Starting New Tank!

jreynolds13

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I recently just purchased a JBJ rimless 20 gallon tank as my first saltwater tank (had to go small due to budget since I’m in college). I bought 10 pounds of Live Rock, and saltwater from my reef store along with some turbostart bacteria that the reef store suggested. Im now going to be testing my water to get all the levels to where I need to before moving any further. Since it is my first tank, I have tons of questions! I’ve been reading books and things online about advice but there’s so much and I don’t know what half of it means. I know I need a few things before I get any fish or corals in my tank. I currently don’t have a light, heater, Wave maker, Protein skimmer, or a surface skimmer. Anything else that would be helpful for my tank and survival of my fish?

As for fish, I’m looking into clownfish and a Valentino puffer. I’m not sure if the puffer would be too difficult especially as it’s my first salt water tank? Is it difficult to feed them meaty foods? Also, is there any good anemones for the clown fish that won’t bother the Puffer that cost less than $100?

I have a lot of other questions and I’m sure I will be asking them on here since many of you are aquarium masters. Excited for the future of my tank and appreciate any advice including fish to look into, equipment to buy for my tank etc.
 

GoReefin

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A puffer in a 20g tank is a stretch.
Don't plan on adding an anemone until the tanks settles around 6 months to a year. You can hold off on a wave maker. If you plan on keeping an anemone or sps coral don't skimp on the light. Get a titanium heater. Maybe look into a HOB refugium. Skimmer wont be necessary if you don't have a large bio load. I'd see where your nitrates and phosphates are after you cycle and add your bio load before looking into skimmers. Frequent water changes will be your friend. Welcome to salt water. Be careful the equipment is usually the cheapest part of the system!
 

CMMorgan

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I recently just purchased a JBJ rimless 20 gallon tank as my first saltwater tank (had to go small due to budget since I’m in college). I bought 10 pounds of Live Rock, and saltwater from my reef store along with some turbostart bacteria that the reef store suggested. Im now going to be testing my water to get all the levels to where I need to before moving any further. Since it is my first tank, I have tons of questions! I’ve been reading books and things online about advice but there’s so much and I don’t know what half of it means. I know I need a few things before I get any fish or corals in my tank. I currently don’t have a light, heater, Wave maker, Protein skimmer, or a surface skimmer. Anything else that would be helpful for my tank and survival of my fish?

As for fish, I’m looking into clownfish and a Valentino puffer. I’m not sure if the puffer would be too difficult especially as it’s my first salt water tank? Is it difficult to feed them meaty foods? Also, is there any good anemones for the clown fish that won’t bother the Puffer that cost less than $100?

I have a lot of other questions and I’m sure I will be asking them on here since many of you are aquarium masters. Excited for the future of my tank and appreciate any advice including fish to look into, equipment to buy for my tank etc.
Hey J!
Welcome to the fishy family!!
You are off to a good start. I have had a Valentini Puffer. It was super cute but also very delicate. It got eaten in it's sleep. I had him in a nano tank too... pretty sure the CUC nabbed him while he slept.
Clowns are super hardy and they come in many varieties. I have three different clowns but I am very partial to my snowflake.... Mr. Wiggles. (It's just the way he swims - cracks me up.) You can get a nice rose bubble tip pretty inexpensively. On a side note, I have a percula clown that has adopted my waving hand xenia as it's host.
You are only limited by your creativity and your budget. Have fun!!
We're here to help!
big eyes fish GIF
 

CMMorgan

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Hello and welcome! Lots of info on here, its my fish bible. Just go slow as you can
20200708_233332.jpg
OMG - You've met my six line wrasse, Ruby! How did you get her to pose for the picture. LOL
 
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jreynolds13

jreynolds13

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A puffer in a 20g tank is a stretch.
Don't plan on adding an anemone until the tanks settles around 6 months to a year. You can hold off on a wave maker. If you plan on keeping an anemone or sps coral don't skimp on the light. Get a titanium heater. Maybe look into a HOB refugium. Skimmer wont be necessary if you don't have a large bio load. I'd see where your nitrates and phosphates are after you cycle and add your bio load before looking into skimmers. Frequent water changes will be your friend. Welcome to salt water. Be careful the equipment is usually the cheapest part of the
Thanks for the advice! My store offers RO water for pretty cheap. Is it worth it to stock up on about 15 gallons of it for water changes, or is it better to use tap water and add my own salt? I’m worried that the tap water will contain unwanted chemicals. Also, do water changes mess with the cycle at all?
 

WirelessMike

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Thanks for the advice! My store offers RO water for pretty cheap. Is it worth it to stock up on about 15 gallons of it for water changes, or is it better to use tap water and add my own salt? I’m worried that the tap water will contain unwanted chemicals. Also, do water changes mess with the cycle at all?
RO....RO....RO. No question! Don’t get tempted with tap. Especially in a smaller tank like you are setting up. Just my two cents, but it’s worth it to have the best quality water possible
 

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Depending on where you are specifically (down to the piping in your building/house) dechlorinated tap might be ok but also take a lot more research to be sure. If you can spare then money a rodi system will give you a lot of bang for the buck in terms of avoiding future problems.

Start slow and be patient. A lot of new reefer stumble because they tried to do too much too fast.

Gl and welcome to r2r.
 
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jreynolds13

jreynolds13

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A puffer in a 20g tank is a stretch.
Don't plan on adding an anemone until the tanks settles around 6 months to a year. You can hold off on a wave maker. If you plan on keeping an anemone or sps coral don't skimp on the light. Get a titanium heater. Maybe look into a HOB refugium. Skimmer wont be necessary if you don't have a large bio load. I'd see where your nitrates and phosphates are after you cycle and add your bio load before looking into skimmers. Frequent water changes will be your friend. Welcome to salt water. Be careful the equipment is usually the cheapest part of the system!
When you say bioload, do you mean fish and other livestock?
 

GoReefin

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Look into an auto top off if you plan on being away from the tank for a day or 2 at a time.
When you say bioload, do you mean fish and other livestock?
Yes but mostly fish. With Reef tanks you want ways to export nutrients if you have to many fish your nutrient will be high. Exporting usually through a few different ways. Water changes, refugiums with macro algae or mangroves, live rock usually 1 pound per gallon of water, vodka dosing, algae turf scrubber are just some of the many ways to combat high nitrates, phosphates, and nitrites.
 
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jreynolds13

jreynolds13

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Update, this is how far I’ve gotten so far. Waiting for the cycling to finish before moving forward. Next step would be to get lights, and a heater? Maybe another live rock as well.
 

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GoReefin

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Update, this is how far I’ve gotten so far. Waiting for the cycling to finish before moving forward. Next step would be to get lights, and a heater? Maybe another live rock as well.
Looking like a great start. Grab a heater as temp fluctuations are not great to have for any salt water inhabitants. I'd grab another peice of live rock. It not only harbors beneficial bacteria but it also gives your fish a safe place to sleep and places to hide when stressed.
 

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Do I want to go LED or Fluorescent? That might be a little pricy for me. Any cheaper suggestions?

Id suggest LED, nems are light hungry creatures and also coral lighting requirements is actually a pretty specific to each species so you will want to invest in a good light that both offers enough PAR output and also the customization to the specific spectrums. Nems usually like strong light. I'm personally a big fan of AI prime 16hd. I have 2 on my 29G for the spread bc its long tank dimension. For your square tank 1 would be perfect. It'd also future proof your tankbif you want to get more light hungry corals later on.

If budget is issue, t5 could work too but that has a higher upkeep cost (use more electricity, and the need to change out bulbs periodically, + maybe a par meter to check if the bulbs are still outputting the right light as it degrades). LED is more a 1 time thing that can last you years.

If you do want to keep nems, since your are still trying to update aquascape, i would suggest you add some more "structure" to it - with overhangs, platforms, caves, peaks, shades, alcoves,etc... aquascape isn't just for aesthetic - its design also serves spefic purposes to create areas of different lighting and flow conditions. So the more varied conditoons your rock features allow, the more flexibility you have in terms of coral choice. nems like high light and high flow,,but if you want to add a lot of corals, a lot of the popular corals run the gamut of high/low flow/lighting so requirement would be a pretty wide range. Having a very diverse structure would allow a lot of different spots with different light intensities. Nems and SPS can go on the peaks and platforms closer to light. LPS and other low light corals can go on the base, sides, and under shades where there the light is not too intense.
 

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