Ok deciding to go with a 20gal setup

[sr20]

I’m going to try my first attempt at a salt water tank with a conversion of my 20 gal fresh water tank.
So far the equipment I’ve got is a backpack skimmer/filter, a 110w hood light, a power head 201 for circulation and I’m the process of buying my live sand and rock, I’ve been doing research on the salt water setup, cycling and so on, I’m very excited and would like suggestions from you guys of what to and not to do, stuff I should consider putting in and any type of input I can get…….
Thanks a lot for helping….
Steve……..

[staticfishmonger]

read as much as you can. it sounds like your on the right track. i would recomend picking up a few books. here are i few i have found very helpfull. marine fishes by scott w. michael this has great info on over 500 fishes evrything from diet, to care requirements, and even a difficulty rating., natural reef aquariums by john h. tullock has some cool info on different set-up styles and methods as well as some info on corals and reef safe fishes its a good place to start. at least it was for me. corals by eric h. borneman. this book is awsome to referene it offers some set-up info, but mainly deals with corals and ther individual care and requirements. also i have heard good things about the conscientious marine aquarist. good luck and remember to ask alot of questions you can almost always find the answers here or least some help on where to look...

[sr20]

cool...... thanks alot I think i will pick up some of those books.
I have a question... what is the purpose of a sump..... and would i need it for my application? I know more water volume is good.

[sr20]

also the skimmer/filter that Im getting looks exactually like the Remora skimmer, how can I tell if it's a knock off or the real thing. The gyus at the LFS barly speak english and Im getting the unit for 140 Canadian with the pump...

[jdallred]

I would recommend a sump mainly because this is your first SW tank and it is a 20gal. Small tanks can be just as stable as large tanks if you set them up correctly. One of my tanks I am currently running is a 20gal sps nano w/a 12 ½ gal fuge/sump combo, Aqua C Remora, and two 100 watt titanium heaters. As you mentioned a sump will add water volume which will help to stabilize your system which IMO is the most important attribute of a sump. A sump is also used to house equipment that otherwise looks ugly in your display, part of it can be used as a refugium, it will help w/adding oxygen into the system, gives you an area to add top off water as well as anything you might dose giving it time to mix before hitting the display, and will cause the water level in the tank to be consistent.

Is the skimmer used? Not sure about the price, what does that equate to in US?

[sr20]

it's 105.00 usd and it,s brand new
I will be buying it tommrow...... I guess I will only be ale to tell with time if it's a knock off...

[SandFlea]

I too am in the process of setting up a 20 Long. I have the AquaC Remora, 2 maxijet 400PH (wished I would have got 2 600's). Are you just setting up a Fish only?

[AZDesertRat]

I have had a 20G high reef for 14 years now. It has gone through several iterations over the years from a modified Skilter 250 skimmer/filter to a CPR BakPak 2, from 4x15w NO Fluorescents to 2x55w PCs to 3x55w PCs with internal fans and a fan in the canopy. It has been bare bottom, crushed coral and now is 2" Southdown. Circulation is a Maxijet 1000 and a Rio something. There is about 30 lbs live rock with candy corals, mushrooms, montipora caps, zenia, button polyps, cabbage leather and a sebae anemone that has been in the tank about 9 years now. Two fish have lived for 13 years and the Coral banded shrimp is about 8 or 9 now.
I am guilty of neglecting this tank horribly and in fact have red slime in it today as I look at it. I think a 20 is probably the minimum size to start with for a newbie but it can really be enjoyable if you do like others have said and read all you can on the subject before piling abunch of stuff in there only to discover they are not compatible.

A.J.

[sr20]

I mainly want a reef tank with just a few fish....
AZDesertRat I would like to see some pics of your tank if you have any..

[SandFlea]

I would also like to see some pics of 20 gal setups