New guy 30 gallon tank couple questions.

Tommy McDonald · Jun 4, 2017

My father in law has no use for his 30 gallon tank anymore so he is passing it on to us. We Live in an apartment so I'm on city water and can smell the chlorine in the water what would be the best way of filling my tank? Or is there anything that can take the chlorine out of the water? Also have no access to RO. My other question is what would be the best filter for a 30 gallon tank. I've been looking at canister filters seen one brand rated for 20 gallon and 50 gallon so essentially bigger is better?Any help would be great. I'm looking at doing live rock and clowns then beginner coral later on once I get started.

Tahoe61 · Jun 4, 2017

Tommy McDonald said:
My father in law has no use for his 30 gallon tank anymore so he is passing it on to us. We Live in an apartment so I'm on city water and can smell the chlorine in the water what would be the best way of filling my tank? Or is there anything that can take the chlorine out of the water? Also have no access to RO. My other question is what would be the best filter for a 30 gallon tank. I've been looking at canister filters seen one brand rated for 20 gallon and 50 gallon so essentially bigger is better?Any help would be great. I'm looking at doing live rock and clowns then beginner coral later on once I get started.

Hi Tommy and welcome to R2R

You can buy purified water and mix your own salt or you can buy mixed at the local fish store or even buy RO at the local fish store and mix your own. Do not use city water not only because of the chlorine but also the algae issues that will arise because of elevated phosphate and nitrate levels from city water.
Canisters are not as bad as made out to be but they certainly are not optimal in today's reef keeping. HOB filtratoin with a skimmer would be preferred by most for a 30 gallon tank.
Do some window shopping at either Marinedepot.com or Bulkreefsupply.com.
Please continue to seek assistance and do research, this will save both money and alleviate some frustration.

Mike N · Jun 4, 2017

Tommy McDonald said:
I'm looking at doing live rock and clowns then beginner coral later on once I get started.

Excellent advice above.
I'd add that the fishless cycle is the preferred method to cycle your tank. Allow the nitrogen cycle to finish (meaning ammonia and nitrite hold at 0ppm) before adding livestock. Fish stores will tell you to use fish to cycle since they make profit that way.

Tommy McDonald · Jun 4, 2017

https://www.marinedepot.com/Seachem...r_30_Gallons-Seachem-SC06500-FIFRHBTO-vi.html. If I'm correct on my assumption it's a filter like this with a skimmer attached to it I seen one somewhere with a UV light. I plan on have the tank up and running for a couple weeks before adding fish. Do I add live rock before the fish or all the same time?

Mike N · Jun 4, 2017

You want to have the live rock and substrate in there before the cycle.

Tahoe61 · Jun 4, 2017

Tommy McDonald said:
https://www.marinedepot.com/Seachem...r_30_Gallons-Seachem-SC06500-FIFRHBTO-vi.html. If I'm correct on my assumption it's a filter like this with a skimmer attached to it I seen one somewhere with a UV light. I plan on have the tank up and running for a couple weeks before adding fish. Do I add live rock before the fish or all the same time?

It's commonly called a hang on the back filtration . A hang on the back with a skimmer is hard to find, it's called a skilter see link below.
https://reefbuilders.com/2016/04/26/skilter-filter/#
I have used them and find this type of filtration to be fine on a small tank with a lower bio-load and easier corals.
An UV system is not a must have on a smaller tank with just clowns and a few corals.

In my opinion it's best to add rock and sand and salt and water, let the tank cycle and then proceed with snails and hermit crabs (if you desire). Please read up on cycling a tank, adding a bacteria in a bottle product works but patience is your best friend in this hobby.