20 gallon hex project

i have a 20 hex thats been sitting around and my brother might want to start his first saltwater tank. we live together and this is not my first tank and i will be helping him with it. i was going to help him start it as a FOWLR at first and if he does well ill maybe give him a frag of some of my zoas maybe. I was thinking of making a very basic sump under the tank out of a 5 gallon bucket and a 5 gallon fuge so a total capacity of +/- 30 gallons. what are some good starter fish for him to start off with. i was thinking maybe a couple of ocellaris clowns and maybe later adding a tiger watchman/tiger pistol combo. does that seem ok? and what other fish would you recommend that are easy to care for and nice looking, preferably reef safe.

 

hey im new to the reef and this build is going to be for me, i'd like to hear my other options as for what kind of fish i can keep. thanks for the help

 

bump, come on someones got to have some input

 

My thoughts come from previous experience with a hex tank. They are tall and narrow and therefore have a very small surface area of water. What I found out was that it was difficult to keep things alive for long. Requires great air/water movement and you have to be carefull not to overstock your fish numbers or sizes. Hex tanks are cool looking just more challenging. It can be done just will require thoughtful planning. Good luck!

 

i feel with a sump and fuge it should be ok on o2 also ill have some kind of nano powerhead so i think theres enough water agitation for sufficient oxygen exchange, does that seem like its about right also besides adding surface area the fuge would have macros in it giving even more o2

 

you are probably correct in your thinking. My hex tank setup was a freshwater with hang on the back filtration and under gravel plates and air pump/stones. I think the sump and fuge expand your limits with this tank.

 

I had a 20 gallon hex a few years back - I think you have the right ideas as well - the sump will definitely help and your fish stock sounds good - keep it low... think about a skimmer in that sump too.
That is a tall tank so keep the corals on the easy low light side and / or build up some rock to place them higher. Keep the rock porous so you don't lose major water volume.
Good luck - send me a PM when you post some pics down the road!

matt

 

definitely will and i was planning on putting a small in sump skimmer int the 5 gallon bucket sump and i was thinking soft corals which are probably manageable in a tank like that but maybe eventually upgrade to a 150 metal halide pendant for above the tank