Surskit
Active Member
Heyo! I started my tank a few months ago but never really documented it, so I figured I'd post it here. It's a 20 gallon, I'd love to upgrade when I can but at the moment I just don't have enough space for a big upgrade to be super possible, but I could probably eventually grow to something like a 30-40 gallon. At the moment I'm running a filter by Aqueon, I forget the exact name but it's rated for my tank size, and I modified it so I could use my own filter sponges instead of the normal cartridges. It's more maintenance and cleaning but I prefer that over having to buy new cartridges every month. For lights I have a current marine orbit that I got secondhand for a really nice deal, I had some issues at first but I figured out how to solve them and now it runs like a dream. As far as powerheads go, mine's just a cheapo one from petco (I don't have a job, so money is pretty tight and I have to settle sometimes) but I think that it'll be one of the very first things that I upgrade about my setup.
I also started my tank on some really not great advice, that led to a lot of problems in the earlier stages. The big ones being that 1: I was told live rock really wasn't necessary- upon seeing the price of live rock- I decided to just not look more into it and go with cheap rocks. 2: I was told that RoDi water was optional, and that dechlorinated tap water would be fine. I think that that advice may work well for a simple fish only setup, but even without me adding any corals yet the tank's been messy as a result. I've had a massive problem with cyano, which only recently got better as I switched out about half of my rocks for live rock and started using RoDi water instead of my dechlorinated tap water. It's still pretty gross now, but it's getting better fast and that's giving me a lot of hope for the future.
As far as livestock goes, I think my setup is pretty beginner, but with a few stranger picks that I think give it some character, though if I upgrade my tank size I'd definitely go stranger. I have two clownfish (I believe they're Ocellaris but I got them so long ago I can't really remember), a Red Firefish, a Yellow Watchman Goby, a Tiger Pistol Shrimp, a Tiger Conch, a Purple Short Spine Pincushion Urchin, and an assortment of craps and snails that serve as clean up crew. As far as extra inhabitants to add, I'm really about done. I want to possible add a Skunk Cleaner Shrimp, and maybe some form of small Blenny, but I think my tank is pretty packed as is and I'd rather save that money on getting corals once I get my tank cleaned up. As for coral plans, I really have two that I'm pretty set on, but I structured my tank to allow for three. I'm pretty dead set that I want a big Zoa Colony at this certain spot quite close to the front of my tank. And I also really want to get some form of Toadstool Leather (preferably one with longer tentacles, but I'm not fully sure). For the last spot I'm really not sure. I might try and get some form of small LPS after I get comfortable with the softies, but if I'm not as confident I might end up going for a more interesting softie, like a Green Kenya Tree or maybe even a Bounce Mushroom.
I believe that's all that I have to say, but if you have any questions about my setup please feel free to ask!
I also started my tank on some really not great advice, that led to a lot of problems in the earlier stages. The big ones being that 1: I was told live rock really wasn't necessary- upon seeing the price of live rock- I decided to just not look more into it and go with cheap rocks. 2: I was told that RoDi water was optional, and that dechlorinated tap water would be fine. I think that that advice may work well for a simple fish only setup, but even without me adding any corals yet the tank's been messy as a result. I've had a massive problem with cyano, which only recently got better as I switched out about half of my rocks for live rock and started using RoDi water instead of my dechlorinated tap water. It's still pretty gross now, but it's getting better fast and that's giving me a lot of hope for the future.
As far as livestock goes, I think my setup is pretty beginner, but with a few stranger picks that I think give it some character, though if I upgrade my tank size I'd definitely go stranger. I have two clownfish (I believe they're Ocellaris but I got them so long ago I can't really remember), a Red Firefish, a Yellow Watchman Goby, a Tiger Pistol Shrimp, a Tiger Conch, a Purple Short Spine Pincushion Urchin, and an assortment of craps and snails that serve as clean up crew. As far as extra inhabitants to add, I'm really about done. I want to possible add a Skunk Cleaner Shrimp, and maybe some form of small Blenny, but I think my tank is pretty packed as is and I'd rather save that money on getting corals once I get my tank cleaned up. As for coral plans, I really have two that I'm pretty set on, but I structured my tank to allow for three. I'm pretty dead set that I want a big Zoa Colony at this certain spot quite close to the front of my tank. And I also really want to get some form of Toadstool Leather (preferably one with longer tentacles, but I'm not fully sure). For the last spot I'm really not sure. I might try and get some form of small LPS after I get comfortable with the softies, but if I'm not as confident I might end up going for a more interesting softie, like a Green Kenya Tree or maybe even a Bounce Mushroom.
I believe that's all that I have to say, but if you have any questions about my setup please feel free to ask!
