Little Help?

[Murminator]

I am setting up a little s/w(1st attempt) 24Lx12Wx18H think it is about 15gal I have a 65w Coralife aqualight, Zoomed powersweep 214 filter, live sand and red sea salt. I have be getting a lot of info from the net but these sites might originate in sunny Florida where things my differ who knows.
My question is on temp, sg, ph what should they be

What I found
Temp 78 F
SG 1.024
PH 8.2-8.4
I have a Deep Six hydrometer and it says 1.020-1.023 is the safe zone
I would like to know all this before I add my sand and live rock (when I buy it )
My plan for the tank are hard corals(maybe a soft or 2), 2 clowns, maybe a star, and lots on inverts.

I appreciate all the help I can get

[mr_alberta]

Welcome to the club!

Yeah, that sounds about right. For temp, I usually run between 79-83F. Keep on reading either on this forum or ReefCentral or Nano-Reef.com and you should be good to go!

What type of hard coral are you planning on keeping? Also, besides the one powersweep, what else do you have for flow?

[Murminator]

I also have a aquaclear mini or 200 not sure would have to dig it out should I use this for flow with just a foam sponge in it??

The more I surf the more I like zoo's and polyps think I would like them if there easy to keep for a newbie (need more info on them)

[mr_alberta]

Zoanthids and other polyps are probably the easiest things to care for in my opinion.

You can use your Aquaclear to add more flow. Don't put anything in it (or just run carbon if you'd like). You don't need the sponge, but if you do use the sponge, make sure you clean it regularly (i.e. weekly) so crud doesn't build up in it.

A 24"x12"x18" is a little over 20G I believe...

[IslandReefer]

Welcome Murminator,
I have a 15g tall...ie just 25% shorter than your 20g (22.4g). It has 2x 32w 50/50 PCs ,a powersweep (no filter)...for variable cross flow and an Aquaclear 500, modified as a refugium, that holds the heater,temp probe, more LR etc......all in all similar to yours, if you added the HOB refugium.
The aquaclear simply has a acrylic wall added to the main body to create an overflow...flow through the refugium into the tank...then deflected sideways by the powersweep....this creates good flow top to bottom and through the LR.
This Nano grows mushrooms and zoos like crazy! It also contains 2 candycanes (LPS),a pipeorgan coral, a brown plyotha, a scroll coral (soon to be moved), a blue ricordia,several xenia, two clusters of GSP, and three kinds of macroalgea. For critters it has 2 False Percs, a sixline Wrass, cleaner shrimp, apx 6 hermits, 2 turbo snails and several assorted snails.
Also I had 4 acros cooling their heels, on top untill they could go back into my other tank....lasted 3mths...went brown but lived.
That is, with good flow and regular water changes (I do 20% biweekly) your setup could support most low to mid-light demand corals (maybe upgrade/increase the lighting when you can) and critters to suit the tank size.
Goood Luck Murray....hope this helps