Don't be too harsh on me!

[Ahruk]

I just wanted to say Welcome aboard to both @SUswimmer and @Judy@SYA!

What size tank are you thinking about keeping? I love my nano and personally think its the easiest type of tank to set up and maintain although it does limit the type of fish you can get and require weekly water changes.

 

[Russ265]

Oh my GOD! Thank you so much!! I truly appreciate it!! I've been looking all over trying to find valuable information about this extensive hobby, but everyone is telling me to go to all these places, and read all these books, instead of simply telling me some basics! I really appreciate it! Thank you so much!

make another thread on your next question. (i suggest cycling)

you came to the right place my friend

 

[SUswimmer]

I just wanted to say Welcome aboard to both @SUswimmer and @Judy@SYA!

What size tank are you thinking about keeping? I love my nano and personally think its the easiest type of tank to set up and maintain although it does limit the type of fish you can get and require weekly water changes.

I was hoping as small as I could possibly go, because I'm currently in a place where I can have no more than a 10g aquarium... I know it would be a little difficult, so I'm up for strictly reef with no fish for a starter!

 

[Russ265]

I was hoping as small as I could possibly go, because I'm currently in a place where I can have no more than a 10g aquarium... I know it would be a little difficult, so I'm up for strictly reef with no fish for a starter!

you will need fish to feed the coral. without small traces of nitrate and phosphate the coral will die.
i dose nitrate and phosphate due to my lack of stocking to this day to keep corals alive.

i suggest a 20 gallon with a damsel

 

[SUswimmer]

you will need fish to feed the coral. without small traces of nitrate and phosphate the coral will die.
i dose nitrate and phosphate due to my lack of stocking to this day to keep corals alive.

So for a small 10g tank, would it be better to have maybe 1 fish (2 max), or dose, like you do?

 

[Ahruk]

I'm currently running a 14g and it's great! I actually love my inverts more then my fish (just killed one and was 10x more torn up then when one my fish died). Although in a ten gallon you could definitely do one fish if you wanted (I would recommend a barnacle blenny because they're really cool tiny fish). Biggest downside is the constant need to top which can be mitigated by an Auto-top-off (which I don't have the space for) but I do use a DIY ato made out of pet water bottles.

 

[Russ265]

So for a small 10g tank, would it be better to have maybe 1 fish (2 max), or dose, like you do?

id have others chime in on this one. that is a very small tank.

dosing is like stage 5. you arent even on stage 1. (no offense. just using my experience to make this as easy as possible)

 

[SUswimmer]

id have others chime in on this one. that is a very small tank.

I'm going from a 1.5g for my Beta! Lol! You all have me feeling crazy!! Some people have 100g+ and I'm just over here with my jaw on the floor.... Lol!

 

[Judy@SYA]

I just wanted to say Welcome aboard to both @SUswimmer and @Judy@SYA!

What size tank are you thinking about keeping? I love my nano and personally think its the easiest type of tank to set up and maintain although it does limit the type of fish you can get and require weekly water changes.

This is Maggie's thread and I don't want to hijack it, but since you asked both of us...

I've just gotten a 29 Biocube. Still have a long way to go before getting it wet, though. I agree that smaller seems much less daunting for starting out, even if they are a bit more touchy with their parameters.

Maggie...have you considered a 14 Biocube? Technically, it's more than ten gallons, but it doesn't look like it and it has a very small footprint. Very pretty little tanks with some built-in features needed to set up and maintain a healthy reef environment.

 

[Russ265]

I'm going from a 1.5g for my Beta! Lol! You all have me feeling crazy!! Some people have 100g+ and I'm just over here with my jaw on the floor.... Lol!

its ok. we all started somewhere. i think you should get your bare bones setup right and then take it from there.

im not here to lead you in the wrong direction and i think others reading my posts that are veterans know where im going.

 

[TreyC2010]

Russ is right. Don't dose anything unless it's absolutely necessary. Especially at first. If you catch the addiction, as he said, we'll be watching for your 100+ gal build thread

 

[SUswimmer]

Russ is right. Don't dose anything unless it's absolutely necessary. Especially at first. If you catch the addiction, as he said, we'll be watching for your 100+ gal build thread

Oh lord... That'll be falling through the floor to the basement!

 

[SUswimmer]

its ok. we all started somewhere. i think you should get your bare bones setup right and then take it from there.

im not here to lead you in the wrong direction and i think others reading my posts that are veterans know where im going.

I do appreciate all your help!! I won't be jumping in to anything soon, as I'm pretty discouraged from a 10g... But thank you!

 

[Ahruk]

I think you'll have a lot of fun with that Judy Okay a couple more pieces of advice. First, try and find your local reef clubs. Most of the time they're regional so try looking up your region and adding "reefers" for example: I'm a member of Bay Area Reefers. Local Reef Clubs are great resources for getting to know people in your area who are passionate and almost always happy to help when they are able.

Second, decide how you're going to get your water. Personally, at 14 gallons or less and if I was a reasonable distance from a reputable LFS who sold salt and RODI water I would just buy water. Personally, to me it's worth a little extra for the convenience of not having to have a big bucket mixing water in my living room. I don't know what I would do for a 29 gallon :/, anything larger I'd definitely mix my own but at 29g I'd do whatever you think will be easier for you. You can always start out buying your water and later invest in an RODI unit and begin to mix your own. It's basically one less thing to worry about as you begin this salt water journey

 

[Ahruk]

Why are you discouraged from a 10g??

 

[Pete polyp]

I would not suggest anything smaller than a 20 gallon for a first tank. The smaller the tank the faster things will change and the more attention it requires. A biocube 29 is a pretty good starter tank because it's all in one and you won't have to buy any additional equipment to get started. They have a smaller footprint than a standard 29 also. Just tell your landlord it's a 10 gallon lol. Technically you wouldn't be lying because once you fill it with rock and sand it will hold around 10 gallons haha.

 

[SUswimmer]

Why are you discouraged from a 10g??

Everyone on here seems to have huge tanks! I totally understand that most everyone has been doing this for a while, or has more knowledge than I do, but 30 gallons...? I feel overloaded! But then a 10g is so small that people make it seem like a daunting task to simply add some more water! I think I just don't know what to think. Lol

 

[SUswimmer]

I would not suggest anything smaller than a 20 gallon for a first tank. The smaller the tank the faster things will change and the more attention it requires. A biocube 29 is a pretty good starter tank because it's all in one and you won't have to buy any additional equipment to get started. They have a smaller footprint than a standard 29 also. Just tell your landlord it's a 10 gallon lol. Technically you wouldn't be lying because once you fill it with rock and sand it will hold around 10 gallons haha.

It's not necessarily the landlord I'm in a quarrel with, it's whether or not the floor will hold.. I'm terrified of having it crash through!

 

[CastAway]

Think of it like this; you have a five gallon bucket, and you have a swimming pool. You pee in both. Which is dirtier?

 

[Judy@SYA]

It's not necessarily the landlord I'm in a quarrel with, it's whether or not the floor will hold.. I'm terrified of having it crash through!

Unless you live in a really rickety place, I don't think a thirty gallon tank would be at risk for falling through. But yeah, those big ones need some structural inspection/engineering if they're not going directly on a slab foundation. LOL

The Biocubes (29 or 14) seem to be pretty popular. I chose mine in part because of that. There are a number of build threads specifically about those, so it's easy to follow along and know that the various parts and bits suggested will actually fit with the same setup. There are some really great YouTube videos to help setting them up as well.

I have a very limited amount of space and couldn't fit in anything long. The Biocube, with its matching stand, fits perfectly in a very small space.