What do i need

[Ghostyboythedog]

Hi,
I'm starting a 20 gallon saltwater tank and I'm just curiouse for the supplies is I'm getting gonna get corals eventually and I have the sand liferock getting some liverock once I get water in there and I already have the filter getting a lid so nothing jumps a scrapper, and a syphon.

 

[Matt Bravo]

Hey there, some immediate advice I can give you is do not buy any expensive lights yet. You mention corals, while some are hardier than others you should still give yourself time to learn your tank. Every tank is different so let yours mature a bit, then drop some softies in around the 3 month mark ( I would recommend) anyway fish don’t need an expensive light, get a cheap one to start then as you start getting corals you can move on to a more advanced light like AI, ecotech, etc

Do you plan on adding a wave maker? If so I could reccomend the hygger mini off Amazon, it works really well on my nano 10g

Heater this one is obvious but I just wanna make sure I put it in haha

You will need testing kits too, skip api go for salifert/Red Sea. Also don’t forget a refractometer

It’s a smaller tank so I would reccomend a lid in order to better control salinity or an ATO if you decide to go open tank

And patience, you will need lots of it there will be wins and there will be loses but learning from them is the best thing we can do

 

[vetteguy53081]

Please post pics of tank or describe type of tank (regular, all in one, etc) and type of filter and water movement

 

[Ghostyboythedog]

Hey there, some immediate advice I can give you is do not buy any expensive lights yet. You mention corals, while some are hardier than others you should still give yourself time to learn your tank. Every tank is different so let yours mature a bit, then drop some softies in around the 3 month mark ( I would recommend) anyway fish don’t need an expensive light, get a cheap one to start then as you start getting corals you can move on to a more advanced light like AI, ecotech, etc

Do you plan on adding a wave maker? If so I could reccomend the hygger mini off Amazon, it works really well on my nano 10g

Heater this one is obvious but I just wanna make sure I put it in haha

You will need testing kits too, skip api go for salifert/Red Sea. Also don’t forget a refractometer

It’s a smaller tank so I would reccomend a lid in order to better control salinity or an ATO if you decide to go open tank

And patience, you will need lots of it there will be wins and there will be loses but learning from them is the best thing we can do

I've got a light I forgot to mention that it's not very expensive

 

[Ghostyboythedog]

I've got a light I forgot to mention that it's not very expensive

And yes I do plan there to be a wave maker 100%

 

[Ghostyboythedog]

Please post pics of tank or describe type of tank (regular, all in one, etc) and type of filter and water movement

 

[Ghostyboythedog]

I know there's a fake olant it's for the Pic don't plan for there to be a fake plant

 

[Ghostyboythedog]

I know there's a fake olant it's for the Pic don't plan for there to be a fake plant

Also the light is blue but my phone light was on for the pic so my bad

 

[vetteguy53081]

Get rid of the plastic plants and the light shown will Not support coral. On the filter unit, yours is a mechanical filter and you want to have mechanical , biological and chemical to manage proper water quality. The hang on unit you have will polish water and trap particles via the cartridge.
Chemical is what traps and breaks down chemical compounds such as feces and uneaten food often accomplished carbon and GFO
Biological is what utilizes the natural process of biological filtration such as use of ceramic nuggets, bio blocks, and microscopic bacteria surfaces as examples. Best it to add or use a hang on refugium such as Reef octopus or AquaMaxx unit and even add a hang on skimmer such as ice cap K1- or K2 100. The tank as it sits will barely support most coral and is bare minimum to be honest.

 

[Ghostyboythedog]

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Get rid of the plastic plants and the light shown will Not support coral. On the filter unit, yours is a mechanical filter and you want to have mechanical , biological and chemical to manage proper water quality. The hang on unit you have will polish water and trap particles via the cartridge.
Chemical is what traps and breaks down chemical compounds such as feces and uneaten food often accomplished carbon and GFO
Biological is what utilizes the natural process of biological filtration such as use of ceramic nuggets, bio blocks, and microscopic bacteria surfaces as examples. Best it to add or use a hang on refugium such as Reef octopus or AquaMaxx unit and even add a hang on skimmer such as ice cap K1- or K2 100. The tank as it sits will barely support most coral and is bare minimum to be honest.

Okay thank you!!!

 

[Ghostyboythedog]

Get rid of the plastic plants and the light shown will Not support coral. On the filter unit, yours is a mechanical filter and you want to have mechanical , biological and chemical to manage proper water quality. The hang on unit you have will polish water and trap particles via the cartridge.
Chemical is what traps and breaks down chemical compounds such as feces and uneaten food often accomplished carbon and GFO
Biological is what utilizes the natural process of biological filtration such as use of ceramic nuggets, bio blocks, and microscopic bacteria surfaces as examples. Best it to add or use a hang on refugium such as Reef octopus or AquaMaxx unit and even add a hang on skimmer such as ice cap K1- or K2 100. The tank as it sits will barely support most coral and is bare minimum to be honest.

 

[Ghostyboythedog]

This is the light but I'll get a new one