just getting started.

mzlambert

mzlambert

Member
Hi everyone. I am new to saltwater tanks. My husband and I have been doing freshwater for a while and I want to convert my 55 gallon to sw but
first I am doing a 20 long to get the basics down before I do it
As of now I have a Coralife light fixture with 2 t5 bulbs in it. I have a fluval 200 watt heater. Ac70 filter and 2 whisper ex 20 filters. We just sat it up yesterday. We already had sand from our fw tanks so we decided to use it and add bacteria instead of buying live sand. We only put 4 lbs of live rock in it but friday we are going to add more.
I am not going to do coral for a while, like maybe january. So to do a fish only tank, do I have pretty much everything I need?
Also, what do you feed your sw fish? The guy at our lfs said we can feed the same things we feed to out fw fish. It is a mixture of cichlid pellets, crisps, and frozen bloodworms
Occasionally we have other frozen food. How often should I feed my fish?
If in the future I want to add coral to my 20 gal long do I need to have a protein skimmer? I have found websites that say yes and some say no. And do I have enough light for coral?
One last thing, what should be my cleaning routine? 1 gallon wc a week? Or 5gal a month? I don't think I should wait a whole month to do wc. On my fw I do 5 gal a week but its 55 gal.
Sorry I have so many questions. I am very new and I want to do this right. Every site I read says something different so I thought I would see what you all say..
Thank you in advance!!!
-ella
 
S

saxman

Guest
Hi Ella, and welcome!
A 200W heater in a 20 gal tank is a bit nuts...that's like 10W/gal (a bit more since your 20 gal probably doesn't hold 20 gals). I wouldn't go with more than a 75W, 100W at the very most.
When you say you're reusing "sand", do you mean aragonite sand, crushed coral, or actual "gravel"? Aragonite sand (Grade #3 or smaller) is your best bet, as it will help buffer the water and won't leach anything detrimental into your water (iron, silicates, etc).
January isn't far off, and it's too soon to consider adding coral. New tanks are inherently unstable, and need to mature a bit before adding sensitive inverts like coral.
As for feeding...you need to find somebody else to speak to...SW and FW fish have very different nutritional requirements in terms of fatty acids, vitamins, and minerals. My wife (Cranberry here on SWF) is a nutrition geek when it comes to fish, and she'd be cringing to hear that advice. You'll want to feed whatever fish you keep the proper diet, and we won't know what until you let us know what you're interested in keeping.
Feeding frequency is dependent upon what you keep. Some fish require multiple small feedings, other do fine with once a day, and still others do fine with twice a week.
For WC's, plan on 20-25% per month, but if you want to do 5 gals weekly, that's great. Again, it depends on how heavy the bioload is on your system, which goes back to stocking. Also, the amount of live rock you have will have some bearing on your stocking level, unless you plan on relying 100% on your HOB filtraton.
Best advice for this hobby:
Be patient, and take your time...if you try to rush things, it will bite you in your behind.
 
mzlambert

mzlambert

Member
Im using aragonite sand. we had alot left after my 55 gal so we used that.
Okay we will hold off on coral. When do you think it will be okay to add some?
I plan on keeping damsels in this tank because it is so small. I would like to start off with a yellow tail and a velvet and keep it at that for a while.
As far as wc I will probably do 1 gal a week. Being its such a small tank. If I see I need to do more, I will go from there.
On live rock at most, I will do 10 lbs but I doubt I will do even that much.
I am so glad I posted on here before I jumped and started just adding stuff.
Thank you!!
 
S

saxman

Guest
I think you could do much better than keeping damsels in a 20L, to be honest (unless you like damsels). The reason I mention this is that damsels are nasty little fish, and once established, won't tolerate any newcomers very well. In fact, many peeps have trouble trying to get rid of them. Other than that, they're pretty easy to care for.
As for coral, you'll want to wait until the tank settles in and the water parameters become stable. This happens at different rates, depending on the setup, and how much cured LR is used. To be honest, 6 months isn't a horrible time to wait, altho you could likely keep a few hardy mushrooms or polyps sooner.
 
mzlambert

mzlambert

Member
also, how can i get the air pockets out of the sand without stirring it up too much. i read that it can be harmful to let the air pockets stay in the sand. my husband and i will pick up nutrafin max marine complete food to feed the damsels. that is the kind of fish we plan on keeping and i will feed them one time a day.
 
mzlambert

mzlambert

Member
I do like damsels, but just out of curiosity what else could I have? This tank is just to get used tobtge basics of keeping up a sw tank then I will do better fish in my 55 gal :)
Again, thank you for your information :)
 
S

saxman

Guest
There are several gobies, blennies, cardinals, and even some cool creepy fish like small scorps, waspfish, even a fu manchu lionfish or small species angler that would do OK in a 20L.
 
mzlambert

mzlambert

Member
i will definitely do some research and see what i ultimately like for this tank, because even though it is my starter tank i plan on keeping it as long as i can. THANK YOU
 
mzlambert

mzlambert

Member
i really like the fu manchu lionfish and pajama cardinals. hmmm..
reading a few posts about the fu manchu lionfish they say minimum tank is 30 with numerous hiding spaces and would my LFS sell sw feeder shrimp like they do ghost shrimp for fw tanks? i will have to look when we go today. would they eat freeze dries krill? i have some that i could never get any of my other fish to eat.
the pajama cardinalfish sounds more like what i am looking for in my tank. peaceful and can eat many things. flakes pellets bloodworms. i see that they are a schooling fish. could i keep a small school of them in my 20 gal long?
after research and looking at the fish you mentioned i am looking at the cardinalfish and still damsels. if i end up converting my 55 gal i wil definitely get a lionfish and some type of puffer. they are my absolute favorite but i would like to have alot of space for them.
 
S

saxman

Guest
You really don't want to feed ANY fish FD krill...they're bad nutritionally, and once many fish get used to them, they often refuse any other food (they actually call them "fish crack" sometimes).
FWIW, a fu would be completely happy in a properly-scaped 20L (trust me, I know a little about lionfish
)...sometimes fu manchu lions can be difficult to wean onto non-living foods, but once they do convert, they're just as easy to feed as most other lionfish.
There are a few cardinals that you could look into...the PJ's, red-spot, yellow-striped, longspine to name a few.
One thing to consider down the road is that puffers and lionfish don't make good tankmates...puffers can't resist those long, flowing fins, and will nip at them relentlessly. In fact, puffers tend to be fin nippers in general.
If you go with cardinals, you can also keep one or two smaller substrate-dwelling fish as well (various blennies and gobies do well). IF you add damsels, add them last to lessen the chances of aggression between them and their tankmates.
HTH
 
mzlambert

mzlambert

Member
Thank you! I really like the lion fish. Might give it a try. We are headed to the lfs now. Im going to see if they have saltwater feeder shrimp. We are getting more live rock. Could I put anything with it? Like crabs or something?
 
mzlambert

mzlambert

Member
okay we now have 10 lbs of live rock. i went ahead and got some marine pellet food. i really want to cycle with damsels.
i know, i know DONT DO IT!! but we were told not to do it with the fw tanks and it turned out quite nice. i have read just as many posts for it as against it and i know the good and the bad about it.
i know people on here will get upset with me, maybe, but i really really want to do it. we added API quick start for salt water just to jump start the cycling and we have 10 lbs of live rock to help. i really dont see what adding 1 or 2 damsels will hurt.
 
gradymo

gradymo

Member
I'm sorry, but it seem to me that you're really impatient and you want this tank up and running and stocked, in one day. It's just not possible. You really should cycle your tank with a piece of raw shrimp, it doesn't take that long, you've already kick started it with live rock. Do you have any other pets? Like a cat or dog? Cycling with a damsel is like kicking the cat or dog every time you pass it for the next week. Saltwater is all about patience, I know you've read that on every other site you've been on.
 
snakeblitz33

snakeblitz33

Well-Known Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by mzlambert http:///t/393370/just-getting-started#post_3499055
okay we now have 10 lbs of live rock. i went ahead and got some marine pellet food. i really want to cycle with damsels.
i know, i know DONT DO IT!! but we were told not to do it with the fw tanks and it turned out quite nice. i have read just as many posts for it as against it and i know the good and the bad about it.
i know people on here will get upset with me, maybe, but i really really want to do it. we added API quick start for salt water just to jump start the cycling and we have 10 lbs of live rock to help. i really dont see what adding 1 or 2 damsels will hurt.
Go ahead,...
They probably will live.
The trouble is catching them after your done with them.
If they don't live,... you will learn that you need to have patience with a saltwater tank.
Wish you the best! share some pics of your new tank with us!
 
mzlambert

mzlambert

Member
it NOT that i am impatient, it is just that, well, idk i just want to do it. i could wait if i wanted to, but i dont. i havent really said anything to insist that i am impatient. i just asked a simple question.
things like that is what keeps new hobbyist from posting on sites. you jumped right to that without trying to answer any of my questions. i didnt say i WAS DEFINITELY going to do it. i just said i was thinking about it. ALOT of people have done it with no fatalities and their fish lasted until they didnt want them anymore.
i am not mad, i just wish people would help rather than jumping at people for wanting to do something they wouldnt do. its about 50-50 on people who are for it and against it. you are just being one sided.
ANYWAYS....
@snakeblitz33 i am so excited we found some live rock with coralline algae on it!! i will post some pictures tomorrow. its already looking really good. :)
 
snakeblitz33

snakeblitz33

Well-Known Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by mzlambert http:///t/393370/just-getting-started#post_3499078
@snakeblitz33 i am so excited we found some live rock with coralline algae on it!! i will post some pictures tomorrow. its already looking really good. :)
Sweet! I'm looking forward to seeing pics!
Why don't you start a build thread so that we can get a "start and finish point?"
Check out some aquascaping tips and tricks. You might be surprised how creative you can get with the rock work!
Here's a starting point for some information that you may want to read through on your journey through this wonderful hobby.
https://forums.saltwaterfish.com/t/388776/guides-for-new-hobbyists
 
gradymo

gradymo

Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by mzlambert http:///t/393370/just-getting-started#post_3499078
it NOT that i am impatient, it is just that, well, idk i just want to do it. i could wait if i wanted to, but i dont. i havent really said anything to insist that i am impatient.
That line right there says you're impatient. I'm not trying to be mean, and like Snake said, the fish will probably live. Many, many people cycle with damsels (they're a very hardy fish). But, cycling that way is only beneficial to you, not the fish. It just causes a tremendous amount of undue stress on the fish, when you can just throw a piece of raw shrimp in there and wait a few weeks. I guess you can just say I'm an advocate for the fish.
 
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