Am I buying the right equipment for my new tank?

Ok, so I am about to start down the long and costly road to eventually having a healthy and thriving reef tank. This will be my first attempt at saltwater so I am trying to avoid as many newbie mistakes as possible. I've done a bit of research and this is the list of things I will be buying for my new tank. Please let me know what you think and if I am missing anything. Thank you for your time and for helping a noob like me ;D

First of all, I have a 20 gallon long glass aquarium. The girlfriend gave it to me as a gift and I can't wait to get started.

Protein skimmer - Biocube Protein Skimmer (for 30 gallon tanks) $49.99

Power head - Koralia evolution (1050gph, magnet with vibration reduction) (I'm going to buy one) $58.99

Heater - Elite Submersive (rated for 10-20 gallons) $38.99

Lighting hood - Solormax HE. High efficiency T5 lighting system. 30" long. T5 HE 14w - $35.99

Glass lid - 30" long - $30

Light - Deep Blue Solormax T5. 14w 10KK Daylight - $14

Sand - 20lbs of live sand - $30

Live rock - I'm not sure how much I'm getting yet.

Total = about $216 without live rock.

Thank you for helping me with this. The hardest part has been figuring out what equipment will be best for me. All of this equipment is available at my LFS. I also plan on buying pre-mixed RO/DI water from them too.

 

I will let other people comment on the things I don't know much about (I've only had one type of skimmer, ect).

But I'd go with "dead" sand, since it's a lot cheaper, and will get populated from your rock anyway. Also go with mostly dry rock and a pound or two of live rock to seed it. This will save you a lot for something that you won't notice in the long run.

Also, when I had a glass lid my PH suffered and it always was covered in salt creep, so I'd recommend against one. If you plan on keeping fish that are known jumpers, I'd try to make a netted top instead.

How many bulbs is that light fixture?

 

Are you going to keep coral? If you are then you will want at least 2 bulbs in the fixture. If you plan on keeping SPS or clams then you should go with a 2 bulb T5HO fixture.

I would get at least 2 Koralia 550s or 4 Koralia 240s. One pump that big could really move your sand around.

I would get dry sand. No sense in paying for water. You will get all of the bacteria you need from your live rock. I would buy about 5 lbs of live rock and 15 lbs of dry rock.

 

John is correct. I believe the light you have listed is a standard T5. You really need a high output T5 called T5HO if you have the funds. Most newbies don't realize there are two types of T5 lights.

 

The light fixture is only for one light and I plan on keeping coral. Should I get one with two bulbs? And what bulbs are good? I'll go with the two 500gph powerheadsand regular sand.

 

Look at an Aquaticlife fixture. You can expand it to 4 bulbs or more if you decide you want more in the future.

 

Skip the biocube skimmer. Tis crap. The hydror slim skim is good.

 

I agree with the two smaller powerheads. Also on a 20, you would be fine just doing regular water changes. I would hold off for a bit on a protein skimmer and see how things go. Then if a few months down the road, you feel regular water changes aren't doing it for you, you can then pick a skimmer up. May save some cash or at least give you time to save up some more.

 

And I believe for a skimmer for a nano, a lot of folks on here are recommending the Tunze 9002.

 

I would try to get a sump if at all possible trying to put skimmers and heaters and stuff in 20 really takes up room