Stocking for Marine

Evan214

Evan214

iSi se puede!
Nov 12, 2006
188
0
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Los Angeles
Okay, my dad and I recently visited our newly opened LFS and were immediately absorbed by their large selection of saltwater fish and inverts. We have an empty 20 gallon long tank lying around which we were going to make a tropical freshwater community, but now we want to make it a marine environment. I am a total newbie to the marine world, but have worked with freshwater fish and inverts for over a year. Does anyone have any stocking suggestions for this 20 gallon long?

My dad and I really like the marine tanks with interesting and colorful invertebrates like shrimp, etc. We also want some live rock in our tank as well.

Thank you so much!
-Evan

Please help. I am very much a marine newbie. I know how to stock freshwater, but have no clue whatsoever as to marine.
 
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Hiya Evan..

Best thing you can do is get some research done and think about exactly what you are wanting to keep..In the marine world, 20 Gals aint that big of a tank, you only going to be looking of about 4 - 5 inches of adult fish in there. So, go and research, create your wish list and come back and post it..Also, let us know what other equptment you have, if any, and we can advise on your setup..

Happy new year, and welcome to the forums

Niko
 
I'd say a couple of percula clowns and that's it. That doesn't count your clean up crew--snails, crabs, shrimp.
You're going to need to do weekly water changes as well. Bigger is easier in my experience--at least with marine tanks.
 
Thank you.
I am planning on possibly having 2 percula clowns (of course I'll do weekly water changes. I already do that on my freshwater tanks.)

What invertebrates would you recommend to go with these guys. Also, should I get an anenome for the clowns. If so, which type?

Thanks,
Evan
 
A good mix of cleaner shrimpand snails should do fine. I'm not an expert on either so maybe someone else can chime in on species and quantities.

Anemones are hard to keep---very particular about water and lighting. I recommend waiting awhilebefore trying one. They aren't necessary for the clowns.
 
Hey Evan,

Are you going to have corals in there, even if its down the road?? The reason this is important is because your livestock selection will largely depend on whether or not you will have corals in the tank. Some inverts are not reef safe while others are. Let us know what your plans are, and we can suggest what inverts you could go with for your cleanup crew.

As far as the anemone goes, I would personally stay away from it at this point. Like some others pointed out, they are extremely sensitive to water changes, and given that yours is going to be a new setup, there will be some fluctuations in the water params. Besides, most clowns that you get at an LFS these days are tank bred, and do well without an anemone.

Let us know if you have any other questions.

Cheers!
Yash
 
Yes, I am planning on having corals. Which inverts are the best and most attractive for a clean up crew?

Also, how many pounds of live rock should I get for this 20 gal. long?

Thank you very much for walking me through this process,
Evan
 
Hey Evan,

Here's what you can get for the cleanup crew:

Snails - with snails, you can get a variety of snails, but stay away from bumble bee or turbo since you will be working towards a reef. They're not good reef inhabitants and can get fairly large, with the possibility of knocking your rocks over. Snails you could look into are:

1. Cerith - great to clean up diatoms and brown algae ... will mostly work on the LR and in the sand.
2. Astrae - again, great at algae and diatom cleanup ... will mostly stick to LR and the sides of the glass.
3. Nerite - pretty much work only on the glass.
4. Nassarius - they're mostly diggers and sand sifters which help in keeping your sand bed aerated.

Crabs - I'd recommend getting red leg hermit crabs - they're very active and most importantly reef safe.

Shrimp - you could go with either cleaner and peppermint shrimp. I've heard that you should stick with only one or the other since 1 of each will probably end up fighting until one dies.

Serphant stars

A really great resource to look up more information on the above species is Live Aquaria

For your tank size, I would suggest maybe a couple of each of the snails I mentioned above, about 3 hermits, 1 or 2 shrimp, and maybe one star. That should be fairly adequate as a cleanup crew.

Regarding the LR, the general rule is somewhere between 1.5 to 2 lbs of rock per gal. So, you're looking at somewhere between 30-40 lbs or rock. You needn't buy ALL that as LR cos it will cost you a fortune. You can do a 50-50 mix of base rock (which is "dead") and LR. Base rock costs a fraction of the price you'd pay for LR. Besides, over time, the critters from the LR will eventually move over to the base rock, thus making it live! Same goes for sand ... don't bother paying for live sand ... go with play sand and it will again, over time turn into "live sand"

Let us know if you have any more questions.

Cheers!
Yash
 
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Yash, You have been SUCH a big help!!!!
Thank you so much!

I honestly don't know what I would do without you walking me through every little step of stocking with live rock and the sorts. How much coral and what types should I buy?
They have several packs that they offer on liveaquaria.com, which pack is best, or should I make my own "pack".

I also can't seem to find Serphant stars on liveaquaria. Are they the same as serpent stars? Are there any other kinds of starfish that I could get?

Thanks, Evan.
 
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