Thinking of setting up my 1st salt water tank...

[Ian h]

Hey everyone,
So I have been keeping freshwater fish for a while. I kind of want to do a nano/7-10 gallon saltwater tank and try something new. I've read a ton of things about it, just curious on other peoples experiences . 1. Do I need filtered water/RO? or can I use tap? 2. If I do a 7 gal can I have 2 clown fish?
Any other suggestions would be great!
Thanks!,
Ian

 

[Lalo J.]

It all depends on what you want to keep, for a couple of clowns the minimum would be 20 or 25 gallons. If you are going to keep only the fish you can use even drinking water, if you want to add corals then RO water is necessary. When someone starts in salt water, it's recommended that you set up the largest tank you can, because the levels are more likely to shoot in a small tank.

 

[the loach]

Saltwater is much more complicated as f/w, in terms of a stable tank. Therefore it is even more important to get a bigger tank, I think nano saltwater tanks are more of a curiosity, not something you recommend someone to start with.

 

[Lalo J.]

When you have a stable tank, and you don't forget your maintenance routine, your fish should be as strong as a freshwater fish. However, in saltwater the quarantine is ESSENTIAL, I learned it in the worst way. That's the number one step in finding stability in a saltwater tank, everything else will come by itself if you do a good job with the values in the water.

 

[SigPiPup]

I successfully kept a 10 gallon SW tank for several years (probably close to 10+ years) that survived several moves in and out of dorms and apartments and through different room changes in a house. It is possible with minimal to no external filtration, but also with minimal livestock. I used a combination of live sand, about 3" deep, and live rock. Kept 1 clown and one lemon goby. Even had some xenia in there before it got out of hand.

You will want RO/DI water, though, to begin with. I think this was the key.

 

[FishAddict74]

Hey everyone,
So I have been keeping freshwater fish for a while. I kind of want to do a nano/7-10 gallon saltwater tank and try something new. I've read a ton of things about it, just curious on other peoples experiences . 1. Do I need filtered water/RO? or can I use tap? 2. If I do a 7 gal can I have 2 clown fish?
Any other suggestions would be great!
Thanks!,
Ian

I don’t think two clowns would work in a nano tank. I would pick a different fish, But I’ll go a different route based on my experience. I find salt to be easier than fresh. For a nano tank, I would just get lots of small pieces of live rock, and a small hob for circulation and mechanical filtration, for dirty water corals like Xenia, GSP, Kenya tree etc... tap water is fine. Ad a reef safe CUC and you’re set. Since it’s a nano tank, you could even buy saltwater from your LFS, maybe get 10 or 15 gallons at a time once a month or maybe two for your WCs. I think doing 30% weekly WC on a nano is good.

 

[Strongarm]

You could have a clownfish in a ten gallon. 1 only. I like the Blue Damsels.
They are hardy, most usually survive the Cycle, and are beautiful. A newbie with a new tank, really needs to keep it as simple as possible.
Yes 1 fish per 7 gallons of water is my rule, others have other rules. Overstocking in a Nano Tank usually means one more fish that the tank can handle....or 2 fish.
I had a friend that had a 10 gallon standard Walmart tank, and had 2 Damsels, 3 Feather Dusters, and a couple of Zoanthids. His tank was awesome!



Zoanthids like this:

 

[Strongarm]

I would put one Damsel in, and let the tank cycle first, After the Cycle, the other Damsel could be added. I am assuming you are using Crushed Coral as a substrate, and you threw a couple of baseball size pieces of live rock in to help out. Live Rock is expensive, but goes a long way. I'm not sure how much per pound it is these days, but you don't need much yet, as you are cycling. Larger pieces of dead Coral Rock can be added for tank esthetics at any time.

Sorry, I should have added that before you bought your fish....Ooop's!

 

[FishAddict74]

I would put one Damsel in, and let the tank cycle first, After the Cycle, the other Damsel could be added. I am assuming you are using Crushed Coral as a substrate, and you threw a couple of baseball size pieces of live rock in to help out. Live Rock is expensive, but goes a long way. I'm not sure how much per pound it is these days, but you don't need much yet, as you are cycling. Larger pieces of dead Coral Rock can be added for tank esthetics at any time.

Sorry, I should have added that before you bought your fish....Ooop's!
[/QUOT
For a single fish, I think a dottyback like this bicolor would be awesome , talk about a beautiful monster lol

 

[Strongarm]

Dottybacks are awesome as well! I have just used Blue Damsels to cycle. I only had one die, during the cycle, and cycled many tanks with them.
Oh that reminds me of the Royal Gramma. Not a cycle fish, but once your tank is ready, they are stunning as well!