Help w/starting a small fish-only tank

[lionfishking]

Hey Everyone!

Just joined...great site . Need your advice please!

I've had a number of freshwater tanks in the past. I also had a nice small saltwater reef a few years ago (with hundreds of blue/green xenias!), but being busy with PhD school, I had little time to keep it up and since then I've forgotten much of my saltwater knowledge. Now I'm interested in converting my current 20 gallon Eclipse 2 (cartridge filter, bio-wheel, and two flourescent lights) to a pretty-bare small FISH-ONLY tank with a FEW easy-to-keep fish and artifical rocks and sand--nothing fancy.

I was thinking of adding an Aqua C Remora protein skimmer with a Maxi-Jet kit. Together with the Eclipse 2, do you think I should be fine with this setup?

Also, I used to use lots of Kent products for my old reef. Do I need any chemicals for a fish-only tank? I think I only need Kent Superbuffer, right? I don't think I still need Tech CB A and B, Kalkwasser, and Calcium, or am I wrong? SORRY, I NEED HELP WITH THIS AREA!
:? Any algae problems I need to know about for fish-only tanks?

Your help is greatly appreciated! Thanks! Fun fishkeeping!

 

[SnowManSnow]

<-- I just converted my 37 gallon eclipse tank. If you add the Aqua C remora and about 20 lbs of live rock you can probably nix the in hood filter if you wanted to.

as far as supliments go.. I would think that once you fulfill basic water parameters you should be fine.. for fish only I dont think youll need kalk for calcium and the other stuff. The things you listed are mainly used to help encourage coral and invert health. ALTHOUGH Kalk may speed your coraline algea growth on your LR.

 

[lionfishking]

Thanks for your help!!!

Best,

Babak

 

[Anonymous]

lionkingfish:


first of all welcome!!!!!!!!!


Gee your experience sounds familiar. I have kept fw for years with a simple fo salt long time ago. Then got back into salt a couple of years ago.

My recommendation is to use plant life such as macro algae or turtle grass as the main filtration. Set it up and get it thriving during the initial setup. Then do the rest. Protect it in a refugium sure but get the plant life established.

What I have found out is that with the plant life, some circulation, plus circulating 5x water flow through crushed oyster shells, I have much much reduced maintenance.

 

[wayne in norway]

I think i'd put some liverock in there. I wouldn't bother with any chemicals, I'd jsut do a regular water change every week - I'm not sure if I'd add a skimmer or not at that size. These setups have worked very well for me.

 

[Anonymous]

I agree with the above posters that you really don't need any additives. Just a routine of regular water changes will keep everything healthy.

 

[Anonymous]

I would use Aragonite substrate as it will buffer your alk. to some extent. If you are going to use R/O D/I water I would use some super buffer or eqv. Some good quality live rock and or live aragonite would help speed up the tanks cycle. Andy