First tank and new to hobby. Advice, thoughts on 20g long?

[Gumbies R Us]

Welcome to Reef2Reef!

 

[kevgib67]

Welcome, glad you are here!

 

[jsker]

 

[tomtheturkey]

 

[ajremington68]

This is where I am at until petco does a sale on their 20 gallon long lids… trying to keep it as budget as I can as a little fun thing to do, and budget is what it is looking lol

Fish stocking coming soon as it has been running for a month with media from my big tank, gunna take inspiration from your build @taytay_1119

 

[taytay_1119]

This is where I am at until petco does a sale on their 20 gallon long lids… trying to keep it as budget as I can as a little fun thing to do, and budget is what it is looking lol

Fish stocking coming soon as it has been running for a month with media from my big tank, gunna take inspiration from your build @taytay_1119

I have thought about doing that for a lid lol. Just plastic wrap it but I think we are gonna try to get some plexiglass or something similar and just cut that to fit. I’m looking forward to seeing how yours turns out! Happy reefing

 

[taytay_1119]

This is what it’s looking like atm with the new chromis. I promise they’re not that huge lol they’re just front and center in this pic. Rearranged some corals a bit to see if they’d be happier.

 

[SPR1968]

Very pretty and welcome!

 

[shrimpnreefdude]

Hi everyone! This is my first tank

Hi Tay! Im new to the hobby too and new here. So take my advice with a grain of salt...

and kinda of wanting more ideas on stocking, also maybe some advice/input. We have a Bangaii cardinal, blue neon goby, and a zebra bar goby. We just added two green chromis (wanted 3 but lfs said 2 is better bc of size). I was wanting to possibly add a spotted mandarin, a couple talbot damsels (had one in here before and loved it but a Blenny bullied it), and possibly a small clown. Is that too much stock in this tank???

I think your tank is beautiful! And already stocked really well. I think you may want to slow down on wanting to add more fish. The bioload for thay filter is simply too much IMO. That opinion is based more on freshwater experience. The other thing to consider is the toxins from the coral and their concentration of it in a small volume of water. Im still learning about chemical warfare between coral and it is fascinating to see how they will compete for space. I would keep your coral stock where it is at as well. Let them grow and fill the space.

I think you should spend money on better filtration versus more livestock right now. What do you have in the filter atm?

How often are you doing water changes?

Honestly we were just thinking of going to

hobby lobby or something and getting a sheet of plexiglass or something ‍‍I mean I’m not really sure

You can go to HomeDepot and get greenhouse polycarbonate sheets (clear) that allow most light to go through. You will lose some par but not much. You want some gas exchange and with a lid that close to the water, you will likely get a bunch of salt creep on the edges.

 

[CoralB]

Welcome !!

 

[Sophie"s mom]

We were thinking of possibly a canister filter but unsure just yet. Just don’t have a spot or space for sump and stuff

I have a 90 running on on an HOB along with 2 canisters ( 1 just for my UV ) and a protein skimmer, and it does great! I do 15 gallon water changes every 2 weeks.

 

[Sophie"s mom]

Hi Tay! Im new to the hobby too and new here. So take my advice with a grain of salt...

I think your tank is beautiful! And already stocked really well. I think you may want to slow down on wanting to add more fish. The bioload for thay filter is simply too much IMO. That opinion is based more on freshwater experience. The other thing to consider is the toxins from the coral and their concentration of it in a small volume of water. Im still learning about chemical warfare between coral and it is fascinating to see how they will compete for space. I would keep your coral stock where it is at as well. Let them grow and fill the space.

I think you should spend money on better filtration versus more livestock right now. What do you have in the filter atm?

How often are you doing water changes?

You can go to HomeDepot and get greenhouse polycarbonate sheets (clear) that allow most light to go through. You will lose some par but not much. You want some gas exchange and with a lid that close to the water, you will likely get a bunch of salt creep on the edges.

I bought material to make my own screen frames, along with aluminum hinges and made a screen hinged lid . It’s not difficult at all and works like a champ.

 

[taytay_1119]

After new years we’re gonna look around for a sump option. Just really don’t want to mess around with it now and then come back home and it be trashed. I’m new to this and boyfriends been in-an-out for a few years and he was wondering if maybe doing a sump above or equal to the height of the tank will be just as good. Anyone ever do that before?

 

[tharbin]

Welcome to R2R!

I would pass on any more fish for the moment. You don't mention how long the tank has been set up but it looks to be fairly young. It takes time for your biological filtration (bacteria, et. al.) to catch up with the bio load in a tank and the smaller the tank, the less changes it takes to throw things out of whack.

Very nice aquascape by the way.

 

[Gill the 3rd]

Hello and welcome! You have a great looking tank.

 

[OutColdCRNA]

Welcome!! Tank looks like it’s off to a great start!!

 

[Brazilian Reefer]

Hi everyone! This is my first tank and kinda of wanting more ideas on stocking, also maybe some advice/input. We have a Bangaii cardinal, blue neon goby, and a zebra bar goby. We just added two green chromis (wanted 3 but lfs said 2 is better bc of size). I was wanting to possibly add a spotted mandarin, a couple talbot damsels (had one in here before and loved it but a Blenny bullied it), and possibly a small clown. Is that too much stock in this tank???

Welcome and Happy Reefing!

 

[Buckster]

Hello and Welcome to R2R! The tank looks good. Make sure you have plenty of pods before adding a mandarin. I bought a pair from biota and they eat food which makes life easy for them and me.