My Very First Saltwater Tank

Hello! I have been in the fish tank hobby for a while but its been purely freshwater. I feel that I am ready to start up my first saltwater tank. I am going to be doing a 20 gallon long since I have an extra one laying around. I'm doing the most simple and cheap set up I can do to try and make it easier on me. I'm going to be using a hob filter with a built in protein skimmer, a heater if necessary, a wave maker, and some sort of light. I plan on using live rock and live sand in the tank. While I love browsing the saltwater section I don't know much about stocking a tank. I'm curious to know how I should stock it. I want to have a clown fish if possible but I really have no idea if that's possible. I want a really cool looking tank but I also want a tank with fish that will be hardy and low maintenance. If you could leave suggestions for a stocking list it would be greatly appreciated.

 

The YouTuber Susan Nichols has one of my favorite 20 gallon long reef tanks and she talak a lot about how be very simple and cost effective.

 

I'm guessing you will you be doing a fowlr ?way you can get away with not having a skimmer and using a hob with macro or gfo instead of a sponge. Have you also tought of an rodI unit as well it will save you headaches. Where the set ups get pricer are reef tanks. I can tell you nothing happens fast in this hobby and do your research it will save you money.

 

Hello! I have been in the fish tank hobby for a while but its been purely freshwater. I feel that I am ready to start up my first saltwater tank. I am going to be doing a 20 gallon long since I have an extra one laying around. I'm doing the most simple and cheap set up I can do to try and make it easier on me. I'm going to be using a hob filter with a built in protein skimmer, a heater if necessary, a wave maker, and some sort of light. I plan on using live rock and live sand in the tank. While I love browsing the saltwater section I don't know much about stocking a tank. I'm curious to know how I should stock it. I want to have a clown fish if possible but I really have no idea if that's possible. I want a really cool looking tank but I also want a tank with fish that will be hardy and low maintenance. If you could leave suggestions for a stocking list it would be greatly appreciated.

As mentioned above if you are willing to forego coral you can cut the equipment and startup costs considerably. A basic LED light will work for fish only. A pair of Ocellaris (aka Nemo) or Percula varient clowns will work in a 20 Long as will one or two other smaller fish. This will help give you an idea of how to setup a 20 Long FOWLR:

 

As mentioned above if you are willing to forego coral you can cut the equipment and startup costs considerably. A basic LED light will work for fish only. A pair of Ocellaris (aka Nemo) or Percula varient clowns will work in a 20 Long as will one or two other smaller fish. This will help give you an idea of how to setup a 20 Long FOWLR:

Thank you so much! This really helped me and opened my eyes to how I could make this really easy on myself for my first tank. Due to your information I will be doing a fish only tank. If I use dry rock and I want to add corals at a later point would I have to replace it with live rock? Or can corals grow on dry rock? I think I’m going to go with the stocking you recommended

 

Dry rock overtime turns into live rock when bb grow on the rock.for a reef set up a better light will be needed which are expenisve compared to planted lights.

 

Give this video a watch. Relatively simple to set-up a nano reef tank.

 

Give this video a watch. Relatively simple to set-up a nano reef tank.

OMG!! I have a leftover 10 gal I was thinking of making a F/W Puffer tank, but after seeing this... mannnnn!!!

 

And you can totally keep a pair of ocellaris clowns in a 20L. I had a black pair in a 20L with just LR and sand for a couple of years. You can do the HOB or just a skimmer - if you don't have coral either is fine. Also, with even the most basic of LED lights, you can keep a frilly mushroom coral for your clowns to snuggle in rather than a fake nem or nothing at all. It's not a requirement for them, but it sure is cool to see them acting more naturally. Careful though, mushrooms are what we call a "gateway coral" Good luck! Can't wait to see your build....I remember those days

 

Thank you so much! This really helped me and opened my eyes to how I could make this really easy on myself for my first tank. Due to your information I will be doing a fish only tank. If I use dry rock and I want to add corals at a later point would I have to replace it with live rock? Or can corals grow on dry rock? I think I’m going to go with the stocking you recommended

As mentioned above dry rock will work you seed it with bacteria and then add a sourced of ammonia and it will establish good bacteria to become live again. Just be aware that the dry rock from Amazon probably isn't cured (ie have left over dead matter and phosphates) so you will definitely want to scrub it down real good or you will get a major phosphate leaching problem (which will produce out of control algae problems and other issues). It would double the cost of that rock but if you don't want to deal with the hassle of curing and waiting for bacteria to develop you can go with the Caribsea Life Rock:



I have used it in both of my tanks and it's nice stuff since it is cured and has a dormant bacteria coating on it. You also won't be stuck trying to figure out what to do with 20lbs of extra rock like you would with that dry rock as 20lbs is about perfect for what you need for your tank. I definitely don't recommend a fake 'nem. I just don't trust Made In China rubber to something as corrosive as saltwater. Most Clowns are captive bred these days and some have no idea with what to do with a 'nem (fake or real). This light is a few dollars more but you could likely sell it for close to what you paid for it if you upgrade later and it gives you multiple color options:



I did a review of the Caribsea Life Rock weighing Pros and Cons here: