My 20gal marine tank!

[Emma_fish]

Ok so I have ordered my first ever marine tank it it’s a 20gal tank and I am getting it this week I plan to stock with
2x ocellaris clownfish
1x emerald crab
1x sea star in a few months (maybe )
Corals
1x BTA
1x dwarf coloured feather duster
I will be sharing all of my progress on here up until I have it up and running with all of the fish in it I’m so excited to see the world of marine fish keeping :)

 

[ylreefer]

Ok so I have ordered my first ever marine tank it it’s a 20gal tank and I am getting it this week I plan to stock with
2x ocellaris clownfish
1x emerald crab
1xpink tiled starfish
Corals
1 or 2 x BTA
1x dwarf coloured feather duster
I will be sharing all of my progress on here up until I have it up and running with all of the fish in it I’m so excited to see the world of marine fish keeping :)

Welcome to the family of saltwater . Sounds like a good stocking list there. Good to see you've kept the fish to a realistic level. Although you can probably get away with 1 more friendly fish nicely once it's fully matured, and you probably will .

Be aware that the BTA can split into 2. so I'd stick with just the one for a while and see how it goes. Or you could end up with quiet a few of them and they can be a pain. Especially if they get caught up in a wavemaker.

I just set up a nano myself with clowns. Here s a quick pic. And looking forward to yours.

 

[Emma_fish]

Welcome to the family of saltwater . Sounds like a good stocking list there. Good to see you've kept the fish to a realistic level. Although you can probably get away with 1 more friendly fish nicely once it's fully matured, and you probably will .

Be aware that the BTA can split into 2. so I'd stick with just the one for a while and see how it goes. Or you could end up with quiet a few of them and they can be a pain. Especially if they get caught up in a wavemaker.

I just set up a nano myself with clowns. Here s a quick pic. And looking forward to yours.

You’re tank is beautiful I am not getting the starfish anymore until my tank has been running for at least two months and I am more experienced :)

 

[ylreefer]

You’re tank is beautiful I am not getting the starfish anymore until my tank has been running for at least two months and I am more experienced :)

That's a good idea. Infact. I'd suggest waiting till about 6 months. Not for any other reason than that it's not really understood what starfish feed on. And in a mature tank they have a much better survival rate.

I had a formosa starfish in my old tank that was doing fine for about 8 months. Once I upgraded the tank for the 650 and had to do a big clean up it died 3 weeks in. I suspect there wasn't enough micro fauna for it to live on.

 

[revhtree Verified Admin]

Congrats on the new tank!

 

[TriggersAmuck]

Welcome to the wonderful world of reef keeping! This can be quite enjoyable and not as difficult as some think, but I like to remind myself of these simple axioms:
1. As thoroughly as we research species, design our systems, tweak our maintenance, source our livestock and foods, and generally over engineer everything to death, at the end of the day none of our fishes nor corals ever read the manual.
2. Nothing good ever comes about quickly.
3. Once you think everything is good and stable (see #3) you get thrown a diatom bloom, an electric outage, a hurricane, a hurricane and an electric outage, an overly eager family fish-feeder while you are away, or an unplugged/broken heater.
4. As much as well intending (or not) vendors design and document a process for starting a tank, the bacteria never bother reading the manual.
4a. Instant hospital tanks are more dangerous than the illness. (See #4).
5. Live rock never accepts nor rejects habitants based on what the owner desires.
6. Algae somehow magically avoid all forms of UV sterilization.
6a. Ick somehow magically avoids all forms of UV sterilization.
7. Both clownfish and anemones are "special".
7a. Clownfish don't appreciate the $100 accommodations that just stung you as much as you do.
8. Slow moving Angel fish can compete in the Olympics high jump.
8a. That one inch opening you have in your otherwise hermetically sealed lid?
9. Both Triggerfish and Clownfish are backstabbing sobs who will bite you the moment you turn your hand away from them.
9a. Picasso Triggers will continue to bite you even with your hand one foot out of the water.
10. That clownfish that is the same size as your dwarf lion? (But know the clown deserved it).
11. Electricity really hurts when it is passed through salt water. And the fish won't warn you about it.
12. An Undulated Triggerfish is faster than your skilled netting arm. And no matter how small they are, they can split a new wrasse perfectly in two with one bite in under 30 seconds.
13. The best way to remove a fish from a reef tank is to first remove every last piece of rock. (See #12).
14. It is easier to give a fish away than it is to remove a sump from underneath an active reef. (See #13).

In spite of all my lessons learned, I still am in awe of the tiny little sliver of ocean sitting in the middle of my living room. OK, I have to go now to separate a rock anemone from a BTA which it thinks is a cuddle toy.

 

[Emma_fish]

Ok so today I have bin to my Local Fish shop and got my rock ,water and some colony Bacteria in a bottle but I didn’t get enough of that ! So I came home and aquascaped my rock and then put in my sand and then I filled it up only to realise that I didn’t have enough water so I decided I would go back to the fish shop tomorrow to get more water I put in the filter ,heater and light anyway and this is where we are up to I have one question if I get mor colony tomorrow and put that in then can I add a hardy fish tomorrow right after adding colony? ( obviously when it’s heated up and I’ve put the rest of the water in )

 

[Emma_fish]

Got it completely filled today finally and wondering when will be best to add fish and which beneficial bacteria is best to use I have had it running for a week with no ammonia source hoping to add fish next weekend but if I could add any sooner that would be great :)

 

[Emma_fish]

So it has been a week and the test results read :
Ammonia : 0.5ppm
Nitrate : 0 - 0.25 ppm
Nitrite : 0 - 0.25 ppm
I tested my Ph last weeks it is 8.2
I have half the amount of colony bacteria I need and I have added some stabalise bacteria I am hoping to add fish this Sunday is there any way I can get the levels right in time ? Will the colony bring the ammonia back down if I get the right dose or will the stabalise have don’t it already should I add it again ?because there are still high ammonia levels

 

[Emma_fish]

Ok so I had a little fun today editing the fish that I wanted to keep into a picture of my tank ( btw I have changed my mind about the green clown goby I’m going to get a watchman goby instead ) I also will have some clean up crew (not sure what yet ) and also may add another kind of fish

 

[Emma_fish]

I got the clowns a while back now and forgot to post on here ‍(facepalm) But here are the pictures from when I first got them

 

[Emma_fish]

Then I got my start to cleanup crew around a month later
2 hermit crabs
2 snails
1 blood shrimp

 

[Emma_fish]

And here I am now I need some more CUC but I cant get it because of Covid my lfs isn’t selling livestock I dont think and as it’s winter here I don’t want to get them in the post
and I’m thinking of corals now but I may need a new light as I think the light I have is for freshwater and it has the option for rainbow which I don’t like the idea of so I keep it on white or blue
the tank is about 3 months old
I just put in a few more shells for my hermit crabs yesterday and my blood shrimp “sabastian “ is his name wanted to get inside one but he is to big !

 

[HWY61]

And here I am now I need some more CUC but I cant get it because of Covid my lfs isn’t selling livestock I dont think and as it’s winter here I don’t want to get them in the post
and I’m thinking of corals now but I may need a new light as I think the light I have is for freshwater and it has the option for rainbow which I don’t like the idea of so I keep it on white or blue
the tank is about 3 months old
I just put in a few more shells for my hermit crabs yesterday and my blood shrimp “sabastian “ is his name wanted to get inside one but he is to big !

yeah your light can probably only grow xenia and I bet a candle flame could do that from across the room. If you plan to do a BTA, definitely upgrade it. I prefer to upgrade lights before adding any photosensitive animals like corals, nems, or clams. FluvalSea is a good budget option that can grow most stuff you’ll be getting into, but if you have the wallet you’ll love yourself a year from now if you buy a Kessil.

Looks great, man. The only thing I gotta say is a wheeler’s goby is a more colorful option over the watchman (if you’re still planning on it.) When I got into the hobby, I opted for the tried-and-true bulletproof animals without considering similar ones with similar care requirements. Just a thought and suggestion. Looks awesome!

 

[Emma_fish]

yeah your light can probably only grow xenia and I bet a candle flame could do that from across the room. If you plan to do a BTA, definitely upgrade it. I prefer to upgrade lights before adding any photosensitive animals like corals, nems, or clams. FluvalSea is a good budget option that can grow most stuff you’ll be getting into, but if you have the wallet you’ll love yourself a year from now if you buy a Kessil.

Looks great, man. The only thing I gotta say is a wheeler’s goby is a more colorful option over the watchman (if you’re still planning on it.) When I got into the hobby, I opted for the tried-and-true bulletproof animals without considering similar ones with similar care requirements. Just a thought and suggestion. Looks awesome!

Thank you ! yeah I’m not sure about more fish as I really love my shrimp and all inverts to be fair so maybe one or 2 more inverts I’m not sure but I want to focous on coral for a while after I’ve gotten my clean up crew as It can be tricky and I want to get it right as it’s my first time if anyone has any tips let me know !:D

 

[Aqua Man]

Xenia is a good coral to start with. Nice movement in the water, very relaxing to watch.
what kind of snails did you get?

 

[Emma_fish]

Xenia is a good coral to start with. Nice movement in the water, very relaxing to watch.
what kind of snails did you get?

Will the Xenia not spread like everywhere if I’m not in the tank cutting it back every week ?
I got nerite snails ( to be honest i cant really remember that well but i think its nerite )

 

[Dark_Knightt]

Tank looks great, nice red coloration on all of your CUC lol.
1. BTA and feather dusters arent corals ;) theyre inverts; feather dusters are actually a type of worm, and the BTA can move around, unlike corals.
2. I just got a banded serpent starfish yesterday, not the most active because they are nocturnal but they look fun and I hope to see him/her come out during feeding.
3. You could add some nassarius snails, they are excellent at cleaning the sandbed. Very entertaining as well.
4. Beginner corals I recommend : zoanthids, xenia, GSP, mushrooms (specifically discosoma or ricordea florida), and I have heard that hammer corals are quite easy. But definitely start off with some soft corals, see how that goes.

 

[Aqua Man]

Xenia does spread. It’s part of the fun though, to watch it grow! Placing some on a small island rock will help keep it contained.

 

[Emma_fish]

Tank looks great, nice red coloration on all of your CUC lol.
1. BTA and feather dusters arent corals ;) theyre inverts; feather dusters are actually a type of worm, and the BTA can move around, unlike corals.
2. I just got a banded serpent starfish yesterday, not the most active because they are nocturnal but they look fun and I hope to see him/her come out during feeding.
3. You could add some nassarius snails, they are excellent at cleaning the sandbed. Very entertaining as well.
4. Beginner corals I recommend : zoanthids, xenia, GSP, mushrooms (specifically discosoma or ricordea florida), and I have heard that hammer corals are quite easy. But definitely start off with some soft corals, see how that goes.

I love the sound of I sea star so much I will have to do a bit more research though because I don’t like the brittle and serpent sea stars so what kind would you recommend that are reef safe?
I don’t really want Zoas because of the risk of palytoxin I would just rather not have the risk as I would stress out and likely never touch my tank again - bad
I like hammers so I will have a closer look into those and do GSP spread like Xenia’s ?