Tropical Fish Forums

[atubiez21666]

I've been keeping freshwater fish for a few years now pretty successfully. now I'm thinking about startin a saltwater tank. . . I have limited room and I know that startin bigger is safer, but I've seen some 29 gal saltwater start-up tanks that look interesting. I guess I'm just askin about the first step. . . picking out a tank, I'm sure if I get a tank I'll be asking a whole lot more questions. any suggestions would be great , thanks

[CCS]

Start with a larger tank. They are easier to manage.
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I would like to acknowledge that all of the info I give is purely based on research.

[djchristone]

well...if you have limited room, you might as well as get a nano cube or something similar. I prefer jbj nano cube, but of course, there's many different companies that produce many different cubes such as the aquapod. but as always, depends on what kind of set up you want.

head over to nano-reef.com if you're interested.
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MY FISH IS BETTER THAN YOUR FISH!!!!!

[Oscer]

Hi, Atubiez

Well it realy depends on what kind of setup you are aiming at. Considering that you have limited space a Fish Only or Invert Only setup could be the way to go.

Nano reefs are option, but in my opinion they are not the best situation for starting out.

So the question is what are you interested in?
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Years of fish keeping = Good advice

[atubiez21666]

yeah thats what I think too. . . the larger the tank , the slower changes in water parameters. the nanocubes always look cool in the stores, but I think that that would require so much care, more so than a slightly bigger tank. plus I'm not so fond of acrylic tanks id like to stick with glass. . . call me old fasioned. thanks

[djchristone]

nanos are a lot easier than most people think I started out with my nano and it's doing great. although I bought the classic and am looking for a deluxe lid that someone might have (a lot of people do diy lightins or go for better lighting systems) but yeah. otherweise, nanos are really easy sw is surprisingly easy as well
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MY FISH IS BETTER THAN YOUR FISH!!!!!

[sirreal63]

[dale]

Yes indeed.

A far better statement would be to say that "setting up" a nano tank is suprisingly easy. Managing it long term is not neccisarily so.
Some people also think running a soft coral/polyp tank is easier than SPS but that isn't true either.
Nor is running a large tank particularily easy.
In fact, each system has its benefits and drawbacks. Growing in the hobby means trying to understand, and meet, the dynamics of each system.

The best advice we can give is to be specific when we make statements. ie. this is beneficial in this situation because of this.. or, I do this because of this with these results.

Atubiez, as suggested, it's always better to start with the facts. Determine what the finished product will look like, what do you envision? What type of fauna and/or flora. From there you can begin to research. Differing species of fish and corals have differing environmental needs and will require specific equipment and management strategies to provide for them.

Good luck.
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Intelligence is not having all the answers; it's knowing how to think!

[Oscer]

[atubiez21666]

thanks everyone, the idea I have is to have a small (12 gal or so) sw tank with 2 or 3 small fish, a shrimp of some sort, and a few snails to help clean up. speaking of cost, roughly how much would a set up like that cost?