# planning a saltwater tank, i need all the information



## musho3210 (Dec 28, 2006)

I will be planning to get a 20 gallon saltwater tank that will house 2 tank bred oscelaris clownfish. I will plan on getting an atlantic anemone. I need all the information i can get about saltwater because i know very little about it. Please give me some tips, i dont mind doing lots of diy stuff to save money as well so if you have diy tips go ahead and say so


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## Matt (Jan 20, 2007)

1st off, buy Some Instant Ocean Salt.
2nd, Hydrometer.
3rd, Live Rock(If Wanted)
4th, Live Sand(If Wanted)
5th, Organize Tank
See....Easy..

But thats not everything.


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## Brandon (Dec 14, 2006)

Are you gonna do a sump or just a fuge?


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## trreherd (Aug 7, 2006)

Well i know everone here willl give you crap about putting a anenamone in a 20 gallon.(inless you get a cube like mike sugjested :wink


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## Matt (Jan 20, 2007)

trreherd said:


> Well i know everone here willl give you crap about putting a anenamone in a 20 gallon.(inless you get a cube like mike sugjested :wink


what do u mean?


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## trreherd (Aug 7, 2006)

I asked them and they all said there is no anenamone that will fit in a 20 gallon tank(i asked them if i could put one in my 20 gallon) they said all the anenamones would grow tooo big. but then mike said you can keep an anenamone in a 20 gallon cube aquarium.


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## Matt (Jan 20, 2007)

You Can Get a Corn or Pink tip Anenome.


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## usmc121581 (Jul 31, 2006)

trreherd said:


> I asked them and they all said there is no anenamone that will fit in a 20 gallon tank(i asked them if i could put one in my 20 gallon) they said all the anenamones would grow tooo big. but then mike said you can keep an anenamone in a 20 gallon cube aquarium.


Yes all anemones will get to big for a 20, but if any anemone I would prefer would be this one:

http://www.saltwaterfish.com/site_1...ategory=4&category_search=63&root_parent_id=4

I have had one in a 20 for 6 months now and have two clowns that host in it. NOw wait dont rush off and get on with a clown becuase it is RARE that any type of clown will host in it. And they move alot. Mine hasn't moved ever and I hope it stays like that.


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## musho3210 (Dec 28, 2006)

matt, i told you you needed that stuff, as i told you i knew the basics, i recomended you to get that hydrometer, remember?


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## Matt (Jan 20, 2007)

musho3210 said:


> matt, i told you you needed that stuff, as i told you i knew the basics, i recomended you to get that hydrometer, remember?


I Have a Hydrometer, rock, sand, corals, and salt but its in the garage.


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## musho3210 (Dec 28, 2006)

well now you can see if you can use florida sea water for an oscelarias clownfish.


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## musho3210 (Dec 28, 2006)

Hey mike, is that an atlantic anemone you were talking about to me? I dont think i'll mind it getting to big. Also, you said your clowns use it, what type of clowns do you have?


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## musho3210 (Dec 28, 2006)

I need help on not what to get, but how to take care of my tank, like i know saltwater fish like a ph above 8.0 but my tap water is 7.5. Stuff like that, and how to moniter salt conditions, and other stuff. I dont live near a sea and personally i woulnd use fresh sea water since i dont know whats in it so i will need to make my own saltwater from using tap water. Should i use tap water or reverse osmosis?


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## musho3210 (Dec 28, 2006)

for filtration i was thinking of using a protien skimmer and live rock, and live sand only.

I know how much rock i need at a minimum (1-1 1/2 pound of live rock) And matt, this part isnt optional since it carrys beneficial bacteria which helps your tank ALOT, its not all for looks. Also i was thinking of 50% live sand and 50% of non live sand.


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## Matt (Jan 20, 2007)

musho3210 said:


> I know how much rock i need at a minimum (1-1 1/2 pound of live rock) And matt, this part isnt optional since it carrys beneficial bacteria which helps your tank ALOT, its not all for looks. Also i was thinking of 50% live sand and 50% of non live sand.


What? I Have More then minimal amount of live rock.


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## musho3210 (Dec 28, 2006)

Matt said:


> 1st off, buy Some Instant Ocean Salt.
> 2nd, Hydrometer.
> 3rd, Live Rock(If Wanted)
> 4th, Live Sand(If Wanted)
> ...


i was talking about that post, you said live rock (if wanted) i was saying not if wanted, its needed, i know you have more than minimal


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## caferacermike (Oct 3, 2006)

Clowns will not host to Atlantic anemones, it's a foreign object to them.

Corn and BTA anemones in the proper set up will quickly outgrow a 20g. It's up to you if you want to try it. Personally I feel that anemones need pristine water conditions and since they can be polluters they should have plenty of extra water volume to displace that pollution. Also many anemones need high flow conditions to properly exude their mucous coatings. High flow in a small tanks can be difficult as it is hard to not make it direct flow.

For set up I'd get

30lbs of aragonite
a bucket of seachem reef
a nice light set up. Maybe something in the neighborhood of at least 100w.
a protein skimmer is not necessary but can be useful if you are not the regular water change kinda person.
flow. Some sort of flow would be nice.
a hydrometer
a big ol bucket of patience.
Some test kits would be a great idea.
a few pounds of live rock to seed the tank. buy as much as you can or plan to add more. 20lbs for Fowlr or 30 lbs for a reef would be a good idea.
more patience.
an idea of what you want it to look like, be it from pics online or magazines.
You'll need to decide if you want some sort of mechanical filtration or not.
books.
magazines.
local friends to rely on.
candy. 
patience.
money. $$$
clean water source. 

I'd skip the tap water. If you can't buy a RO/DI unit at least buy the filtered water from outside the supermarket. Your tap water will contain way to many nutrients that will feed the algae in the tank. Nothing will ever protect you from it at that point as your source water will be contaminated. Your PH will be fine as long as you use a good salt mix. the buffers are put in the mix.


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## trreherd (Aug 7, 2006)

Mmmm Is candy reely necesary?


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## musho3210 (Dec 28, 2006)

would i have to use a light that high watt? that seems expensive and im kinda low on cash. As with the anemone, i heard some people have had success with it and since im buying tank bred fish, will this raise my chances? Also whats aragonite?


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## musho3210 (Dec 28, 2006)

should i use sea chem or instant ocean? I also want a basic saltwater, not one with dozens of coral and tons of rock.


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## caferacermike (Oct 3, 2006)

I prefer seachem, use what you want. I said 100w of light as that would be about 5wpg and would allow you to keep a large assortment of critters.


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## musho3210 (Dec 28, 2006)

well i dont want much, only an atlantic anemone (i know not all clowns accept them but the anemone can be a pet as well, also mike told me that atlantic anemones dont need as much light as other things. I was thinking of only 2 wpg or maybe 2.5


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## caferacermike (Oct 3, 2006)

Keep in mind that there isn't much of a difference in price between a low level and a bright light.


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## musho3210 (Dec 28, 2006)

how much would a 100 watt cost then?


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## caferacermike (Oct 3, 2006)

I see 130w units on Ebay for $99 all the time.


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## musho3210 (Dec 28, 2006)

ok, i'll probably look on craigslist or something


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## Melissa (Nov 28, 2006)

your best bet is craigslist or ebay! Lights are so expensive in the store.


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## musho3210 (Dec 28, 2006)

well my stores dont even sell lights higher than 1 wpg lol. So yeah, i dont really like ebay, dunno why, i'll probably use craigslist.


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## flatcam1 (Oct 18, 2006)

Melissa said:


> your best bet is craigslist or ebay! Lights are so expensive in the store.


Sorry for being off topic, but what is 'the craiglist'....


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## musho3210 (Dec 28, 2006)

its like ebay, a second hand auction place that has really nice deals


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## flatcam1 (Oct 18, 2006)

musho3210 said:


> its like ebay, a second hand auction place that has really nice deals


kk. thanks for helping me with this!


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## musho3210 (Dec 28, 2006)

what type of lighting, NO, HO, VHO, CF, or Metal halide lighting?


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## Melissa (Nov 28, 2006)

This again all depends on what you can afford right now and the look you are going for.


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## musho3210 (Dec 28, 2006)

i can currently spend 150 dollars on the lighting. I think my tanks surface area is 2ft by 1ft american. (24" by 12") i would like the best lighting i can get and i wont get it second handed, i will get it first handed


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## caferacermike (Oct 3, 2006)

$150 won't buy much. If you look around you might be able to get a single 250w MH retro kit for that price. You'd still probably want actinics though and you'll need them later. To bad you won't buy secnod hand. A friend just sold a pendant 250w complete everything with 2x 65w PC actinics built in for $125. It was a month old and needed cash. That light was about $300 new.


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## musho3210 (Dec 28, 2006)

hmm, im not really looking for MH. I want to stick with flourecents to save electricity (please note im not paying for my electricity, my mom is, and at anytime she could end my fish keeping and give everything away to someone else) i was thinking either CF or VHO lights.


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## caferacermike (Oct 3, 2006)

VHO or T5.


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## Melissa (Nov 28, 2006)

You may be able to find a T5 fixture somewhere for $150.


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## trreherd (Aug 7, 2006)

my tank is 24 inches by 12 inches and i bought a 130 watt light fixture new for 107 bucks.


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## musho3210 (Dec 28, 2006)

wow i hope i can find a deal like that, if a 130watt fixture is like 107, maybe i can get more wpg with 150dollars


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