Information for beginner

[mom12195]

I was given two tanks and, naturally, I would like to begin one as a salt water tank. I have always loved them but after reading posts here, I am reluctant to begin. The tank is 24x12x16, I am guessing it is a 20 gallon which is small compared to others listed here. Am I asking for problems right off the bat? I have had regular fish before and did well with them but salt water are a horse of a different breed! Any advise would be welcome.

 

[jim672]

mom12195,
Welcome to the Board!
To a large extent you are correct......a 20 gallon tank is considered small for saltwater and the smaller the water volume of the tank the harder it is to recover from any water chemistry-type problems you might encounter. Many experienced reefers suggest using nothing smaller than a 55 to start. My show tank is a 45 gallon and I'd love a biger one (but my wife has other ideas about how to decorate our family room!!). However, lots of people have 20 gallon sw tanks and do very well with them. If you have a strong desire to learn, spend some money, and get addicted (like many of us )....do it! If your second tank is smaller.....like 10 or 15 gallon.....you should consider keeping that as your quarantine or hospital tank.
How to get started? I'd suggest you continue to read as much as you can both on this bb as well as in any of a number of books that can walk you through what you'll need and how to go about setting up your tank. As you have specific questions....keep posting!!
Jim

 

[dsa_mom]

Hey mom! Always nice to see another mom on the board! We have a 37 gal high and a 20 gal long... these two tanks have the same "footprint". The 37 is the "show" tank and the 20 serves as curing tank, hospital tank, etc. If the logistics weren't a giant pain, my daughter (the actual reefkeeper) would switch the two in a heartbeat. So, what I'm answering is, yes, you can be successful with a 20 gal setup! Good Luck!

 

[donkeykong]

My first tank was a 20gl tall. It worked very well. As long as you test the water regularly. But like most in this hobby my little 20gl wasnt enough and I soon went to 80gl...My my how your money fly's when your having fun

 

[nm reef]

Nothing much to add to the above posts...except...
Welcome to the board!!
As you develope your system don't hesitate to ask qustions you may have...folks around here have a lot of knowledge and experience. They'd love to help you along the way.
Enjoy all the decisions and keep us posted on how your system developes.

 

[pa reef pig]

My first tank was a 10 galong reef.
All the people at the LFS said it was too small and will not work but I was stubborn and did it anyway. I learned soooo much just from having that tank that it made it all worth it. I have since moved on to bigger and better things (because I ran out of room for stuff in my 10 gal.) but still value the knowledge learned from having even the smallest tank. Have fun!

 

[azrile]

Try it out. Set things up right from the beginning. Cycle your tank with fresh shrimp or live rock. Put as much live rock in as you can, and keep the fish to a minimum.
a 20 gal. tank with lots of live rock and a damsel and clownfish is still very beautiful, and should be easy to keep. And having live rock now means when you do upgrade, you already have well estabilished LR to start with