New Hobbyist: 20 Gallon?

The BookWorm

The BookWorm

Member
Hi! I just signed up here because I want to start a saltwater tank, and I have quite a few questions. So, I really don't have room for anything larger than a ten gallon, or maybe a 15 column. I want it to be a reef tank, so there's my first question: what kind of lights would I need? My second question is equipment. What kind of equipment do I need? I understand that a HOB filter can be used, but is it better to replace the carbon filter media with live rock? What kinds kinds of corals are good and hardy? Inverts, and fish. I know it'll be the last thing added (maybe besides some coral). I don't know what kind of fish would be good to add. Thanks for any help and sorry if there are any spelling errors.
 
trigger40

trigger40

Well-Known Member
lights all depend on the typ of corals you want. i dont know much about lighting but i know any nice led lights will be good for just about all soft coral. have you looked into a bio cube?
 
snakeblitz33

snakeblitz33

Well-Known Member
I recommend going with the biocube. It may cost a lot more money, but it's better quality. There are also many modifications you can make to it over time that can benefit your fish and corals. A 10g tank is very small and the parameters can fluctuate quite a bit when just starting. Getting a biocube doesn't necessarily fix a fluctuation issue, but it does help to have a dump in the back to hide the equipment such as protein skimmer, filter, heaters and any reactors you may want to add later. I hope this helps.
 
flower

flower

Well-Known Member
Hi,

Welcome to the site!

You don't "REPLACE" the media in a HOB with live rock...you need live rock, AND the HOB filter. The smaller the tank, the harder it will be to keep. I personally consider a 10g to be expert only. A 29g Biocube would be a very good choice if you must stay with a small tank. The corals you could keep with the Biocube lighting however, are mushroom, Kenya tree which don't require super lights, or go for non-photosynthetic coral.
 
smfoister

smfoister

Member
+1 for a BioCube. Everything is built in, don't have to worry about filtration purchases. Just remove bio balls and add live rock rubble. I ran a cube for YEARS. I ended up killing everything because of a wild temperature fluctuation during a cold snap and my heater was not working. Small body of water, temps can fluctuate very rapidly. That was my only problem, an unfortunately it completely wiped out my tank...

I'd like to say that was a beginner mistake, but that could happen to anyone. Buy a quality heater.
 
The BookWorm

The BookWorm

Member
Thanks for the responses, guys. I hadn't really looked into bio cubes before, but after doing a little research, I can see the benefits. I could do a biocube 14. Would I be able to replace the lighting sight something a bit more powerful?
 
The BookWorm

The BookWorm

Member
The salinity is supposed to be around .1025, right? Or 1.025

I'm not really sure where the decimal goes.

How does one keep salinity from getting to high, and how do you get it back down without killing the whole tank if it does to up?
 
seecrabrun

seecrabrun

Active Member
It should be around 1.025. http://successfulreefkeeping.com/learn/reef-tank-101/salinity-mixing-saltwater/ might be a good read.

You top off the tank with fresh water to keep the salinity from being too high.
I personally have a piece of tape on the glass and that marks the water level when I added the correct salinity mixed water. Then when the water evaporates the salt stays behind so adding fresh water to the line marked remixes it to the correct salinity.

Remember to use properly filtered water and not tap water and I highly recommend a salinity refractometer. I paid about $14 for a swing arm and about $25 for a cheap refractometer. Definitely like the refractometer better, but the swing arm is good for quick checks to make sure things are around the right level.
 
The BookWorm

The BookWorm

Member
I'll be sure to read that, thanks. How would you go about building an automatic top off system? I've heard about them, by never understood how it worked.
 
seecrabrun

seecrabrun

Active Member
I built my own, though in the end it didn't turn out to save any money LOL. It is way nicer, in terms of looks, and I trust it better to not accidentally overflow the tank.

You could definitely build it and it save money, but I ended up building a special case to hide it on the wall. That was about $70 in materials alone I think, ha!
 
seecrabrun

seecrabrun

Active Member
Also I started off with a 10 gallon and still ran one as a secondary tank until this week, I am now upgrading it.

I definitely agree with the mantra, buy the biggest tank you can afford! That means money, but also time and space.

You'll be surprised to learn how big you can fit in what seems like a small space. A 20H tank takes up merely 4" by 2" more in width and depth, but doubles your gallons. So if you don't have a height restriction it would be better.

I don't know much about biocubes though. They were a bit scary to me when I was looking so I moved on, but I also specifically wanted more land and less air.
 
The BookWorm

The BookWorm

Member
Well unfortunately, the space I have for it to fit in isn't extremely tall. We couldn't fit my 20 long there (15" high, I think) with the lid on. It was too wide, too.
 
The BookWorm

The BookWorm

Member
Hmm, I guess I had a 20 high. I always thought it was a long... o_O

And in response to your question, it was a freshwater tank, the lid came with the kit.
 
seecrabrun

seecrabrun

Active Member
Definitely measure it with a tape so you know exactly what you are working with.

Are you dead set on this specific location, or can you work around anything else?
 
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