20 Gallon Questions

[fishorbust]

Hi, I have a 20 gallon FO SWA, and i'm going to be soon taking out the crushed coral and putting in live sand and live rock. I was wondering what method to use to take the water out of the tank in order to change the crushed coral. I also heard not to wash the sand off that its good to just put in the tank because of the bacteria in the sand. I was also wanting to buy a protein skimmer and don't know which one is best for my tank setup. Right now i just have normal light from a fresh water setup and a hinged veiwed glass ontop. I heard that the glass top wasn't that good, do i need to change the hood and lighting if i get live sand and live rock? Thanks

 

[stapler]

To take the water out, you can just syphon it out like I usually do. As for the sand...if its just dead sand, you should rinse it off. If you bought it in one of those bags with the live bacteria in it, then dont rinse it out.
Do you have fish in your tank? Doing all this could start a small spike in ammonia if your not careful.
As for the lighting...if you want corals later on, you will need a stronger light. Most people dont like using a glass cover because of a couple reasons. First, they build salt creep all over them and are a pain to clean...if you dont, they will minimize the effectiveness of your lighting. Second, they restrict fresh air from getting to your water, hence less aireation of your water. They also can cause heat problems.
HTH
stapler

 

[fishorbust]

What do i use to syphon the crushed coral out? Not to familiar with it. I have just started the tank so there is no fish in it. I was gonna take out the crushed coral and put in the Southdown/Yardright Tropical Play sand. Do i need to rinse that? After i get the sand in i was gonna drop a raw shrimp in and start the cycling. I don't like the glass all that well either. What type of Protein Skimmer should i buy for the setup i have. I'm have to wait till i get more money for that. Thanks stapler

 

[007]

just scoop out the crushed coral. If there are no fish in there then just dump it out.
No need to rinse the sand IMO.
A good skimmer for a 20 gallon is a Bak Pak . . .
Here is my 20 gallon (Click here)

 

[fishorbust]

007 Could you please send me your email so that i could ask you questions. I'm really wanting to get this thing going and need an expert to tell me if i'm doing things right. If you could email me that would be great. mader2@marshall.edu
There is water in the tank right now, so can i still just scoop it out? Can i then just dump the sand into the wate or what? i'm needing help. heh thank you
007, I Currently have the Millennium 2000 Wet/Dry Multi-Filter, whenever i get the protein skimmer will i still need the Millennium 2000?