Your opinions.

[r3dc4t]

It looks like I'm going have to start my 20G tank over after my brine shrimp accident due to Nitrate and Nitrite Levels killing my damsels. still have two but I'm thinking its just a matter of time. I still amazingly have my blue-legged hermits and snails alive though (thought for sure the hermits would die before any of the damsels). Anyway, i thought I'd actually plan it out completely this time and wanted to hear what you guys thought. And of course i still have tons of baby brine shrimp....yeah cause i wanna watch shrimp all day
I have a 20G tank with Coralife 50 natural daylight 6000K/50 actinic 03 blue 18" 15 watt lighting, Fluval 205 canister filter (2 carbon media, biological media, and added algone media,) a standard 20G heater, a Marineland biowheel and a powerfilter from aquatech (neither of which were used for anything more than surface agitation in my current setup,) 20 lbs of what was and might still be live rock, 15 lbs of what is sold as live sand from ***** (is it live? dunno,) 2 Aeration pumps (from those little pet tanks you buy for kids to keep goldfish in,) no sump, no refug, no UV sterilizer, and nothing else.
So what would you guys do if you had all this and wanted a colorful fish and/or reef tank.

 

[r3dc4t]

also include info on what light upgrades I could make (specifics if possible)

 

[r3dc4t]

aww come on no one has any ideas for me?

 

[srfisher17]

Originally Posted by r3dc4t
aww come on no one has any ideas for me?
Not trying to be rude; but please re-read your post. I may be a bit slow; but I have no idea what you had, what you have , and what you want. (Livestock, wise)

 

[r3dc4t]

Originally Posted by srfisher17
Not trying to be rude; but please re-read your post. I may be a bit slow; but I have no idea what you had, what you have , and what you want. (Livestock, wise)
I had 3 damsels now all dead due to one of my kids emptying a 6 gram tube of brine shrimp in my tank. Also I have around 10 blue leg hermits and 6 snails i believe. I believe all the shrimp have died too. I have no other livestock
The second paragraph includes all of my equipment/substrate.
What I want Livestock wise...thats where you guys are supposed to come in. This is a New Hobbyist thread so obviously nothing real hard to care for. Also I want a colorful aquarium without having to buy much more equipment then i have.
By the time i get around to adding livestock to my tank again i'll be able to spend a little more now and then but still trying to keep costs low. And by having experienced hobbyists suggest livestock i figure i have a better chance of succeeding in both saving money and having a tank to be proud of. And by the time i can afford a larger aquarium with all the proper equipment i will mold my own ideas with the ones i used on my 20 gallon.
Oh and I made the lid of my tank childproof so should be no more brine shrimp accidents.

 

[srfisher17]

Your canister and other filters will support enough bacteria (until you are sure about your Lr )for a few small fish (not coral) in your tank. Id post another thread on your LR; I'm no expert on how to decide just how "live" it is and what do do if it needs more curing. Your sand, lighting, and water circulation should also be ok. The FW pumps and airstones don't do much except agitate the surface; but you have that covered, Search this site for cycling tips, you'll need test kits for PH, ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate--as well as a hydrometer. Please don't use damsels to cycle, just use a raw shrimp from the grocery store. The cycling process can easily take as long as 6 weeks, giving you time to research livestock choices; a couple of aquacultured clowns would be a fairly easy and attractive start--you can't keep much in a 20 gal; but you can make it fun, beautiful, and rewarding. Do your homework, keep asking questions, GO SLOW, and you'll have a nice tank.

 

[b bauer]

get rid of the air stones and brine shrimp breed them in a different tank as for lighting what kind of coral do you want?

 

[r3dc4t]

Originally Posted by b bauer
get rid of the air stones and brine shrimp breed them in a different tank as for lighting what kind of coral do you want?
I havn't decided for sure yet, i've been looking at some of the frag packs on the *********** websites since this site doesn't have packs of coral (that I have seen anyway, let me know if i'm wrong.)

 

[reefkprz]

your lights are far to weak for most corals, though you could consider some of the non photosynthetic ones once your water quality improves again.
so if you really want a decent selection of corals consider upgrading them at some point.
fish/inverts: there are a lot of options but your somewhat limited by the size of your tank. damsels are of course some of the hardiest but most territorial. for a 20g I would probably do something like this for a stock list
1 pseudochromis fridmani or a royal gramma
1 fire shrimp
3 peppermint shrimp
1 cleanershrimp
2 firefish gobies (jumpers make sure your lid is secure)
possibly a yellow tail damsel or an electric blue damsel last. depending on how the tank was acting nitrate wise.
the broad variety of shrimp fascinate guests (everyone who comes to my house regularly alwasy ask where my shrimp are.) all of the fish I listed are colorfull and have different personalities from each other, so it makes for diverse activities in the tank. they are all IMO fairly hardy.
note: this list does not include your clean up crew.

 

[r3dc4t]

Originally Posted by reefkprZ
your lights are far to weak for most corals, though you could consider some of the non photosynthetic ones once your water quality improves again.
so if you really want a decent selection of corals consider upgrading them at some point.
fish/inverts: there are a lot of options but your somewhat limited by the size of your tank. damsels are of course some of the hardiest but most territorial. for a 20g I would probably do something like this for a stock list
1 pseudochromis fridmani or a royal gramma
1 fire shrimp
3 peppermint shrimp
1 cleanershrimp
2 firefish gobies (jumpers make sure your lid is secure)
possibly a yellow tail damsel or an electric blue damsel last. depending on how the tank was acting nitrate wise.
the broad variety of shrimp fascinate guests (everyone who comes to my house regularly alwasy ask where my shrimp are.) all of the fish I listed are colorfull and have different personalities from each other, so it makes for diverse activities in the tank. they are all IMO fairly hardy.
note: this list does not include your clean up crew.
thank you for your list. Those are great ideas for colorful livestock, i will research them further while my water conditions are improving.
Do you have any suggestions for a lighting upgrade for corals that require a "moderate" light source?

 

[reefkprz]

powercompacts. I ran the coralife 2x65 watt set up on my 20g for a long time. can keep most softies and LPS with that set up. if you get the tip up legs for the fixture it makes working in your tank easy because the light just tips back out of the way. I still have that same fixture on one of my sumps now.