking into clowns,a type of goby or blenny (bicolor blenny, green neon goby, tail spot blenny, etc) maybe a firefish? not really sure.

 

anf also i saw a guy on youtube with one of those beautiful nano cubes, 28 gallon JBJ i think, and he had angels, tangs, clowns, plus a snowflake eel.. yeah.. maybe down the road lol, i know about stocking numbers and such. I just hate when people on forums and facebook say you can barely put 1 fish in a 20 gallon, 20 is too small for anything, etc, i am looking at about 3 or 4 fish and a CUC. i thought about damsels but as long as they don't kill off the rest of my tank lol

 

so anyway, sorry for the TLDR, thank you to anyone who answers :-)

[bentc1979]

Hi guys, so this will be my first salt water tank, I have been doing tons and tons of reading over the years but always got scared off, and never ended up setting one up.

 

I'm tired of it now and I WILL be converting my 20 gallon to a FOWLR, I know lots of stuff already like 3 or 4 fish MAX, salt mixing, powerhead, testing, etc.

 

but i have some questions that i will number to make easier.

 

1: no skimmer, i've read and been told that i don't need one, it's a big chunk of money which i don't have right now, so i will be using my aquaclear 30 which should be ok (10% water changes weekly, like all my FW tanks) question is, what media do i use? i get mixed answers, sponge, carbon, and chemipure elite ok?

 

2: live rock, i know, 1 pound per gallon or more, but at the main LFS i go to they freaked when i mentioned 20 pounds of rock for a 20 gallon and said it's way too much, now correct me if i'm wrong but if they wanted to be salesmen wouldn't they tell me i need more? this is a very nice shop with amazing staff we are talking about, and the best selection in my city (montreal, qc canada) that i have seen. so for cycling and all that can 10 pounds be enough? it's 5.99 a pound, cured and porous and very nice, haiti live rock.

 

3: would 1 powerhead or wavemaker be enough? i was shown a wavemaker for 30$, but i've seen powerheads for 20$, less GPH though, it's something i'm confused about, powerhead or wavemaker for water movement and circulation?

 

4: I have a glass top, a few people online said do not use them, makes no sense as tons of tanks use them i've seen, will it be ok?

 

5: last question for now, my lighting is a LED light, marineland strip light, 351 lumens, also has the blue night lights, at one point while using this light, and not doing much else for them can i put any zoa's or mushrooms or something? just for some color and character. would even zoas and mushrooms need better lighting and something else added to the tank? can they get by without a skimmer?

 

and lastly stocking wise i'm not really sure, i'm not one of those guys who is like omg i want a nemo! although clowns are beautyful, especially the black occelaris.. wow.. but i am looking into clowns,a type of goby or blenny (bicolor blenny, green neon goby, tail spot blenny, etc) maybe a firefish? not really sure.

 

anf also i saw a guy on youtube with one of those beautiful nano cubes, 28 gallon JBJ i think, and he had angels, tangs, clowns, plus a snowflake eel.. yeah.. maybe down the road lol, i know about stocking numbers and such. I just hate when people on forums and facebook say you can barely put 1 fish in a 20 gallon, 20 is too small for anything, etc, i am looking at about 3 or 4 fish and a CUC. i thought about damsels but as long as they don't kill off the rest of my tank lol

 

so anyway, sorry for the TLDR, thank you to anyone who answers :-)

Allright, lets start from the beginning.

 

1. To answer the skimmer question the answer is no, you do not technically need a skimmer. It is however highly recommended that you have one. A skimmer really helps cut down on the dissolved proteins that come from feeding and fish waste. If you are not going to have skimmer I would recommend 20% water changes once a week. As far as media goes, I would keep it simple. Carbon, Sponge, Chemipure should be fine.

 

2. So, the live vs. base rock argument will forever be debated. I personally do not buy live rock. The reason is, base/dead rock can be made live with time. You don't have to worry about bringing in unwanted critters into your tank (Fire worms, Flat worms, Fungus, Mantis Shrimp just to name a few). As far as how much... 1-2lbs per gallon will give you enough to handle a pretty good bio load. Another perk is base rock is usually a lot cheeper then live rock.

 

3. Powerhead/s- I would suggest having at least two powerheads. The reason, because having good flow is not the only thing that your tank will need. Having flow that is not linear (meaning, flowing in one direction all the time) is better for proper gas exchange and to preventing dead spots (Without flow). Having two powerheads will help to accomplish this. I have seen many tanks (Mine included) that do just fine without a wave maker.

 

4. The glass top will cut down on the amount of light getting to the tank occupants, but it will also reduce evaporation rates. I use one on my tank, and have never had an issue. It also keeps your fish where you want them and not on the floor. (Goby are notorious for being jumpers)

 

5. Stocking- This is also highly debated. I will not presume to know everything there is to know about husbandry. What I do know is a 20 gallon tank is not huge comparative to other tanks. I guess a 3-4 fish limit is probably a safe bet (depending on the type of fish). I would guess a pair of clowns, fire fish, goby of just about any type, most blenny's should be fine. I would say just monitor new occupants when stocking to make sure they are healthy additions. Some fish (Even the small ones sometimes) can be very aggressive and territorial towards other fish. It sounds like you have a pretty good LFS. I would seek their advice when you are considering new live stock. Dragonets (Mandarin Goby, Scooter Blenny) are no no's, even though they are small and would not outgrow the tank... their diet is strict and expensive to maintain. Now I know you will always hear of that guy who was able to get one to eat frozen. That unfortunately is not the norm. I would steer clear IMO.

 

5. As far as lighting goes... Another hot button topic. I'm sure some will disagree with me, but I would stick to low light coral and see how they handle the light you have. I would hate for you to buy a $60 SPS frag and have it die. Mushroom, Sun, Zenia, Yuma are some hardy low/no light options to start a tank with. They are very colorful and can really add to a display. Be mindful of growth rates. The low/no light coral tend to grow fairly quickly and can easily take over a tank.

 

The guy that had the 28gal JBJ most likely have very juvenile sized fish. Angels, Tangs, eel can outgrow a 20 gallon tank in a matter of months. I would highly recommend staying away from then until you upgrade your tank size. I hope I was able to answer your questions. If anyone else has recommendations that I didn't cover please feel free to chime in.

[righttirefire]

I'm a few months into a 20 gallon build, http://www.nano-reef.com/topic/357755-20h-starter/, personally I don't run a skimmer.

 

I have about 24 lbs live rock in about 18 actual gallons of water.

 

I'm using a aquaclear 50, wish it was a ac110, with a small filter and chaeto micro algea. Plus a 240gph hydor

 

I have a glass top evaporation is minimal. But I have seen my temp increase 2 degrees sometimes.

 

I currently have a blue/green chromis, diamond goby, and yellow clown goby.

 

I wasn't a fan of the marineland strip light I looked into it but found the fluval led reef light on sale at petco for $90. I think it's a little under powered which is why I'm going to change everything into a 20long tank. But for fish only. Might not be an issue.

 

Good luck and research, research, research. Talk to everyone ask there opinion, but ultimately follow you gut there are a million ways to build a tank and no two people will do it same but can have the same results. Plus you have to look at it everyday so it better be pleasing to you

[iceshade]

Thanks guys, and bentc1979, lol don't worry with all of the research i'm doing i know there are tons of fish i cannot come close to getting with this tank, I love clowns, firefish are so-so, i am in love with goby's and blenny's but i read about a guy who got a green clown goby, put it in the tank, and never saw it again.. and this is a JBJ nano cube so no where to jump out lol

 

and about the live rock, the big LFS insists over and over 20 pounds is too much.. which is weird cause you'd think they want double the money, they said 10 pounds is fine, odd.

 

also it's haiti live rock, full of holes, so would that mean it's light, and even 10 pounds would end up being 4-6 rocks? I didn't look at it too well yesterday but they are very porous.

 

also the 28 jbj overstocked on youtube, his fish were pretty damn big, a guy asked him how big the eel was and he said around 20 inches, and one of the tangs looked at least 5 inches O.O pretty nuts, i am very obsessive compulsive so i am very careful with what i do, i'd never overstock a tank. I am actually still confused with what i want, do i want any damsels? they are cheap, but i hear they are little bullies. can 2 occelaris clowns work with 1 or 2 more fish? or would beatings take place when the clowns get frisky?

[bentc1979]

can 2 occelaris clowns work with 1 or 2 more fish? or would beatings take place when the clowns get frisky?

They can work well with other fish as long as they are not the same species. If you do have clown's I would put them in last. They can be very territorial and will sometimes fight tank occupants for space (they are a type of damsel fish after all). The biggest suggestion I can make to any new reefer is be patient and build slowly.

 

"The ocean wasn't stocked in a day, so neither should your tank." - Unknown Author

[iceshade]

They can work well with other fish as long as they are not the same species. If you do have clown's I would put them in last. They can be very territorial and will sometimes fight tank occupants for space (they are a type of damsel fish after all). The biggest suggestion I can make to any new reefer is be patient and build slowly.

 

"The ocean wasn't stocked in a day, so neither should your tank." - Unknown Author

 

true :-) i do plan to take my time, i thought of something like clean up crew (few snails, emerald crab, blue leg hermits?) then 1 fish (green chromis?) then another fish (type of goby maybe or blenny) then 2 clowns. my big LFS has tons of ocellaris clowns, small too about 1 inch.

[Orangutran]

and about the live rock, the big LFS insists over and over 20 pounds is too much.. which is weird cause you'd think they want double the money, they said 10 pounds is fine, odd.

 

also it's haiti live rock, full of holes, so would that mean it's light, and even 10 pounds would end up being 4-6 rocks? I didn't look at it too well yesterday but they are very porous.

 

Go with 10 lbs. That 1 lb per gallon is not accurate. If the rock is porous like you said, it'll do the job. As you add corals, they some times come on rocks so you end up with more rock in the tank.

 

Having less rocks give you nice open water, better scapes.

[iceshade]

Go with 10 lbs. That 1 lb per gallon is not accurate. If the rock is porous like you said, it'll do the job. As you add corals, they some times come on rocks so you end up with more rock in the tank.

 

Having less rocks give you nice open water, better scapes.

That's exactly what the store manager said, and this isn't some dinky pet store chain, if you saw this store and what they have you would faint. It used to be a big al's until big al's left quebec, and this store branched off on its own under the name aquatica.

[righttirefire]

I personally request my LFS to frag corals for me. Or go around collecting their single polyps. I've started a little zoa garden. Single polyps. 3 per frag plug. Watching them grow out and multiple to frag is part of the fun. And gives me time to figure out where they do best. Suction cups egg crate and frag plugs are your friend

[iceshade]

Yeah I'm not looking too much into corals yet, I'm focusing more now on equipment hunting, and stocking the tank with a clean up crew and minimum 3 fish, maybe 4.

 

But I will definitely looking into zoanthids in the near future once the tank is up and running