Starting a 21 gallon reef tank.

[Maverick2403]

Ok so I'm new to saltwater tanks but have done a good bit of research. I've been debating on the size of the tank and found this tank, which I like bc of the filter setup and protein skimmer.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/291799988507

I've also been looking at a 36 gallon glass tank from pets mart but it has a HOB filter and would need better lighting. So I like the setup on the 21 gallon over the bigger tank.
So in this tank I plan on putting 15 or so pounds of dry rock and 5 pounds of live rock to help get the tank running. I've read that you should have roughly 1 cleaner crew per gallon of water. So if this is true and I put 10 shrimp and 10 crab/snail would I still be able to hold a couple small fish. I plan on having corals at some point. I would go up the 40 gallon or so bc in a year or so I will build my house and the smaller tank would be easier to deal with then and I'll use the small one at my office. For the water I currently can't afford a RO-DI unit but I have well water so would that be good enough for the tank. And last question for today is I've read so many different posts about going with or without sand. My question is with that tank I posted would using sand be a advantage or not. I'm ok not doing sand to save money as long as it won't make a difference in the performance of the reef.

Any advice would be great. Thanks

 

[CodyRVA]

Welcome to R2R!

So, as far as the tank, just keep in mind the smaller body of water you have, the harder it is to maintain. While the 36 may be cheaper, it will be much easier to maintain proper water chemistry vs the 21 gallon tank.

I would personally go with all dry rock. I know many people want to use live rock to speed up the process, but literally every time I see this someone end up with aiptaisa, majano anemones, or some other pest. My advice is to be patient and use all dead dry rock. You'll still need to let your tank cycle regardless of which rock you get, the process will just be a bit faster or slower. You can add a bottle of bacteria to help build up your bacteria colony and use pure ammonia to kick start the cycle. If you do use pure ammonia, make sure its PURE, no bubbles, coloring agents, etc. PURE ammonia, usually found at ACE hardware.

Your clean up crew should be more diverse and honestly I wouldn't even think about that right now. Let the tank cycle and stabilize, then look into your clean up crew. You will not need 10 shrimp, maybe 1. Look into things like trochus snails, cerith snails, maybe a turbo snail, a few hermits, nassarius snails if you go with a sand bed.

I would go with a sand bed. It can be shallow, so 1 bag of sand will likely suffice for a 20G tank. It can be personal preference, but the sand bed does provide a more diverse ecosystem, but thats just my two cents. Also, consider if you want a small sand starfish, sand sifting goby, nassarius (sand snails), you'll have to have a sand bed to keep those critters. If you don't have sand, they're off the table. Another note, gobys are very good nano tank fish, and most greatly rely on sand, not all, but it will limit your options is what i'm trying to say.

I can't stress enough either buying an RODI unit or buying RODI water. You may get away with well water, but more than likely not. You'll pull your hair out down the road spending even more money in the long haul trying to get rid of nuisance algae. You don't need a $300 RODI unit, I bought an Aqua FX barracuda unit for about $150 and it works like a charm. You should have a TDS meter regardless, they're inexpensive, so at the very least buy the meter and test your tap water. Your TDS should be 0, if it's not, then you need a RODI unit or water source. Save up for the unit or buy water for now.

 

[tdowning]

Lots of good advice above. I went with a 29g BioCube and did 20 pounds of live rock and 15 pounds of dry rock. I'm 4 months into it and seemingly finding new critters and pests on a weekly basis that had hitchhiked on the LR from my LFS. Currently, I'm trying to remove a gorilla crab from the tank but he is pretty elusive! I would also recommend getting RO water and you should be able to get it at about $1/gallon. Also, make sure to get a good salt, if you buy the cheaper stuff you'll pay for it later IMO. Anyway, best of luck to you and welcome to R2R.

 

[Maverick2403]

Ok thanks for the advice Cody and tdowning. Cody on the 36 tank it has a HOB filter. So I think I'll have to get at least a 2nd filter or a bigger one for that tank. I have a small pump that should work for keeping good flow through the tank. I plan on putting a sponge, ceramic bio media and maybe a carbon media instead of the filter that comes with the tank. I don't have a lot of space for a sump or canister filter where I plan on putting this tank so the HOB will have to work unless I tried to build a wall along the back of the tank to run a filter setup. I'll get a TDS Meyer and check my water and hope it's good enough or I'll go ahead and get an RODI unit. Thanks again for the advice.

 

[Maverick2403]

http://atlanta.craigslist.org/nat/for/5975809854.html

So checking Craigslist I just found this tank and believe this would be an awesome deal.

 

[CodyRVA]

http://atlanta.craigslist.org/nat/for/5975809854.html

So checking Craigslist I just found this tank and believe this would be an awesome deal.

That'd be a decent first setup, fair price for all that's included.

 

[Maverick2403]

That's what I thought only 50 more than a brand new one but has the bigger filter, better lights and a stand to go with it.

 

[Maverick2403]

Got my 36 gallon tank, live sand and dry rock today. Just need RODI unit and I'll start this bad boy up next week. Would it be ok to put the sand and rock in without water for 5-6 days or just wait till I get the RODI unit. I just want to get it all in the tank and ready to go asap but can't see spending 130 on a RODI unit and then buying water to get it started now. Going to get some acrylic rods to place in my rock to help hold it steady in the tank so when I get fisher other stuff they won't have any chance of being smashed by the rock slipping.

 

[CodyRVA]

Your RODI unit will pay for itself in the long run. Just starting out no biggy buying your water, but I would buy a unit before too long. Don't fret over the rock, you don't have that much stacked all that high to cause a concern.