First SW with a 20 gallon?

joel.uejio

joel.uejio

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Jun 1, 2009
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Joel
Hi folks, I've seen a couple freshies post threads about giving SW a try. I now have a few empty tanks so am thinking about this myself. Would appreciate some help with the questions I have below so I can get an idea on [A] If I should take the plunge!, and How I would then proceed.

1. Is a 20g long FOWLR tank a good starting point for a SW newbie?
2. Would it be worthwhile to do a 20g with a 10g sump?
3. Could I do cardinal fish (Pterapogon kauderni) in a 20g? 20g with 10g sump?
4. Could I do a seahorse species tank in a 20g (+/- 10g sump)?

guess that's it for now....thanks for any feedback!
 
Thanks for the info -- everywhere I've looked CF are listed as needing 30g minimum, but I'm not clear on whether that's b/c of their activity level / territorialism or if it's the bio-load. If bio-load, then it seems that 20g with a 10g would be ok, but .... not sure....
 
They are probably to aggressive.
 
That setup will be fine for a low bio load but fishfriend is correct about the bigger water volume of your total system the better. How you accomplish that is up to you. I don't run a sump at all but only have 2 fish in a 40 breeder with plans to add maybe 1 more but I mat not even do that. If I were to add another 20 gallons of volume I might consider a couple more fish.

My B/W clown tends to stay in one area of the tank most of the time but also takes a swim around the tank twice per day and it seems to happen at about the same time each day. My female B/W clown (about 2.5 inches) shares the tanks with a Potter's Angel. 20 longs are nice size tanks IMO. They have a nice footprint ithat should be fine for a smaller clown. But again, it will ultimately depend on what other fish and how many you plan on keeping. Clowns can be aggressive if cramped and are slightly more agressive towards others if kept in a pair. Occelaris and True Percs are the size range you want to stick with. Avoid Maroons and other larger clowns.

The cardinal would be a good choice as well. They like to hover in the current above so a low profile rock structure would be best. I have never kept sea horses but when I have seen them or read about them, they seem to do better in tanks with a little more height than a 20 long provides. They are also fairly difficult to keep so make sure you know what you're getting into. HTH
 
Yay greech is here. He is the master and we are the students. LOL
 
Word. So, maybe I could do:

20g long
low-profile live rock
cardinal fish + 2-4 inverts(?)
PowerHead + Filter?(HOB?, Canister?)
Heater
SW-appropriate sand
Do initial setup w/o sump, but arrange things so I can add one if needed?
No protein skimmer, but do water changes?

How's that sound?
 
That sounds great to me.
 
Righteous. So, I happen to already have a AquaClear 50 Power Head. Would that plus an AC HOB filter provide sufficient filtration and movement? (say....maybe an AC 50 HOB?)

I'm still not 100% committed to going forward with this plan, but regardless I think I'm going to paint the back of the 20g. Based on what I've seen, I plan to look for a dark blue water-based latex glossy paint.
 
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