Tropical Fish Forums

Caton

I want to get a Fish and live rock tank and I was wondering how much would a tank setup cost? I want to have a small tank but everyone is saying that a 40 litre is the smallest that you can get but if this s wrong please tell me. How much whould a tank cost with easy to care for fish, live rock and tank setup cost? I only want a small one. Thanks

P.S. I have a 110 liter freshwater tank with blackskirt hi-fin tetra.

diademhill · Advisors Joined: 18 Apr 2007

I wouldn't start with less than about 100 litres and then only with a system tank.

The equipment costs are similar for 40L or 140L but the larger tank is more forgiving.
In a 40L tank you need to have experience to keep even one tiny fish.

MarkLehr · Moderators Joined: 09 Dec 2004 Location: Louisville, KY

This is such an impossible question. You need to approach the hobby with exactly the opposite mindset. If you can give us a budget of how much you are able to spend on a setup, then we can suggest a tank size, equipment, and livestock.

Caton

Sorry,
I have a $300 buget and I am 14 so..Yeah, sorry if my english isn't the best.
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MarkLehr · Moderators Joined: 09 Dec 2004 Location: Louisville, KY

On a $300 budget I would look at doing a fish only with live rock tank in the size of 29 gallon range. You can probably find a used aquarium and stand for about $50-$100 if you look around.

I would suggest mail ordering a 25 pound dry rock shipment from www.marcorocks.com, preferably Fiji or Key Largo rock. I have used them on 3 separate occasions and have always been extremely pleased with the quality and how quickly the rock becomes live. You will want to seed this rock, which can be accomplished easily by asking your LFS for a small handful of the broken live rock scum from the bottom of their live rock vat.

Throw in a bag of live sand, a power head for water flow, and a hang on filter packed with activated carbon, and you have yourself a simple beginner system. I would suggest that you not use any other form of biological filtration on this tank. The rock and sand will serve as a biofilter, and do so without pumping high volumes of nitrate into the tank.

The key to this type of environment will be selecting proper fish, lightly stocking the tank, and doing regular water changes. You should easily be able to keep between 3 and 5 small fish, depending on the exact species you select.