Advice for setting up a saltwater tank

[Roxieroller]

I currently have a freshwater tank, but would like to set up a saltwater aquarium with a starfish and 1-2 clownfish for my autistic sister who loves the starfish, Peach, from Finding Nemo! I have done quite a bit of research, but want to make sure I do this right! I’m not really interested in getting live rock or coral. I heard that a skimmer and wave maker are extras and not needed… and that an led light will work just fine. I’ve also read that all I really need is a tank, lid, light, heater, filter, sand, and some rock. Do I need special food, water, or conditioner? Can I use the same conditioner that I use for my freshwater tank in a saltwater tank? What is the cheapest/easiest/smallest starfish to care for? What is the best/most suitable sized tank for what I am wanting to have in it?

 

[MnFish1]

I currently have a freshwater tank, but would like to set up a saltwater aquarium with a starfish and 1-2 clownfish for my autistic sister who loves the starfish, Peach, from Finding Nemo! I have done quite a bit of research, but want to make sure I do this right! I’m not really interested in getting live rock or coral. I heard that a skimmer and wave maker are extras and not needed… and that an led light will work just fine. I’ve also read that all I really need is a tank, lid, light, heater, filter, sand, and some rock. Do I need special food, water, or conditioner? Can I use the same conditioner that I use for my freshwater tank in a saltwater tank? What is the cheapest/easiest/smallest starfish to care for? What is the best/most suitable sized tank for what I am wanting to have in it?

You can set up even a 10 gallon aquarium - with fish (like a pair of clowns). IMHO. its not about what you want to have in it. its what your constraints are. i.e. is your sister maintaining it? - IMHO -

10 gallon aquarium. (20 long better)
Filter. aqua clear - OR a canister filter.
A good LFS near you that can help.
An LED will work fine - and agree you do not need a skimmer, etc.
to keep algae to a minimum - keep the lights 'lower'
Yes to the heater some sand (does not need to be 2 inches deep. Rock - will become "live rock" in 3 months.
Starfish - are something I would consider adding after more experience. 1. They can be difficult. 2. Focus on the fish.
You can use the same conditioner (assuming you mean - dechlorinator) - for both.
If you have a fish only tank - small - you do not want too much light - in your situation.

Hope this helps.

 

[Sharkbait19]

Welcome to the forum!
Prepare to spend a lot of money…it starts cheap but I think we can all agree that we never know when to stop buying things lol
Starfish are incredibly difficult to keep alive even in very large tanks. The only 2 I can think of for a small tank like 10-20 are brittle/serpent stars and asterinas (which are a hitchhiker and not commonly bought).
For stocking, nice and simple is best. Clownfish (though those really should be in 30+ as they can get big and mean), royal gramma (the purple and yellow one from Nemo), shrimpgoby + pistol shrimp, firefish, and neon goby all are very easy fish. Everything but the clowns are super peaceful.
In a 10, I’d do 2 fish max, in a 20 you can do 3-4 based on species.
Easy beginner corals (wait a bit before adding) are Xenia/green star polyp/clove polyps (all spread fast but look great), leathers (one per small tank - they get big), zoanthids (very pretty but wild types are toxic - not a huge concern as long as they stay in the water and you don’t do anything stupid), and mushroom corals.

Look into all in one tanks early on. They make good starter tanks as they have all of the equipment you may need (though upgrading equipment doesn’t hurt). My first tank was the fluval 13.5, very good dimensions and reliable. This is mine a few months ago:

Skimmer isn’t necessary in a small tank imo, a powerhead depends on your filter/pump. Something strong won’t be a problem but a tank with a weaker filter will need a powerhead to provide the required flow to keep corals alive.
For food, a good quality pellet always works (though some fish have specialized diets), as well as frozen foods like mysis shrimp. Find out what your local fish store (or wherever you buy the fish) feeds their fish. I personally recommend quarantining new fish or buying fish that have been quarantined. Fish disease is a lot more common in saltwater than in freshwater - and it’s a really gutting feeling to have all your fish die of disease shortly after buying them.
Using RODI water is best, I just have RO water and it works fine. Others know all the water chemistry stuff better than I. What kind of conditioner do you use? The API stuff works but the seachem prime is better/more recommended.
Hope this helps. Good luck!

 

[Roxieroller]

You can set up even a 10 gallon aquarium - with fish (like a pair of clowns). IMHO. its not about what you want to have in it. its what your constraints are. i.e. is your sister maintaining it? - IMHO -

10 gallon aquarium. (20 long better)
Filter. aqua clear - OR a canister filter.
A good LFS near you that can help.
An LED will work fine - and agree you do not need a skimmer, etc.
to keep algae to a minimum - keep the lights 'lower'
Yes to the heater some sand (does not need to be 2 inches deep. Rock - will become "live rock" in 3 months.
Starfish - are something I would consider adding after more experience. 1. They can be difficult. 2. Focus on the fish.
You can use the same conditioner (assuming you mean - dechlorinator) - for both.
If you have a fish only tank - small - you do not want too much light - in your situation.

Hope this helps.

I will be the one maintaining it! She just wants a starfish and I’m prepared to do immense research to find the best kind of starfish so I can make this the best birthday surprise ever!

 

[Sean Clark]

The starfish is going to be the hardest part of these expectations; especially in a new tank. They just do not have a good survival rate. At least not the Peach variants. Even well seasoned hobbyist have a difficult time with them. Nemo may not be the best birthday surprise ever, but I think you will be pleasantly suppressed how much of an impact Nemo alone will have.

 

[MnFish1]

you could get a brittle star they are hardy

 

[MaxTremors]

First, if you want to keep a starfish, live rock is a necessity (not dry rock, real live rock from the ocean). Starfish in general do not fare well in aquariums, but to even attempt it, you need live rock. But I would really recommend against trying to keep on, 99% of the time they just slowly starve to death, especially in small aquariums (they often still starve in tanks that are hundreds of gallons with hundreds of pounds of live rock). A brittle or serpent star is an alternative (avoid the large green brittle stars, they are known fish killers). Also, Aquilonastra stars (commonly called asterina) might be a good alternative, they look like normal starfish only they’re tiny, around a centimeter at the biggest (though they reproduce by splitting in half so sometimes they only have a couple legs and sometimes as many as 7-8), they will reproduce and do very well in aquariums (a lot of people consider them a pest, IMO they’re just part of the CuC).

A fish only aquarium can be done essentially with fresh water equipment, if you’re planning on skipping the star fish (and I would recommend you do), you can use dry aragonite rock instead of live rock (though live is preferable). You don’t want to just use whatever rock you have lying around. Other than that, for just fish, you just need a filter of some kind, a heater, some flow, a refractometer, and some lighting. The best option would be something like a biocube, they’re all self contained, have filtration and lighting built in, will allow you to keep corals and anemones down the line if you want to. I would recommend the 32 gallon (or the 28g JBJ Nanocube or 32 Gallon Fluval Flex)

For fish only, dechlorinated tap water is fine, but for inverts and corals, you really should use RODI water for water changes and top-offs.

In a 30g tank you could do a couple clowns (I would say 30g is the minimum for a pair of clowns) and 2-3 other small fish. Please don’t put a tang (Dory) in such a small tank, they need upwards of 200g once they get bigger. There are tons of cool inverts besides starfish that would do well in a 30g tank, though not all are reef/coral safe. Just a few off the top of my head: fighting conchs, various shrimps, emerald crabs, arrow crabs, urchins, decorator crabs…

Overall, I think it’s a cool idea, just do tons of research, ask specific questions, and always research animals before bringing them home.