family aint happy and they never will be.....

[bala_aquarium]

ok every time i start a project around the house my family talks me into doing something with the fish.i bought a 20g acryllic tank.i have a filter heater and thermometer.they talked me into getting a saltwater tank.would a whisper power filter 20 be an ok filter for saltwater?ive never ever done a salt water tank before and need as much help as i can.so would a heater intended for freshwater be ok for salt water?do you need one?

 

[1979camaro]

well, in short: the filter would not work as you use it in freshwater but it would be good for moving water through live rock. the heater is fine.

you really need to do a lot of reading; i would start here: http://www.myfishtank.net/forum/showthread.php?t=34054

and then read the stickies in the SW general section and get a good book such as paletta's New Marine Aquarium

if you don't plan this out well and do a lot of reading chances are your tank will be a real mess to maintain

 

[fish outa wata]

Welcome bala, you seemed to be getting dragged into something that can sometimes be difficult. Follow the moderators they have tons of knowledge.

 

[bala_aquarium]

for my cousins birthday i gave her a small tank(30g)for saltwater fish and had her dad set it up so theyed get of my back and leave me lone about it.now my only problem is there going to bug me to set it up.

 

[JAWS69]

Salt water tanks look nice,and the fish are real nice looking but its kind of like what was said in the movie Jurassic Park. Everything startes out with "wow look, wow, nice," then the screaming startes!! LOL!!

 

[zoo minsi]

Salt water tanks look nice,and the fish are real nice looking but its kind of like what was said in the movie Jurassic Park. Everything startes out with "wow look, wow, nice," then the screaming startes!! LOL!!

lmao jaws *twirlysmi

 

[bala_aquarium]

ya well my cousins dad wasnt the happiest when he seen what i gave her.

 

[OCCFan023]

from the way your describing this it sounds like your family is forcing you into a salt tank, and your going ahead with something your not interested in. If your not into the salt tank (or anything for that matter) you wont want to do the research needed to have a successful experience.

I could be off here but I think youd be better off telling your family you dont want to do a salt tank and Id hope they understand, seems like a waste to do soemthing your not into, it will turn out half a**ed.

If you are into it Lordroads sticky is a MUST read, and also as Camaro mentioned the book "The New Marine Aquarium" by Paletta is also a must read for the complete novice, helped me out alot.

 

[bala_aquarium]

im not starting any saltwater tanks for a long time.my uncle had a saltwater tank for about 12 years and within one week every fish died.it was a pretty big tank to if i can recal it was a cusom tank.the sufarce of the tank was built out of some sort of glass and he shaped it to look like waves just to add an effect to it.he spent easily maybe 5,000 dollars on fish.he was devastated.
and after his little problemi was not going to risk that.

 

[Mushroomman]

If you go slowly (fish stocking too), do the reading, and have patience it really isnt a hassle. Totally up to you.

 

[shwnicus]

to your original question, if you are going to use live rock in your 20 gal, the filter you have is a good start, but you'll need at least 2 more powerheads to provide current. as OCCFan023 said, read Lordroad's sticky on the nano page, its great.

I must also second what others have said here, if you don't want a saltwater tank, explain this to your family. it isn't that much work or difficult, but it takes time, patience, and most importantly, you have to care. if you really have no interest in the tank, you will be unlikely to stay on top of the needs a saltwater tank has. for that matter, a freshwater is unlikely to be much different. setup and care for any tank that YOU want to do, it should be your hobby after all. if members of your family really want a saltwater tank, then have them do the research, setup, and maintanence.

sorry to hear of your uncle's loss, but I hope that isn't the sole deterant to you setting up a SW tank. as Mushroomman said, if you take your time, do the research, and plan ahead, its not much hassle at all, no more than a FW.

good luck!

 

[bala_aquarium]

no i still would enjoy saltwater fish but if i spend all that money(im broke)
and the fish die i wouldnt be able to replace them and i would have no use for the equipment anymore.

 

[shwnicus]

if you take the setup time slow, it shouldn't be too bad on the pocketbook, depending on what you want to do. now, this is for setting up a SW using liverock as your main filter system: live rock will be the highest single cost, at anywhere from $5-$10 per lb (cured) and you'll want 20-30 lbs for a 29g (though you could start with 10-15 and slowly add. after a few weeks to a month of cycling, add the clean up crew (snails and hermits). i just did this in a 20 gal and was about $25. after another few weeks to a month add a few fish. again, plan ahead. if you go conservative, the cost won't be bad. occelaris clowns are only $5 or so. yes you could send a ton on fish, but then again, you can get really hearty fish for less. its mainly preferrence. I love to watch my "cheap fish" (see signature, all in all only like $20 in fish). good luck!

 

[bala_aquarium]

i was doing reading on saltwater tanks a while ago and the site i was on said that beginners shouldnt use live rock as a main filtration.so i hard it was hard and added the cost of a powerfilter to the total.

 

[SALTY WATERS]

Don't take advice from the person on that site anymore!

 

[shwnicus]

ouch! i agree with Salty whole-heartedly. I too had shied away from smaller tanks (a 29g is still considered a nano) in the past due to bad advise. My 10 and 20g tanks are 1000x easier than my old 75 was, and I can't currently even walk! this is all due to liverock. if done slowly and with good planning, its about as stable a system as you can get, and really the ONLY stable system for a nano. any other system on a 29g will quickly become a nitrate factory and you'll eventually find that even bi-weekly water changes won't keep up. as one if those thread mentioned books (don't remember name) so eloquently put, the most stable and healthy tank has an ecosystem as close as possible to nature. to do this, you need liverock. anything else is artificial and therefore either too efficient, or not enough.

 

[bala_aquarium]

ok thanks maybe ill consider getting a bigger tank for saltwater unless i tear apart 250g freshwater tank(no fish yet)

 

[shwnicus]

if you are worried about cost though, I'd recommend staying with the small tank. the cost for LR for a 250g will be huge, and is still the recommended biological filter system. the basic rule of thumb is one to two pounds of LR per gallon. thats a lot of $! in a nutshell: smaller tank = less work but more often. a 10-20% water change in a small tank is easy and takes maybe 10 minutes tops, but you must stay on top of it. a large tank is more forgiving in this aspect as it is more likely to be stable, but mixing up 25-50 gal of water for a water change is a lot more work. I'm a convert from larger tank to smaller tank (went from 75 to 10 and 20), so thats my opinion.

 

[bala_aquarium]

thanks thats very helpfull