Thinking saltwater

kool_sk8a

kool_sk8a

Large Fish
#1
Oct 20, 2003
547
0
0
36
London
#1
I was thinking of getting a saltwater aquarium.
I have never kept saltwater fish before.
Can u give me advice on eqipment.
Also what is the smallest tank i can get (i only have a limeted amount of space in my bedroom)to keep my fish happy, I was thinking of getting a couple of fish, a couple of corals and a couple of shrimps...can u suggest any good ones for beginners?
 

S

supahtim

Large Fish
#2
Jun 30, 2003
244
0
0
40
Toronto
#2
this is what i had and everything did amazing:

5.5g all glass aquarium
whisper HOB filter
2" of aragonite (sand bed)
around 10lbs of live rock
and 1 20w power-glo florescent light (just because i had it, doesn't mean it was enough)
---cycled this for about a month---
2 black percula clownfish
1 skunk cleaner shrimp
1 harlequin serpent starfish
1 finger leather
some button polyps
some yellow polyps
a pulsing xenia
green star polyps
a patch of brown seaweed (don't know what it's called)
and a red mushroom.

before you go out and buy everything, you gotta remember to take your time and READ. read read read. read. read. and then you start with the tank and nothing in it but the rock and sand bed. then you read some more. and then you read some more. and after your done reading, read some more.

all that costed me around 500+ bucks Canadian and i got a lot of really good deals. you can go smaller, but the smaller you go, the less stable your water perimeters are going to be and i wouldn't suggest adding fish in a tank smaller than 5.5 gallons.

so if you want to save some money and get bigger fish, go with the bigger tank. hope that helped a bit!

Tim
 

S

supahtim

Large Fish
#5
Jun 30, 2003
244
0
0
40
Toronto
#5
one book isn't enough. trust me. i've read books and tons of articles on fish and corals, and i've asked ENOUGH questions, but everyday i find myself asking a million more. even for freshwater fish. there's always something new to learn in the hobby.

Tim
 

W

wayne at home

Large Fish
#8
Jan 19, 2003
448
0
0
57
Stavanger, Norway
Visit site
#8
Michael Palettas New Marine Aquarium is very good, and explains rge basics very well. To start I'd get a 20 - smaller is too unstable, difficult and then you get cross because you can't keep too much. 500 dollars for a 5.5 is terrible value for money for a beginner setup - a 20 will cost no more, and you could make it cost less
 

A

Aquarianna7891

Small Fish
#11
Oct 22, 2002
27
0
0
Beautiful Alaska!!
#11
I've kept a reef for about 2 years now- definitely worth every penny spent if you are willing to take the time to do it right!

I would highly suggest checking out www.reefcentral.com or www.reefs.org . These are forums that have experts as moderators, people who have been reefing for decades- and they really know what they are talking about! You can find anything you need there.

Not to mention, its really fun to look at some of the member's tanks- some are in the 1000's of gallons!!

Good luck with your new interest- just take it slow, be informed, and all will go well!

Anna
 

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