20 Gallon Skimmer

[Dalybro]

I have had a marine tank for about 2 years now. Its a 20 gallon tank with no live rock and only 1 clown fish, 1 emerald crab and a few snails. I have never had a skimmer and haven't really had any problems. I have a heater and a Penguin Bio Wheel filter. After reading a few things on this site I have decided that a skimmer is the way to go.

I'm going to be adding live rock to the tank soon. What would you suggest for a 20 gallon tank? Running the skimmer along with the live rock is all I need for adequate filtration? What about power heads?

 

[injektion]

it would definitely depend on if you plan to raise corals or not. if corals are not in your plans then i'd say live rock and a skimmer is fine, although having a filter may improve the overall health of your fish. sorry if i'm not providing enough scientific facts lol.

you could get away with about 20 lbs (more or less 10 kg) of live rock although ideally you would want at least 1.5 times the amount of rock per gallon, so 30 lbs (15 kg). more would be great but that would reduce too much water volume. when choosing live rock, try to pick out ones with coraline algae growing on it (usually purple/redish patches on the rock). also make sure the rocks are porous so beneficial bacteria can thrive (porous rocks also weigh less so that you can buy more for less!)

power heads are ideal in pretty much any tank with good swimmers. they keep the water well aerated if you point them towards the surface of the water and reduces any "dead spots" in the tank where water doesn't move and waste builds up in that area. i say power heads are ideal in tanks with good swimmers because fish like puffers and boxfish don't tend to do very well when swimming against strong currents. in your case, i'd say definitely get at least 1 power head for some better aeration, especially if you don't plan on using your filter.

and get your clown a mate! it must be pretty lonely being the only fish in the tank lol.

happy fish keeping!

cheers!

 

[AK77]

I have had a marine tank for about 2 years now. Its a 20 gallon tank with no live rock and only 1 clown fish, 1 emerald crab and a few snails. I have never had a skimmer and haven't really had any problems. I have a heater and a Penguin Bio Wheel filter. After reading a few things on this site I have decided that a skimmer is the way to go.

I'm going to be adding live rock to the tank soon. What would you suggest for a 20 gallon tank? Running the skimmer along with the live rock is all I need for adequate filtration? What about power heads?

Yup, the live rock will be your biological filtration system. Just ensure that you have good flow around the rocks. A powerhead moving around 400GPh would be ideal or two 200GPH. Have a look at the Hydor Korallia (or imitation ones).