20 gallon saltwater tank

[muffinman356]

What do you need for a 20 gallon saltwater fish tank?

 

[SarahSmile]

what are you looking to keep in this tank? Sps corals? mushrooms? just fish?

 

[muffinman356]

At first i am just fish then maybe later on maybe some corals. Also, what are some good fish for this size of tank?

 

[SarahSmile]

Let's see, you will need some good lights, a small powerhead, a testing kit, you won't need a protein skimmer probably, since it is a smaller tank water changes should take care of it.
Check out liveaquaria, then have a section called "nano fish" that show great examples of fish you can keep.

 

[muffinman356]

okay thank you, how often should i do water changes?

 

[SarahSmile]

Oh geez, that'll depend on your bioload and your levels. Maybe 20% a week? You'll find what works for you as you test and you'll find out what maintains your levels.

 

[muffinman356]

thank you for your help

 

[2XAl]

i used saltwater fish for dummies when i first started and they had said 10-20% every two weeks. i tried that for a couple of months but always seemed to have elevated nitrates. From peoples recommendations on here and trial and error i usually do between 10-15% every Sunday and that seems to do pretty well for my water chem. that being said Sarah is correct that it definitely depends on the bioload.

 

[little_fish]

Just be sure you are aware that you are limited to two small fish in a 20 gal tank. The rule is 1 fish for every 10 gallons. You can kinda push that when the tank gets older, but each fish needs room to establish a territory and when there isnt enough, the fish get stressed and disease and death result.

 

[muffinman356]

What about a pair of clown fish?

 

[Bifferwine]

That would be fine.

 

[little_fish]

perfect choice!