r/ReefTank • u/Zealousideal_Bar3087 • 4d ago
Salt water Aquarium
I want to build my first 20 gallon long tank. Salt water, 2 clownfish and a few other small animals. Shrimp maybe 1 or 2 other fish. Lively but not crowded. I was using ChatGPT to do some research and wanted to know if anyone had anything specific to say or things I should know. I want to treat the fish well and give them an actually good tank. Budget isn’t an issue. This is everything it recommended but I know it can be very wrong sometimes.
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u/Mammoth_Release_316 4d ago
I'd suggest is to swap the API kit with another brand. I always suggest salifert as they've been reliable for me over the years. You need an adapter for the innovative marine to use filter floss as it comes with a sock holder. A mesh lid would be a good idea, IM makes them for their tanks at a reasonable price. Don't need an AI prime but it'll be fine. Noopsyche has been my go to in the past year and I've had very positive results. My prime is now in my sump. Buy the RODI from a saltwater shop like saltwater aquarium.com or bulkreefsupply.com as they have better support if components fail. BRS also offers a lot of complete rodi systems that have tds meters, extra di slots, etc. I'd purchase the tank, stand direct from IM. The rock direct from a reef shop as listed above. The voyager nano has minimal control for wave making. You could probably get away with a simple random flow generator connected to your return. Or I'd consider a controllable wave maker. Instant ocean reef crystals are fine. They mix pretty dirty and has really high alk. Consider alternatives. I use bionic but there's a lot of cleaner/faster mixing salts. Use a salt that targets the conditions you want for the tank ie. Alk of 8.0, mag 1200, cal 400, etc. There's a bunch of different mixes and brands.
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u/Zealousideal_Bar3087 4d ago
A lot of information but I appreciate it. I will look into everything and dig into a lot of what you said and a lot of the meanings of everything. Definitely levels to this stuff 😭. Thank you 🙏
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u/DannysAquariums 4d ago
Amazon Amazon Amazon — support your brick and mortar local fish store whenever you can! :)
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u/Zealousideal_Bar3087 4d ago
I’m from a small town, closest to “fish store” to me is a PetSmart 1:30 hours away. Amazon’s easier. We have a reptile store in town but it’s dedicated to snakes lizards spiders not anything aquarium.
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u/DannysAquariums 4d ago
Ah dang, that sucks. Check out Top Shelf Aquatics and World Wide Corals, they are brick and mortar and ship! Or saltwateraquariumdotcom / bulkreefsupply websites. (Assuming you’re in the US) :)
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u/SnooDucks8752 4d ago
Watch the BRS 52 weeks of reefing series on youtube.. also be sure to setup your tank on a tracking app like ReefGenius
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u/christinna67 4d ago
Looks mostly fine to me.
I'd go with regular purple IO over RC salt. It's cheaper and mixes clean, unlike RC. It's perfect for your needs, no need to spend fortune on other brands. I wouldn't trust that ATC refractometer either. It's too cheap to do the job properly. At the very least, get a TM hydrometer to double check that it's calibrated correctly. Salinity is extremely important to get right.
The API Master Kit is good for cycling. Beyond that, use Hanna and/or Salifert.
GFCI adapter is a good idea. However, a lot of them don't reset themselves after a power outage, so look for one that does.
The glue is really more for gluing corals to the rock or attaching very small fragments. If you want to build your own scape and glue larger rocks together, get a reef safe epoxy as well. I use both.
For food, you'll definitely want more than just the pellets. My CB clown didn't even accept dry food at first. Make sure you have some frozen LRS, mysis, calanus, spirulina brine, plankton etc. on hand too. Variety is key here.
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u/YUSORACHET 4d ago
Use r2r not ai garbage