I want to start out in the hobby with a 20 gallon AIO tank but I am unsure if that is large enough for beginner mistakes.

bked180

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For a small increase in price go with a 40 gallon breeder. My fist tank was an 8 gallon nano, made lots of mistake and there’s no enough water volume to recover those mistakes. Good Luck with your new tank!
 

MONTANTK

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Mistakes will be made either way. Nobody has had a perfect run in this hobby. Larger tank means more work to correct mistakes but I can also mean catching it before it’s too late. Smaller tanks can be harder in the beginning but it’s easier to correct mistakes. It will also make larger tanks a little easier as you progress in the hobby
 

shakacuz

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get a 40breeder as a first. lots of room for growth and really lenient on learning curves.

make sure to read A LOT before doing anything. and be prepared to make adjustments along the way.
 

Melanie Fish

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I have a waterbox 20 gallon all in one tank. It's a great tank. Small tanks can be limited as far as fish go. Lighting is easy for small tanks.
 
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Elit940

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get a 40breeder as a first. lots of room for growth and really lenient on learning curves.

make sure to read A LOT before doing anything. and be prepared to make adjustments along the w
everyone says start witha 40g breeder but i want the easiest filtration ever. aio are that. i think they look better too. i have read alot aswell
 

shakacuz

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everyone says start witha 40g breeder but i want the easiest filtration ever. aio are that. i think they look better too. i have read alot aswell
you can get an AIO for a 40b. look up “fiji AIO” - i used their sump kit to make my own sump. i want to add that if you get the 40b for the 1$/G sale or used and buy the DIY AIO kit from fiji you’ll probably spend way less than a larger AIO tank
 

Danroo

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I’m still new to this hobby and I just added my first anemone on my one and only 20 gallon tank with just HOB filter

to avoid mistakes I’ll give you a run down.

I started with 20 pounds of live sand and dry rock. Live sand made me the benefit of not worrying about rinsing my sand. The dry rock helps with not dealing with pesky hitch hikers. Which I actually do prefer plus I like to see my rock Changed color it takes time so have lots of patience.

the filtration I used were matrix rocks, carbon, sponge and filter floss. No skimmer whatsoever.

I started with tap water and fish in cycle with turbo start. As much will say it is an unethical method for me I did made a mistake of not understanding the filter media properly and threw my filter pads out way to early with dr Tim’s one and only. Turbo start pretty much cycled the tank in 24 hours.

added hermit crabs and trochus snails to deal with algae cause tap water causes a lot of algae.

tap water was used till I decided to jump from a FOWLR to a reef tank and get my first RODI unit.
 

shakacuz

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is there any one spesific 40g it woks on?
it should work on any. how you install it is what will be different. you can do a or si suma style tank and have it on one of the side panels, or you can put it dead center of the back glass, or even off to the sides
 

Acros

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Yes, if your 'beginner mistake' will be getting fish that will get too big, too aggressive, or too many.

If not, it is a much more manageable tank size. Any chemistry issue can be solved with a quick water change.
 

Mjl714

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What tank would fit best in the area you have available for an aquarium? I would focus on this sized AIO.
 
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