Saltwater tank on a budget?

Question

I am really interested in staring a saltwater tank and everything I read is always very confusing! I am pretty good with freshwater..so why not start a saltwater? I know small is harder, but it is all that is in my budget. I was thinking 10 gallons? Can some1 just explain to me how to set up a reef tank, explain not in college terms...I'm not the smartest girl in school, lol! Just simple it ut for me. What lighting would I need for a reef tank? What would I need for live rock and fish? Please answer as much as you know, even if you do not know the answer to all the questions!

Answer 1

i know several people who do salt. near zero success under 50 gallons. incredible expense too. not so much the tank and fixins, but the livestock.

Answer 2

Well, how much are you willing to spend on the whole setup? The lighting requirements will depend on the individual corals you want to put in the tank. You're going to need some kind of filter, probably a hang on back power filter. You should cycle the tank for about a month before adding fish, then wait about another month before adding corals. Reefland.com should be a good place for info, and petsolutions.com is a great place to buy equipment for your tank.

Answer 3

reef tank will be more expensive than fish only there are special additives needed for reef and there are some for fish only but not as much. i suggest u do alot of research before going saltwater or u will end up losing alot of money on death fish and coral all setups are trial and error but can be costly with saltwater.

Answer 4

I know your pain but you have to be patient with this one.

Doing a saltwater on a budget is a bad idea....

here is why a 10 gallon is suicide....sorry

the tank can't be left for more than 2 days ever...so no going away for the weekend.

evaporation and salinty problems

the tank water always stay the same temp no matter summer or winter

and 10 g's flucuate.

with 10 pounds of live rock there is no room..things look crowded.

you can choice only 2 types of fish out of the hundreds avaliable.

no ground gobies they need far more room.

your ammonia count must always be zero...very hard in a 10 gallon

you need all the same equipment (maybe not a protein skimmer)

you can have one fish only.....

forget it i can go on forever...

don't do it..wait.

Answer 5

yea avoid reef tanks until you are more experienced.

freshwater basics are good to know but when you work with saltwater it is completly different. i worked with freshwater for 13 years before saltwater but thats a different story.

if your going with a nano tank with the filter and light already to go then that would probably be ur best bet.

Stick with FOWLR at first because reefs and corals are more advanced than a beginner believes.

in a 12 ur best bet is to shoot for a budget of 450. my 29 cost around 1000 when i was fully done with it.

the live rock is going to be expensive. often 7-10 dollars per pound and in a 12 gallon your going to want around 10-14 pounds.

sand

equpiment such as a hydrometer are a must, foods, salt mixes, water conditioners, supplements

they will all add up to around 300-350.

leaving u with around 100 for fish.  

in a 12 i would personally get 2 false percula clownfish when the tank si ready.

Then dont forget about inverts...

please check out the other reply i gave u for better details.

Answer 6

If your budget can manage...try a little bigger with the all in one reef tanks available like the Nano Cube 12G.  It already comes with all you need like pump, filters, lighting, etc.  All you need is some sand, live rock and two weeks of cycling before adding your coral or fish.  Keep in mind that whatever you decide the key to smaller nano tanks is changing the water at least every two weeks.  They are also best for corals such as mushrooms, star polyps and maybe one or two small fish.