PLZ Help on a 20 gallon FOWLR

Stingray81

Hi,
I'm looking at setting up my first saltwater aquarium i have been doing a lot of research and i have decided i want to do a fowlr in a 20 gallon long tank I've had for awhile.I've had lots of experience with keeping fish in the past and am actually running a freshwater tank right now . I have most of the supplies already, here are the things i already have:

-a heater
-salt mix
-ammonia,PH,nitrite,and nitrate test kits
-a BIG HOB tetra filter
-tank
-fluorescent light
-hydrometer
-crushed coral
-thermometer
- and I'm in the process of trying to find a protein skimmer

please tell me if theirs anything i need besides what i already have, and if you could help on how to do water changes and maintain the tank.

Thanks

Reefing Madness

At least 20 lbs of Live Rock, for natural filtration. For water changes, mix up the mix at least 24 hours before the change. you want to change 1/4 of the water every 2-3 weeks. Watch your Nitrates in a FOWLR, as these might creep up on you if your doing every 3 week changes, you may need to change it to every 2 weeks.

Caligirl330

I agree you will need at least 20 lbs of live rock or more and I would also suggest about 20 lbs of live sand too, it will help serve the same purpose as the live rock and provide more natural filtration. Clean the sand thoroughly if you decide to get some. I cleaned mine by putting the sand into a clean bucket and added tap water that I treated with Amquel an ammonia and nitrate remover (I used tap water to clean the sand because Using my RO/DI to clean the sand would be a little expensive) then swirled the sand around and dump out the water and then add more treated tap water until the water was less cloudy (about 5 times each sand load) there are other ways that you could clean the sand as well thats just my way. You may already know this but only use RO/DI water when doing water changes and one more thing you could put on your list of things to get is at least 2 water jugs to store back up RO/DI water for top offs or water changes. Reef Madness is right FOWLRS tend to get nitrate spikes and sometimes when this happens to my FOWLR I do small daily water changes until my water params look good. Good luck!

Reefing Madness

Stingray81

yes,i am working on getting live rock i was told the more rock you put in you tank the easier it will cycle, my tank is a twenty gallon long,i was also told that crushed coral works good for a fowlr because it stables the ph? i don't know if that is 100% true or not.Also my water isn't tap water it is well water i use it for all my freshwater aquariums and it dose fine i don't have to add anything to it like you would with tap water,does that also apply with saltwater?Also do i really need a a protein skimmer? people are telling me i don't need one because im not doing corals and my tank isn't big enough to require one?

Reefing Madness

As long as you keep up on water changes, then no, you don't need a skimmer. Skimmers remove organics from the water column before they can become an issue. ie, Nitrates. I use Crushed Coral #0 in my tank, never had an issue with PH. As far as using Well Water, it all depends on whats in it. Salt creatures don't like alot of crap in the water. you'll have to test it and see if it contains anything harmful.

Stingray81

ok,everyone is saying i need live sand in a fowlr because it reduces nitrate spikes it that true?also my water is fine it doesn't have any chlorine or anything in it

Reefing Madness

No, you do not need Live Sand if you don't want to use it. Its not necessary for a FOWLR. You could use CC, or go Bare Bottom. Its up to you on this one. Try to stay away from big Crushed Coral type substrait, as it will get hold of food debre and turn it into a Nitrate factory on you. Crushed Coral in the Xfine +0 is fine.

Caligirl330

That is true you don't have to have live sand if you don't want. Plenty of people do bare bottom tanks. The Live sand will just help with the nitrates just like the live rock because they are natural filters and if you plan on getting any wrasses or sand dwelling fish it will make them feel more at home.

Stingray81

Ok i've had my tank setup for about a week now all i have in it is my crushed coral and saltwater and my heater, unfortunatly my filter broke i should be getting a marineland biowheel 350 tomarrow, the guy at my saltwater only aquarium store said it will be really hard to keep the nitrates down, to be honest im kinda worried about that should i just go ahead and get a skimmer? Would that help in anyway? Also im getting about 35-40 LB's of marshall island live rock
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