20g Stocking

Just looking for a little advice on stocking a small FOWLR tank. Currently have 20lb of live sand, 13lb of live rock, skimmer, powerhead, MH 175w. Not looking to stock right this instant still cycling.
Current stats are
.5 ammonia
5.0 nitrIte
10 nitrAte
Temp 78
Salinity 1.026

As with every other time I got to set up a new tank I have to start with something the wife thinks is cute to con her into it. So its looking like this will be a clown tank. I have a decent bit of FW experiance which I am discovering does me almost no good when it comes to marine tanks other then a knowladge of the nitrate cycle and some hard earned patiance.

So to the point. My wife likes the clownfish so it looks like im getting a clownfish. The real question here is what is a proper bioload for a 20g clown tank. Can he have any other fish for company? What kind of clean up crew can I look at supporting? Also what kind of lighting will show off a clown the best on a MH? I have plans for a 20g sump as well that should be getting installed in the next month if that makes any difference on what I can stock.

Appreciate any help yall can offer. I tried to look around for an answer but most of the google hits were either conflicting or just very vague especially with it came to the clean up crew for a tank this size.

 

20 gallon will give you quite a few options really. You can definitley do more than just a single clown. A pair would be fine, and you could even throw one more small fish in there with them, say a firefish or something like that.
Clean-up crew (inverts in general) don't really add much to the bioload. You can pretty much go as wild as your heart desires with them, provided there is enough food to support their numbers.

 

+1 on what packleader said

 

you may like some clown gobies. your wife will probably think there cute since the yellows look like they have blush on

 

sixline wrasse all the way. and maybe a shrimp of some kind.

 

Apprciate the input. As for the clean up crew any ideas on about what a 20g should beable to support as far as not starving to death? Is there anyway to feed them if there isnt enough stuff for them to eat at some point?

Also what lighting should I go with in my metal halide. It is a pendant model Ive got a few of them but only one will fit over the tank hanging. As in K rating to show them off and maybe support some small corals if I ever feel comfterable enough with the saltwater thing to give them a shot?

 

I would prob. go with a 14k bulb depending on the look you are going for but the 14k is very popular and gives off grear color for your fishes and/or corals. As far as feeding the cleaning crew, snails will feed off of the algae in you tank, hermits will feed on algae, detritus, and small meaty items. Shrimp will eat whatever they can get their claws on and I give em a small piece of table shrimp, a silverside, or a small chunk of nori once a week or so to keep em' happy!

 

yes you can feed the cuc food lol, but seriously they will eat anything, give them some algae or shrimp waffers if your worried.
if you go to reefcleaners.org they have a form to fill out for suggestions of a good clean up crew. filling out this form isnt any contract to buy from them, but you may decide to since they have great prices.

some advice i will give you is if you mix crabs with snails, plan on replacing some snails sometimes

14 k is popular

 

Ok thanks I guess thats all I got for now. Appreciate the advice and will definalty check out that site.

 

Agreed on replacing the snails.. if you get hermits.. give them some extra shells to grow in to.. or they will attack your snails and steal theirs LOL