20 Gallon Fowlr Setup And Stocking

[nikm128]

Setup:
20 gallon tank
Filter Aqueon 30 (200gph)
Powerhead Hydor Koralia nano (240gph)
Heater Aqueon Pro 200w
Skimmer Hydor SlI'm Skim
Lights Stock hood lights
20lbs Live Rock
Sand Substrate
Am I missing anything?
Stock:
3-4 Pajama Cardinalfish
2 ocellaris clowns
The I want a Goby, but there are too many to choose from. So here's the list of contenders:
Broadstripe Goby, Catalina Goby, Court Jester Goby, Decorated Goby, Dracula Goby
Firefish if I have any room
Thoughts and comments/suggestions?

 

[Jesterrace]

Is this a 20 gallon Long or standard 20 gallon? The long offers more stocking options since saltwater fish value horizontal swimming room. You can eliminate the Catalina Goby right off the bat as they don't do well in reef tanks (they prefer temps in the 72-74 degree range, which is too cold for the other fish). Dracula Goby is cool looking, but IMHO too expensive for the amount of time they spend hiding. If you want a similar looks at a much lower cost, I suggest looking into the hi-fin goby. Pajama Cardinalfish don't school as well as they claim (can fin nip and go after each other) and a 20 gallon is really too small for a school of them. No saltwater fish will school really well long term in a 20 gallon tank. I would keep a max of 4 fish in a 20 gallon tank. So the pair of clowns, 1 PJ Cardinalfish and one other fish from your wishlist.

 

[nikm128]

It's just a standard 20, I wasn't sure about the pajama cardinals anyway because live aquaria says 20 gallon in the quick stats thing, but says 30 in the overview. Is there anything you would suggest replacing them with?
Wow, I just noticed how much a Dracula goby is....I might as well buy a new tank for that price. The hi-fin looks like a much better option.
Oh, I forgot to mention that I would like some cleaner shrimp or other inverts, otherwise I wouldn't be getting a skimmer. Do I have room for inverts with a stock like this:
2 ocellaris clowns
1 hi-fin goby
1 exquisite firefish
What do you think of the Court Jester goby? I'm liking its looks as well

 

[Jesterrace]

The court jester goby is a nice little fish that will occupy more of the lower and mid level of the tank, rather than the bottom like most gobies do. They do sift sand a bit and can dump sand a little. Firefish are nice looking, but many are super skittish and will hide a good portion of the time. IMHO an Exquisite is too much to spend on a firefish. Live Aquaria is overpriced on the Purple. Many LFS have the Purple for $25-$30. I would go with the Purple instead of the Exquisite for that reason.

 

[nikm128]

Ok so in order of stocking:
Purple firefish
hi-fin, court jester, or neon blue goby. So hard to choose!!
2 ocellaris clowns
1(?) cleaner shrimp
Snails? Some for algae on the glass, some to burrow and help make sure I don't end up with dead spots in the sand?

Do you see any issues with the equipment I picked?

 

[Jesterrace]

No issues that I see with the equipment. I would've skipped the skimmer (nano skimmers are only marginally effective) but if it is working well for you then it should be okay. Stocking sounds great. For snails, a single conch would clean the sandbed for you in a tank of that size. For glass Astrea and/or Trochus would be fine.

 

[nikm128]

Don't I need a skimmer to have shrimp though? I haven't gotten it yet so it would be great to save some money if I don't need it.

 

[Jesterrace]

Don't I need a skimmer to have shrimp though? I haven't gotten it yet so it would be great to save some money if I don't need it.

Nope, I had a cleaner shrimp for months without one in my old 36 gallon bowfront and it had no issues whatsoever and many folks with smaller tanks have had shrimp for years with no issues. All protein skimmers do is help remove excess protein waste and help promote coralline algae growth/oxygen production. The problem is that many nano skimmers don't really do the greatest job at any of those. If you got one for cheap that would be one thing, but many of these nano skimmers cost far more than they are worth and only provide marginal benefit. Unless you are getting an Eshoppes PSK-75H or 100H or a Reef Octopus Classic 100 you are just better off saving your money, sticking to regular weekly partial water changes, sticking to a clean food source (ie LRS Reef Frenzy) and don't overfeed, you should be fine. LRS Reef Frenzy is simply amazing as it provides basically an all in one diet for your fish, inverts and even corals. Here is everything it provides:

 

[nikm128]

Sweet, all the Hydor skimmers are around or over $100 so I will gladly save that money for the fish.
When you feed the reef frenzy, do you just cut a little square off of it and drop it in the tank?

 

[Jesterrace]

Yes,

Depending on how many fish you have, I would go between a 1/8 and 1/4 inch cube (approximately) with each feeding. This will be plenty. What I do is when I get a package of Reef Frenzy from my LFS, I break off a good sized piece and then put the big package into the freezer. I then cut the broken off piece into the desired size mentioned and then put the cut up pieces in a ziploc bag. This makes it really easy to feed as you simply pull out the pre-cut chunk and put the ziploc bag of cut pieces back in the freezer and mash up the piece for the feeding and drop it in the tank. You repeat this process maybe monthly or every 6-8 weeks with breaking off a big chunk and pre-cutting it. I've done this method for a couple of years and it works pretty well.