T3D 20 Gallon Long

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t3d

Guest
Wanted to introduce myself
as I go through this process, and keep a record for myself. Made the purchase today of 20 Gallon Long Tank, Canopy Lid, Stand, Saltwater Test Kit, Heater, Thermometer, and Salt. Price invested so ofar is $158.00. I plan on getting a Skilter(250) after work todat for $50, which will make my total up to roughly $210.00.
Plans tonight are to hook everything up create the saltwater and run the filter overnight. Tomorrow I will pick up cured Live Rock (20lbs or so) and 30 LBS of Live Sand. In case if you havent noticed I do not have any lighting. Will my rock be OK for a week without the lighting? Next week I would like to purchade metal halide or a lower tier lighting system. Any suggestions?
Thanks
 
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tuningvis

Guest
welcome to the site
the rock will be okay but why not just wait till you get the lighting
what do you mean by lower tier???
 
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t3d

Guest
I really cant afford the lighting until next week, so i wanted to let the tank start cycling
by lower tier i mean pc lighting
 
annanymous

annanymous

Member
welcome... :jumping:
skip the canopy lid,
secondly but i did hear not very positive things about them on this site [do a search, you should beable to find lots of info], and if i may suggest maybe go with an emperor HOB filter.
i also currently have a 20g L, it is a great choice to start with [long enough to attemp to aquascape...lol], but i am currently switching to a 90 g. you might want to consider getting a bigger tank right away, rather then wasting money later on upgrades.
welcome to the hobby [commonly reffered to here as Addiction] :happyfish
 
norway

norway

Member
welcome welcome welcome
always good to see fellow 20longers come to the site. dont listen to anyone but me, haha.
20 long is the best nano in my opinion. i wouldnt worry about getting anything but power compact lighting unless your wanting to have clams or some pretty risky sps. even then you can have pc's you would just need to dose kalk or whatever floats your tanks boat. and if anyone says different they're wrong. you do need to remember a watts per gallon rule but you also need to keep in mind that even though your tank is a 20 it is only 12 inches deep and at times your corals could be 2 inches from the surface so pc is very capable of lighting your tank. i have 2X55 watt pc's 1 10,000k and 1 actinic. you could actually fit two of those 2X55 watt retro fit kits over your tank or even a 4 bulb sytem to up your watts. i just saw a 4X55 watt setup for $200.... that doesnt include bulbs which usually run $25 each. i actually suggest going my route... i bought the 2X55watt pc's a year ago and all my softies and the few lps i have are doing just fine..... i plan on adding more lps, sps, and softies so im going to move the pc's apart and put a very small metal halide between the two centered and run it from 12 to 3 pm.
your rock will be fine without lighting for a week.... is it cured already? if so, some die off could occur but for the most part you should be ok.
here is my tank

 
norway

norway

Member
sorry i noticed you said your rock is cured....nevermind. just remember to take it super slow with everything once your cycle gets started. its so hard to not run out and buy livestock right away but trust me...stuff will die no matter what but a lot of stuff will die if you rush it.
 
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t3d

Guest
Thanks for all of your replies....time will be OK since money come and goes to other things...I figured on saving money while the tank is cycling. :rolleyes:
 
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t3d

Guest
Just picked up 14 lb live rock (fiji) for $5 a pound. Here's a couple of pics. Also picked up a 40# bag of agronite and a hydrometer(crystal sea) which is giving me different measurements
. Here a couple of pics of the rock cost me $70

 
norway

norway

Member
it took me about a year to buy all of my rock......i custom picked each peice to fit my plan. its way too expensive, when i get a bigger tank im going to make 1 solid custom rock from concrete, sand, live rock rubble, and oyster shells.
i dont know anything about hydrometers other than what they do. maybe you need to gauge it??? ive heard of people talking about that before?
 
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t3d

Guest
Question for all:
Since my tank is ab12 inches deep, will VHO lighting be sufficient to support all coral (brain and zoos), and aneomes?
 
annanymous

annanymous

Member
i believe so. it has the closest spectrum output then any other lighting [meaning it feels the closest to real ocean deep watr lighting] MH are stronger, but this is more "natural"
your coraline will love you for VHO
 
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t3d

Guest
Thanks...And could you notice the green leafy stuff on the live rock? That wouldnt be harmful algae would it?
 
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t3d

Guest
Well i think my amonia spiked yesteday at about 7.0!
Should i see a drop soon?
I already have the skilter, foam has started building in the top, so i guess it's doing its job, for now.
I really want a yellow tank and 2 marron clowns. Think this will work?
I learned to tap the hydrometer to get the correct reading. It was bubbles or something making it read higher.
 
norway

norway

Member
i guess your talking about a yellow tang??
forgive my stupidity if you are being sarcastic, if not.... NO, a yellow tang will not be healthy in a 20 long. you can get one but it WILL outgrow the tank and likely die. maroon clowns get to be (i think) 4-5 inches in length so i wouldnt suggest a pair of them. honestly i have one maroon gold striped clown and he is fine in my 20 long. he is only about 2 inches or so and has plenty of room. but i am unable to add any other fish because he kills them. if you must have a pair of clowns get a pair of percula and then one small goby or blenny. i plan on getting rid of my clown and getting a timor wrasse and a randall goby/shrimp pair. its fine to have more than one fish in a 20 long, you just cant have large fish that need room to swim. it would be the same as buying a great dane and keeping it in a 5x5 pen all the time. im not an animal activist but try to save yourself some money.
ps..... there is a lot of "activists" on this site.
 
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t3d

Guest
Thanks...I will keep that in mind about the tang. Maybe I'll get the percula clowns instead...My amonia is still at 8.0 and nitrates at about 20....
 
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t3d

Guest
my ammonia is at 8.0....is this really high for the cycle? Will this kill critters on my live rock? :mad:
 
norway

norway

Member
i know that 8 is high but you just have to realize that cycles differ to tank and person caring for the tank.... where you get your water plays a huge role, salt mix also could be a factor, along with how you do water changes. the cycle is THE most important part of your tanks life. if you rush things you will deal with an imbalance of parameters for a long time. high ammonia is a horrible thing in an established tank, but in a cycling tank it means that a return of nutrients and the breaking down of those nutrients is kicking into effect. although a few of the critters in your lr and ls could die from this, the ones that thrive in high ammonia will do great and then the ones that use/eat those will reproduce and so on.... a variation of parameters in the beginning will create the ideal ecosystem for your tank .........planet earth took a very long time to get to this point, and it only works so great because of that time........all the "critters" that play their role are there because they were given the chance to play it.
 
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