Doing More Research

[Vivid-Dawn]

Hiya

I've been keeping freshwater for about 5 years now, and while it's nice, I've always been fascinated with saltwater. So, I figure I'll give it a go.
First off, I'm being "bad" and doing nano (20 gallon tank)...but from what I understand, the main reason people fail at it beginning so small, is they don't maintain it properly...I have no job, school only one day a week - I can devote plenty of attention to it!
While I don't have a lot of money (which is why I'm doing nano), I'm not going to skimp on maintenance things, either. I'll try to get good quality, without spending a fortune... I hope!

So, here's what I plan on:
20 gallon tank (but after some calculations, will only have about 16.5 gallons, cuz of the sand, decorations, and stuff)
Filter - regular Hagen AquaClear (might get a Penguin Bio-wheel if I have enough money left over, but I've currently got an AquaClear to use) with foam/sponge, charcoal and some white granule stuff called "BioMax"
Fish Only - no live rock/sand/corals/etc. (I only have regular lights)
Now, for the livestock, I plan on only a couple fish (maybe 3, AFTER I've gotten used to keeping a couple things nice and healthy) and a small cleaning crew. Here's my choices:
FISH
Neon Goby (definitely getting this)
Bangaii Cardinal
Yellow Clown Goby
Yellow-tail Blue Damsel
Black Bar Chromis
(still doing research to find out if any are territorial, too shy (want to actually see my pets once in a while!), etc.)
CLEANING
Scarlet Skunk cleaner shrimp (? they just look purdy!)
super tongan nassarius snail (detritus)
cerith snail (detritus)
turbo snail (algea)
dwarf hermit crab (algae)
I do want at least one algae eater, and one detritus eater.

So, I got two questions:
which of these pets are recommended for the set-up and not be overstocked?
would a 10%, once a week (every Saturday) water change be okay? Or too little/too much?

 

[Musho3210]

Welcome to the marine side, my answers will be CAPS in the quote

Hiya

I've been keeping freshwater for about 5 years now, and while it's nice, I've always been fascinated with saltwater. So, I figure I'll give it a go.
First off, I'm being "bad" and doing nano (20 gallon tank)...but from what I understand, the main reason people fail at it beginning so small, is they don't maintain it properly...I have no job, school only one day a week - I can devote plenty of attention to it!
NOTHING WRONG WITH THAT, ITS WHAT I DID
While I don't have a lot of money (which is why I'm doing nano), I'm not going to skimp on maintenance things, either. I'll try to get good quality, without spending a fortune... I hope!

So, here's what I plan on:
20 gallon tank (but after some calculations, will only have about 16.5 gallons, cuz of the sand, decorations, and stuff)
Filter - regular Hagen AquaClear (might get a Penguin Bio-wheel if I have enough money left over, but I've currently got an AquaClear to use) with foam/sponge, charcoal and some white granule stuff called "BioMax"
Fish Only - no live rock/sand/corals/etc. (I only have regular lights)
TO TELL YOU THE TRUTH, I THINK YOU WILL BE MUCH BETTER OFF IF YOU GET AT LEAST A LITTLE BIT OF LIVE ROCK, MAYBE 1 POUND LIVE AND 19 POUNDS BASE (DRY/DEAD/CHEAP), THAT WAY YOU CAN HAVE A NATURAL FILTER, THE TANK WILL LOOK BETTER, AND YOU WONT BE NEEDING THE AQUACLEAR FILTER, BUT IF YOU ARENT GOING TO HAVE ROCK, USE THE FILTER.
Now, for the livestock, I plan on only a couple fish (maybe 3, AFTER I've gotten used to keeping a couple things nice and healthy) and a small cleaning crew. Here's my choices:
FISH
Neon Goby (definitely getting this) YES
Bangaii Cardinal YOU MAY BE ABLE TO GET TWO OF THESE, BUT NOTHING ELSE AFTER 2 BANGAIIS AND A NEON GOBY. MAKE SURE THEY ARE BOTH TANK RAISED/TANK BRED BECAUSE ITS BETTER FOR THE ENVIRONMENT AND TANK RAISE/TANK BREAD ARE GENERALLY EASIER TO KEEP BECAUSE THEY ARE MORE HARDY.
Yellow Clown Goby
Yellow-tail Blue Damsel
Black Bar Chromis
(still doing research to find out if any are territorial, too shy (want to actually see my pets once in a while!), etc.)
CLEANING
Scarlet Skunk cleaner shrimp (? they just look purdy!) YOU COULD PROBABLY GET TWO OF THESE
super tongan nassarius snail (detritus) GOOD
cerith snail (detritus) GOOD
turbo snail (algea) I WOULD GET ASTRAEA INSTEAD OF TURBOS, THEY DONT GET AS BIG AND THEY WORK ABOUT JUST AS EFFICIENT. ASTRAEA ARE MORE OF A NANO SNAIL THAN TURBOS ARE.
dwarf hermit crab (algae) THESE CAN GET VIOLENT AND KILL SNAILS FOR THEIR SHELLS, AT YOUR OWN RISK
I do want at least one algae eater, and one detritus eater. GONNA NEED MORE THAN ONE OF EACH, 3 ASTRAEA, 3 CERITHS, AND MAYBE 2 JUMBO OR 4 SMALL NASSARIUS SNAILS. GET NASSARIUS AFTER YOU GET YOUR FISH. YOU MAY NEED MORE OR LESS, IF YOU ARE HAVING A FO TANK... THEN PROBABLY A TINY BIT LESS, START LOW AND BUILD HIGHER IF NEEDED.
So, I got two questions:
which of these pets are recommended for the set-up and not be overstocked?
would a 10%, once a week (every Saturday) water change be okay? Or too little/too much? THATS A GOOD AMOUNT, WOULDNT HURT TO DO A LITTLE MORE.

hope that helped, feel free to ask as many questions as you want.

 

[@ombomb]

Fish Only - no live rock/sand/corals/etc. (I only have regular lights)

Unless you are planning on keeping something specialist which prevents you from using live rock (which you aren't according to the fish you mentioned) I think you'd be absolutely crazy to try and maintain a nano without Live Rock. Low lighting levels are not a problem and you'd be depriving yourself one of the best biological filters available and an excellent source of life.

 

[steelhealr]

the main reason people fail at it beginning so small, is they don't maintain it properly...

Actually...not true. Most people, in their enthusiasm, actually do things to maintain their tanks well. What kills it for many are

• rushing
• improper stocking secondary to poor research/planning
• 'plop maneuver'.....putting corals in their tank too early

Anything that dies in a nano tank has the potential to crash/nuke the tank. Common errors that support the above are stocking with sea stars, flame scallops....having a coral die in a tank....etc.

Good luck. Read much. Take your time.

Beauty comes slowly. Disaster comes quickly.

SH

SH

 

[Vivid-Dawn]

Okay, so here's another question, since it seems to have so many different opinions in my research:
Can I use tap water?
I can't afford a RO/DI (at least for now...maybe I can get one for Christmas!). I was planning on putting tap water in a bucket with a dose of AmQuel and NovAqua, and letting it sit with an aerator for a day, then add salt to the proper level, let it sit for another day, and then add it.
I could use distilled water from the store (Wal-Mart has it for under a dollar a gallon), but I've heard that's not much better than treated tap water.

What do you guys think?
For top-off water due to evaporation, I'd use the same method, just without the salt part.

 

[@ombomb]

What do you guys think?

I think that's a very bad idea.

The problem isn't so much the chlorine in the water which can be neutralsied, it's the impurities, the nitrates, phosphate, copper etc etc

Most fish shops will sell RO water and I think DI water is available in supermarkets depending on where you live.

I'm afraid keeping a marine tank isn't a cheap hobby (at least no as you're doing the initial start up), if you're going to have go forgoe vital equipment like an RO unit (IMO anyway) then maybe you're better off waiting till you have more money coming in / saved up.

 

[Musho3210]

distilled is a lot better than treated tapwater.... so i would definately go with distilled or RO or DI even, you can get 30 dollar DI units, but the upkeep cost will quickly give you a run for your money. Its better if you just save up for an RO unit or just buy pre filtered RO/distilled water at your supermarket or something

 

[steelhealr]

The answer to tap is easy...just no. SH

 

[SkiFletch]

Agreed, walmart or grocery store distilled is a much better option.

 

[Musho3210]

some of the big grocery stores have RO water fill ups, they normally cost like 49cents a gallon (america). Look around your local big grocery store and you may be able to find one. Make sure its RO water first.