New Tank

[stateraise]

20 gal tall 130 wat 50/50 coralife light,35 pounds live roc,40 pounds of live sand,cpr reef ready skimmer,1 brain,1 bubble,1mushtoom,star pollops,1 hammer green (coral).Oh 1 clove pollop.Everything is doing great so far.My queston is that i am using a penguin 200 hang on filter. Is that ok? Or should I get a canister ? Wet dry? or stick with what i am doing? Does anyone know anthing about purple up? As for fish. I have 1 coral beauty,2 gobys,1clown, Any advice would be helpfull. I do a 5 gal water change every week.

 

[airforceb2]

Greetings and welcome to the boards!!!
Now for a couple question...How old is your tank? Do you have a skimmer? Are you testing your water? If so, what are the readings? Do you have a clean-up crew?
Once these are answered, we can help you out with getting the tank set up right.

 

[stateraise]

Yes i have a cpr reef ready backpack proten skimmer rated for up to 60 gal.Tank has been set up for 5 weeks. I test my water every week. All levels are good.Skimmer is doing a great job!

 

[stateraise]

Mostly snails,serpent starfish,couple hermets,small queen conch,arow crab.

 

[airforceb2]

What do you consider as "good"? Can you post your levels please?
How long have your corals been in there? I'm afraid you don't have enough light for the hammer coral.
To answer your question, don't get a canister filter. If you want, you can get a sump...it will give you more water and a place to hide your equipment...plus it will be more beneficial to your tank. However, you do have a lot of LR and a nice skimmer so I would say that you can get away without it.

 

[stateraise]

When you say sump do you mean a wet dry filter system?As far as good levels thats what they tell me at the fish store. I would appericate if you could tell me the ideal levels and i will keep better track. I know my nitrates - nitrits are 0 . and no ammonia.As far as the hammer he is doing great ! Hes fully open and looks better than he did in the coral tank at the lfs. under met hald. We'll have to see how he does?

 

[airforceb2]

Well I'm not a fan of wet/drys but you can have a basic sump system. consists of an overflow to another tank. There is a pad the water flows through to pick up the bigger junk. This pad will also house some bacteria. Your heater and skimmer will go down there. You can also have a section with some algae if you want. Then return the water back up the to main tank.
I would get test kits. There is no telling what the fish store is testing for or if they are even telling you the truth. Salifert makes very nice kits.
The hammer may be okay in that small of a tank but it is really up in the air. Halides are highly suggested but if you can get away with PC then go for it.