New tank today!

[AquariumDani]

Hello!

My name is Dani. I am a 22 year old female who just started her first tank 2 hours ago! I am a full time graduate student (4 class, 4 hours, 4 days), and have a 25 hour fellowship. I will be graduating in May 2019. The tank is 20G with about 30lbs live sand and 25 lbs live rock. Once the sand settles, I will be starting the cycling process!

Future aspirations:
I’ve already started thinking fish (I know, early. But excited!):
-Pair of clown fish (basic )
-1 Firefish
-Clean up crew (undecided. Figured the nearby LFS would help me when it’s time to add these guys) And I’ll be sure to add them first!
-I eventually want to move from FOWLR to a reef tank. Can I have fish and corals in a 20g?
-I am hoping by August I will be upgrading my tank. I am still debating if I want to gradually get bigger (20g, 55g, 75g, 100g) or take the leap in August and go to 100g.

If you have any tips moving forward, please let me know!! As well, if you have favorite equipment or set ups - I’d love to know about them!

 

[ndrwater]

Welcome to R2R!! You'll like it here!!
Congrats on your new adventure!!
You absolutely can have fish and corals in a 20 gallon

 

[SPR1968]

Hi Dani and welcome to R2R!

And we need lots of pictures of your new fish tank!

 

[reef lover]

#Welcometor2r !!

 

[KJ]

Welcome to R2R Dani!

 

[hdsoftail1065]

Welcome to R2R Dani!!! Early congrats on your Grad school completion! I remember how I felt when I was just a couple of months from finishing, totally burned out!

Let's see some pics of that 20 gallon!

 

[RazorD]

Congrats! As said above, fish and corals are fine in that size (assuming filtration, lights, etc). I ran a 6 gallon nano for a few years for my son’s tank.

As for the upgrading, I’d say do it once and go to the size you want. No sense in wasting time and money on small gradual upgrades imo if the ultimate goal is 100g (as an example). Just my opinion. Good luck

 

[IslandLifeReef]

Welcome to R2R Dani!

You can have fish in a 20g reef, just make sure that all fish are reef safe. I would stay away from any angels even if they are considered reef safe because in such a small space, they may be more tempted to taste your coral.

 

[Captain Quint]

@AquariumDani welcome to R2R and congrats on Grad school and the Fellowship! No an easy journey for sure.

When the time draws near on the build please post some pics and let's talk equipment and future plans after you finish up in May. I'm sure your plate is more than full at the moment.

Please keep us updated and we love pics.

 

[lapin]

Howdy

 

[JumboShrimp]

We’re so happy for you! Don’t forget to check out a small Fighting Conch as part of your CUC— they’re cool!

 

[AquariumDani]

Thank you for all the warm welcomes!

I will definitely post some pics when the tank is ready I'm obsessive with having it perfect before even showing my friends!
Right now, I need to lower the nitrates and lower the salinity, the nitrate is around 5.0ppm and the salinity is 1.028/1.029. I have a filter on my tap water, and I thought I could get away with just that for right now - but I need to shop around for an RO/DI system to lower the nitrate right now, I believe.

 

[AquariumDani]

We’re so happy for you! Don’t forget to check out a small Fighting Conch as part of your CUC— they’re cool!

I will look into those!

 

[Lovemyreef2015]

#welcometor2r

 

[JumboShrimp]

Likely the filter won’t cut it. Better to buy 89-cent distilled gallon jugs at the supermarket, and then get your RODI system a.s.a.p. Best wishes!

 

[Jason mack]

Welcome to R2R, happy reefing!

 

[Billldg]

Welcome to R2R!!! Congrats on the new tank!!!

 

[Crabs McJones]

Welcome to R2R Dani and thanks for saying hello

 

[saltyhog]

Welcome to R2R! and the most additive hobby you will ever have!

You can definitely have fish and coral in a 20gal! I have fish/coral/shrimp/crab in a 1o gallon. You just have to be careful with what species you get and be careful not to over do it!

 

[Salty Lemon]

Hello!

My name is Dani. I am a 22 year old female who just started her first tank 2 hours ago! I am a full time graduate student (4 class, 4 hours, 4 days), and have a 25 hour fellowship. I will be graduating in May 2019. The tank is 20G with about 30lbs live sand and 25 lbs live rock. Once the sand settles, I will be starting the cycling process!

Future aspirations:
I’ve already started thinking fish (I know, early. But excited!):
-Pair of clown fish (basic )
-1 Firefish
-Clean up crew (undecided. Figured the nearby LFS would help me when it’s time to add these guys) And I’ll be sure to add them first!
-I eventually want to move from FOWLR to a reef tank. Can I have fish and corals in a 20g?
-I am hoping by August I will be upgrading my tank. I am still debating if I want to gradually get bigger (20g, 55g, 75g, 100g) or take the leap in August and go to 100g.

If you have any tips moving forward, please let me know!! As well, if you have favorite equipment or set ups - I’d love to know about them!

Welcome Dani! You are lucky to be finishing graduate school now...when I went back to grad school, I had a job, two babies and a mortgage. The entire time I was telling myself that I should have done it when I was young. Congratulations on your last semester! I love 20 gal tanks -- it will look great. Be certain to start a build thread and post photos. Welcome to R2R! You will love it here.