Newby im a little confused with my 20 g h fowlr

[wilson the volleyball]

Hi I have been doing a bit of research but i am still unsure of some stuff. I am hopefully going to be starting a 20 gallon h FOWLR aquarium if i can talk my mom into it. As of now i have it as a freshwater aquarium and i am going to convert it. It has an aquaclear 200 and then the light and heater that came with it (I have no idea what they are). I have been reading that the live rock and live sand are the filters so do i need a filter. I was thinking of just getttin two new powerheads(i have no idea what size) for water movement, and keepin the aquaclear, aquaclear and just. I was not thinking of getting a skimmer because i dont have the money. I need help with what i have to buy, i was thinking of:
25-30 lbs live sand(dont know what kind)
25-30lbs live rock(just to start, could you name a few good kinds)
one or two powerheads 1 maxijet 600 and i mini jet but are there anyother kinds becauuse i dont think my pet store has these i know they supply hagen though. ??
all of the required test kits and salt and reverse osmosis water(can i buy that at the grocery store)

I was thinking of stalking my tank with:
2 false percula clowns
and could you name some good foods for them
i heard the false percs should b kept in mated pairs. not sure wat that means so i was thinkin of only get one also gettin either a firefish or purple firefish and what other kind of fish could i ahve or if n e one has a sample list for my 20 g it would be greatly appreciated.

mayb a couple shrimp. and are blue legged hermits good i was thinkin of them and a variety of 15-20 snails i have 4 kindas picked- Atreae snails
nassairus snails
cerith snails
and margaraita snails
i was thinkin of gettin 4- 5 of each of those and a few crabs and mayb one shrimp.
also i was thinkin of gettin an orange linkia start if that would be alright. sumone plaease give a bit of advice on this as i have some but is till dont if i should ahve one.
also what is a small pygmy angel like suitable for this tank or not. i really want at least one false percula thoguh.
and maybe some good plants( what ones and how many)


Thanks for all the help and advice in advance. And if you have any additional advice it would be greatly appreiciated. I also probably wont be starting for a month or so i just want to get a lot of research done and maybe post new questions that i may be confused about. I also do not have a lot of money so i want to try and not spend a lot. i was thinking of spending like 220 and getting a better stand then the table it is on now is in that budget somehow. this budget is just a budget for required items b4 i start to cycle no fish or food is included in this. it can be stretched a bit but id rather not have too if idont have too.

 

[wilson the volleyball]

also is calcium and alkalinity really only for reef tanks or do i need to check that with my fowlr

 

[Enzo]

I'm also a kid, and let me tell you it totally sucks funding all this crap with a minumum wage job. Adults have it easy...jerks. Okay anyways, You're going to need a lot more capital then that. The powerheads are going to atleast cost you 40 bucks, salt is going to be like 50, the stand prolly like a hundred, liverock 100-200, and livesand 100. So I would start with the pure essentials. You prolly really need the stand because it's going to be pretty hard to switch later, so go for it with that. About liverock. I would suggect getting about 20 pounds, and about 10-15 pounds of base rock. Base rock can be pretty much any rock, it's just rock that you would put on the bottom to fill up room. It'll turn slowly into live rock in the matter of a year. Livesand, you also want about 25 pounds, but all of it does not have to be live. You can start out with like 12 pounds sand, and 12 pounds live sand. The maxijets are great powerheads, and you can pretty much dump the aquaclear, but you can always keep it for more water movement and surface agitation. Just run it empty without the sponge and carbon. Your perds are going to be fine in your 20, you want to get two smaller clownfish. They should most likely become a pair if introduced at the same time. That's going to cost you anywhere from 40-50 bucks alltogether. And there is no need to get an "actual" mated pair, because I think that mostly just a waste of 50 bucks unless you want them to have babies quick. Also a purple firefish needs a good population of coepods. You might want to think of some kind of refugium. Coepods are little shrimp like things that live in plants and live rock. That'll be the main source of food for your firefish. I wouldn't get those for a while, atleast not until you have a stable colony of firefish. For the food for your clowns, you want to have a nice varied diet. Maybe get a frozen mysis shrimp with the combination of some flake food. Your Local fish store should know what food your clowns should eat. Also about the snails, I personally love Mexican Turbo snails, about 2 should be just enough for your tank. And some hermits would also be good. Also, you definately want to invest in a skimmer, and not just any crappy skimmer, you want a good skimmer. Unless you're going to change your tank like every three days with the amount of fish you want to keep. A great skimmer for a 20 gallon is the CPR backpack. It'll cost you like 120 big ones, but it's worth it, trust me. You can prolly find it for like 70 on ebay. Don't get anything crapppy, a skimmer is something you don't want to cheap out on. And definately don't get a seaclone, because you could prolly get more gunk out of your fish tank by sucking it out with a straw. SO there you have it, I hope this helps, man. And it's going to be a rough ride from here, so hang tight.

 

[Enzo]

yah I definately should check my grammer after I type. What I meant about the coepods and firfish is that you shouldn't get FIREFISH before you are sure you have a good colony of COEPODS. Sorry about that, i'm a moron

 

[cdeakle]

I have been reading that the live rock and live sand are the filters so do i need a filter?

-Yes! The LR and LS would be your biological filter but you still need mechanical filtration by means of a protein skimmer. You can sometimes get good pricing on used ones either here or on ebay. For your size tank I would suggest either the CPR Bakpak or the AquaC line.

I was thinking of just getttin two new powerheads(i have no idea what size) for water movement

-I would suggest getting 2 Maxi-Jet 1200's to start with also from marinedepot.com. I think they cost $18.95 each plus shipping. I have a 55 gallon tank with 4 Maxi-Jet 1200's.

I don't have alot of time because I'm slammed at work but I will try to comment later on your other questions, If I forget you can always pm me......

 

[cdeakle]

Don't get anything crapppy, a skimmer is something you don't want to cheap out on. And definately don't get a seaclone, because you could prolly get more gunk out of your fish tank by sucking it out with a straw.

HAHAHAH :lol:

 

[Anonymous]

The purple firefish is really more of a mid-water planktivore, rather than a fish that hunts in the live rock, and thus shouldn't have to depend on the copepod population...

 

[wilson the volleyball]

this is almost the first time i ahve heard n e thing aobut a skimmer most ppl say that i should b fine wtihout one. do u guys really think i should get one or not to really bother i plan on doing water changes once a week.

 

[cdeakle]

IMO a good quality skimmer is a MUST in this hobby......

 

[Anonymous]

Well, it's a FOWLR, not a reef.... if you keep a very small number of fish, don't feed too heavily, and keep up with the water changes, you might get by without a skimmer. It just makes things a bit more delicate.

 

[wilson the volleyball]

does n e one know what the aquaclear powerheads gph are i cant figure it out. heres a site where i found some. i was gonna get two a big one and a small one with am ac 200 i was gonna get the ac ph 201 and the ac ph 402 n e one got advice on these two. http://www.bigalsonline.ca/catalog/cate ... pcid1=2181

 

[wilson the volleyball]

i was just wondering when using dead sand do i mix it with the livesand together, and do i ahve to acclimate the sand and LR to the tank or can i just stick it in. i have alos heard i can have 4 fish. wodnerin if this is alright:

2 false percula clownfish
1 yellow clown goby
1 royal gramma

and does n e one have n e advice on setting up the LR i think its called aquascaping

also should i maybe just get rid of the ac200 and get 2 ac ph 301s.
sum1 told me that and im not sure what to do.

o and i dont think i want a skimmer right away maybe when i get paid like a month after i have fish and stuff but sitll not sure if i really want one

 

[wilson the volleyball]

instead of yellow clown goby i ithnk i am goin to go with firefish

 

[Revstarky]

Even in a fish only set-up, I would strongly recommend making a protein skimmer a priority. Your dealing with a small volume of water, and it can go South on you quickly. A skimmer will help you maintain water clarity, minimize unwanted algae growth, remove disolved organics before they break down, and oxygenate the water.

 

[wilson the volleyball]

will the thermometer i ahve now b fine with a saltwater aquarum. it just floats around.

if get a skimmer will i only need on ph and my ac 200

 

[Enzo]

2 false percula clownfish
1 yellow clown goby
1 royal gramma

TOO MANY FISH!!... DOn't make the mistake of stuffing your tank with fish. I remember when I was that naive and moronic. You'll have a big problem with hair algae, and cyno. You'll practically want to kill yourself. I'm not exaggerating, DON'T!!! And neways the only way you could keep that many fish without algae probs. WOuld be to HAVE A SWEEEEEET SKIMMER. NOT A CRAPPY ONE! SO don't cheap out, champ. And Skimmers are definately chemical filtration and not mechanical. Screw mechanical filtration, you don't need that. You need chemical and biological. Live rock and sand gives you biological. And skimmers give you chemical. But dont' use any chemical crap like carbon, or chemi-pure. Because you want to go as natural as possible. (you know that foamy stuff from waves in an ocean, yah, that's really crappy nasty gunky stuff from the ocean, and that's what a skimmer does) And loosen up a bit, man, you don't have to ask about every last detail like what thermometer will work, pretty much anything that reads temperature to the nearest degree will do. And you have to have a pretty crappy thermometer if it is more than a degree off.

 

[wilson the volleyball]

wat is a copepod population. and are the cpr backpak and remora good skimmers, if i do get one i have to make sure it is at my lfs though and at my lfs i know they sell hagen stuff but i dont think much else. are any skimmers made by hagen

 

[wilson the volleyball]

if i get a skimmer i was just wondering if it would be chaeper just to amke a skimmer (if possible) and how or to buy one

 

[Enzo]

unless you're really experianced
DIY skimmer= COMPLETE CRAP

The AuqaC remoras are great skimmers, so are the CPR bakpacks. I have experiance with the CPR and I love it. I don't know about Aqua C but I hear it's one of the best skimmers you can get for a smaller tank. And coepods are small shrimp like animals that swim about your tank. They usually come from Live rock. After your tank is extablished for a few months you should see tons.

 

[wilson the volleyball]

would a priszm be a good one. also are these skimmers ones that dont need sumps