getting ready to do the nano

[jo3olous]

okay I am in heavy favor of starting up a 20G saltwater nano.

I have read the step by step sticky up and down and have become so interested in this I'm ready to hand my tigerbarbs to a friend who can dump them into his 75G FW tank. Anyway....

My plan is to do just liverock, in a month or 2 a cleanup crew (it's a 20G can I add 1 more percula or is 3 bad? or another fish that is compatible with them?) and maybe by summer I will add fish, I really want to see if I can maintain this thing first. (2 perculas is my choice right now, would 3 be okay? Reading the thread it said a 20G can stock maybe up to 4 fish or so, but is >2 of a kind bad?)

my main questions are,
In the sticky it said powerful lighting is not necessary if I'm not doing coral, but I will still need lighting right? can someone link me an online site with an example of good lighting? The tank is 20G long (30 inches L)

Link for a pair of powerheads that will provide sufficient current? (I'm pretty lousy as far as product knowledge goes, so the site and a brand example would be great)


Things I don't have that I know I need
-hydrometer
-new heater? (or is the heater that supports my 20G now good)

Not sure if
-the API master kit I have will suffice for testing SW
-New filter? I have an HOB filter for the current tank, will I need a more powerful one? I forget the specs on it, I just know it handles my 20 pretty well, but my 20 is way understocked.


comments please

 

[tom91970]

Your liverock will provide your filtration; however, I use a Aquaclear HOB on mine (with no media) to provide surface circulation.

I have 4 wpg on my nano (Current Satellite fixture including actinic lights), just 'cause I plan on having some simple corals one of these days.

Your heater should be fine.


Buy a saltwater master kit (not a reef kit, though); I use API.

 

[emmanuelchavez]

I was convinced that a refractometer is a god-send compared to a hydrometer... so I dropped a pretty penny on it, and it still hasn't been used, and it's in my car, somewhere. One day I'll finally get to set up my SW tank, haha.

You could use your stock lighting if you plan on doing a FOWLR.

I've heard that Koralia powerheads are the favorites amongst the salties too.

 

[tom91970]

Yep, Koralias are pretty nice. I use a Koralia Nano on my 10g tank. When I upgrade to a 29g I will continue to use those.

 

[jo3olous]

thank you much both,

@ Tom: I would like to get a lighting fixture that to some degree could provide light for the more basic/hardy coral in case i wake up one day and want to try it. Could you point me in the direction of sites that sell the complete fixture/hood?

 

[supra1997]

I agree on the Koralias, but I recommend buying the number 2, the number 1 is just too small. Start off slow and make sure you only use Reverse Osmosis water. Saltwater is a bit more sensitive and RO water is clean and provides a great start for the tank. You should only have 2 clowns together. When you get 3, 2 of them tend to pick on the third, so try and stick with only 2. If you are getting clowns, get the tank raised ones since you wont have an anemone for a host, and this will save you money anyways. Regular lighting is fine for what you are wanting to do, but I can almost guarantee you will get bitten by the saltwater bug and want to have corals eventually, so you may want to consider something with some more juice, around 3-5 watts per gallon for most corals. Good luck!

 

[jo3olous]

I agree on the Koralias, but I recommend buying the number 2, the number 1 is just too small. Start off slow and make sure you only use Reverse Osmosis water. Saltwater is a bit more sensitive and RO water is clean and provides a great start for the tank. You should only have 2 clowns together. When you get 3, 2 of them tend to pick on the third, so try and stick with only 2. If you are getting clowns, get the tank raised ones since you wont have an anemone for a host, and this will save you money anyways. Regular lighting is fine for what you are wanting to do, but I can almost guarantee you will get bitten by the saltwater bug and want to have corals eventually, so you may want to consider something with some more juice, around 3-5 watts per gallon for most corals. Good luck!

Thanks for your post and comments.
k more questions; if it should be only 2 clowns to a tank, perhaps I could do something else. Based on the sticky I should be able to manage 3-4 of the smaller SW fish in a 20G and this is a long tank (30 inch).

Also RO water, Im sure I have easy access to it since im in south jersey right outside philadelphia, so plenty of fish stores etc in the metro. So if I start the tank up, do I need to add salt mix to the RO? and when I have to top off my tank with water, do you recommend using only RO water