Is it worth it?

[Michael W.]

I am contemplating taking my first leap into the marine aquarium hobby. I have kept freshwater and am currently keeping freshwater so fishkeeping will not be completely new to me. I am thinking of getting a Fluval Evo 13.5 (I know, it's small but I think I can handle it). Before I had though saltwater to be too difficult and expensive, but this tank is pretty cost effective for what I am looking for, and I have found saltwater may not be as hard to keep as I had thought.

I am planning on buying RODI water and pre-mixed saltwater from my LFS for water changes and top-offs because I don't have the space for a full system. My plans for the tank is to start FOWLR and progressively add some hardy corals. Stocking I am looking at two clowns and maybe a goby, or a single clown and a goby/pistol shrimp pair. Also will be getting a strong cleanup crew. I am also looking at potentially getting an ATO unit because that seems like a big help.

If you can offer any experience from your time in the hobby, or thoughts on my plan for this possibility, that would be greatly appreciated.
(Also if you look at my account you will see I was planning on something just like this a little bit ago)

 

[Humblefish]

Sounds like it will work. Just be very selective when it comes to corals; you don't want xenia or other invasive soft corals. Try to find some small leathers, ricordea mushrooms and green star polyps if you can isolate them to a "rock island" away from your main rockwork. Maybe down the road some euphyllia LPS.

 

[DavidL]

My advice to you: Do plenty of water changes! My tank has fallen into the hole that laziness brings (and a particularly impressive coat of cyanobacteria), so just make a plan and stick to it. Good luck! Also, Ricordia is a very colorful and hardy coral that comes in a dazzling number of varieties.

 

[Michael W.]

My advice to you: Do plenty of water changes! My tank has fallen into the hole that laziness brings (and a particularly impressive coat of cyanobacteria), so just make a plan and stick to it. Good luck! Also, Ricordia is a very colorful and hardy coral that comes in a dazzling number of varieties.

Does doing water changes help with clearing cyanobacteria, because for some reason I have come to look at cyano the same way is normal algae, which I do not think would clear with water changes.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Does doing water changes help with clearing cyanobacteria, because for some reason I have come to look at cyano the same way is normal algae, which I do not think would clear with water changes.

Water changes help as cyno often occurs from high phosphates. Cyno often can be loisened buy a few pumps of a turkey baster and then siphoned out during water change to help with the battle

 

[Ron Reefman]

It sounds to me like you have some good experience and you are taking your time and considering what you are doing carefully. That's all really good stuff. Congratulations on that.

I think you'll find saltwater a bit more difficult than fresh, but it keeps getting easier and better all the time. It is more expensive in terms of maintenance and coral costs, but it's not crazy expensive unless you let the addiction get out of control (says a guy who had 4 tanks and 600+ gallons of saltwater in the house!). You are looking at a small tank (I just downsized to a single 50g cube) and as long as you keep up with water testing, maintenance and are careful about stability issues (adding too much or too fast), small tanks aren't that hard.

Good luck and if you do get started, do a tank build thread. You'll get some useful help there.

 

[JumboShrimp]

I’m with @Humblefish— in my two 7-gallon tanks (about 5 gallons of water) I have as he has suggested, “small leathers, ricordea mushrooms and green star polyps if you can isolate them to a "rock island" away from your main rockwork” and work your way up to some “euphyllia.”