"Least hard" setup/species?

Keysmash · Mar 8, 2016

Hi,

I work at an afterschool and I'd really like to get a saltwater tank running for the kids. I've got experience with freshwater tanks but I know saltwater is far harder and I'm assuming that even if I set up and cycle the tank so it's running fine to start, I'll do something wrong at some point. I'll be coming in on weekends but if possible, it'd be nice to have something that can do without care for one day.

If I don't care about anything but not accidentally killing whatever's in the tank...what do you recommend? Is fifty gallons big enough, or would you recommend a bigger minimum tank? Would invertebrates like starfish do better than fish?

aaron23 · Mar 8, 2016

Welcome to R2R!

50 gal tank is more than enough with softies and zoanthids corals. The only issue would be replacing evaporated water into the tank - you may want to get this automated eventually but manual is fine to keep the salinity consistant. if you are unable to be there for several days setup an automatic feeder on the tank.

Duke4Life · Mar 8, 2016

Dory won't fit in a 50 but a pair of Nemos would.

Nick92515 · Mar 8, 2016

A 55 would be a good choice, some peaceful fish, get a led if you get fish that jump. Star fish should not be in a tank where you will be away for days at a time. Also star fish isn't really a good idea until you have some time in to the saltwater hobby as they can be difficult to keep due to there high food demand.

E048 · Mar 8, 2016

keep it as lightly stocked as possible add two clowns, a blenny or goby and maybe some chromis

mcarroll · Mar 9, 2016

Keysmash said:
Hi,

I work at an afterschool and I'd really like to get a saltwater tank running for the kids.[...]

If I don't care about anything but not accidentally killing whatever's in the tank...what do you recommend?

Excellent position to be in and excellent concern!

Most of the "hard" in saltwater tanks these days comes from trying to keep too many critters in too small of a tank.

A lightly stocked tank is very resilient and (with just a little automation) can be close to maintenance-free.

50 gallons should be plenty to get started without being too big and overwhelming you or making you poor.

Cost is definitely an issue with saltwater tanks - much more-so than difficulty. So having a budget and really thinking through your system plan is worthy of some time.

Consider not only the cost of the tank and stand. But also lights. Protein skimmer. An RODI water purifier. Salt. All those budgets go up proportionally with tank size.

Once you know the tank you're going with, try very hard to stock it with fewer fish of a smaller adult size than the general recommendation you will see around when researching. Doing this will make the tank much more stable and easy to care for than the average tank, which tends to be quite overstocked, requiring more maintenance, more filters as well as carrying negative side effects for the livestock itself.

mcarroll · Mar 9, 2016

Almost all corals are pretty easy to keep, BTW....try to decide what you really like and what kind of budget you have for the tank. Both of those factors should weigh pretty strongly in what you ultimately decide to keep.

Fish are much more bother, and people tend to be much less successful with them (tho there are definitely easy-to-keep fish out there)....so I recommend keeping your conservative attitude and only buy captive bred fish until you have some experience.

Chad c. · Mar 9, 2016

One main thought is to plan out what your going to get and in what order. I made that mistake when I first started and ended up with 5 star cuisine for some of my fish.

Keysmash · Mar 9, 2016

Hm. Would having just hardy zoanthids be easiest for a test run? Or would having a mix of fish and invertebrates be more stable?

dsh92056 · Mar 9, 2016

ATO, auto feeder for weekends, protein skimmer, lights on a timer. I think these will make your life so much easier. Plus what some of the others already suggested

mcarroll · Mar 10, 2016

Keysmash said:
Hm. Would having just hardy zoanthids be easiest for a test run? Or would having a mix of fish and invertebrates be more stable?

I'm sorry to get all Mr. Miyagi on you

, but "easiest" and "most stable" is how you set up the system, not so much which critters you pick.

Also, I don't think zoanthids even make a very good beginner coral....they're extremely moody. I don't like corals that are moody - I get enough of that from people and fish.

Oh, and they're filled with deadly poison.

(I am generally anti-"beginner coral"...it's actually a bad concept leftover from when we didn't know how to care for corals.)

Follow me on this...

The most important "beginner" things you can do are to:

try and get the best idea you can of what corals you REALLY like - don't just look at for-sale pictures
learn to take care of them properly

"Properly" isn't difficult...and doesn't require anything more expensive or more sophisticated than you'd do for feeding and taking care of your fish.

So if you like zoanthids, get em, but learn about em first. What part of the reef are they from - so you have an idea of light and flow requirements? Are they toxic? Do they mix well with other corals you are interested in? Etc.

But don't like zoanthids because someone called them a beginner coral...even out of all the cruddy corals termed "beginner corals" they are one of the least appropriate for beginners.

I'd start with some stony corals myself. There are tons of "easy" choices, but you shouldn't even feel restricted to those, IMO. Once you have #2 down-pat, there won't really be any limits to what you can theoretically keep. (What will live together in an "easy" and "stable" manner is a different question.)

Keysmash · Mar 10, 2016

I know everything has its own requirements, but it seems like it'd be best to learn what's most forgiving first, then work on setting up the tank for that. I just want to be able to show types of things I couldn't keep with a freshwater aquarium. If this goes well, maybe I'll end up making my own one at home that's more ambitious later.

Duke4Life · Mar 10, 2016

Keysmash said:
I know everything has its own requirements, but it seems like it'd be best to learn what's most forgiving first, then work on setting up the tank for that. I just want to be able to show types of things I couldn't keep with a freshwater aquarium. If this goes well, maybe I'll end up making my own one at home that's more ambitious later.

Do a fowlr with a few cheap coral frags til you figure out what you want and like.

Duke4Life · Mar 10, 2016

This should help make things easier for you:
http://successfulreefkeeping.com/learn/about-corals/what-your-coral-needs/

mcarroll · Mar 10, 2016

Keysmash said:
I know everything has its own requirements, but it seems like it'd be best to learn what's most forgiving first, then work on setting up the tank for that. I just want to be able to show types of things I couldn't keep with a freshwater aquarium. If this goes well, maybe I'll end up making my own one at home that's more ambitious later.

There are fairly few corals that are "hard"...if you let price be your guide, these are generally easy to avoid.

Most corals you are likely to find for sale are easy to keep.

mcarroll · Mar 10, 2016

If you look up a coral on a good reference like Corals of the World, you can easily find out some habitat info. (Not every reference website has every coral, so be ready to do some searches.)

For example, Montipora capricornis:
http://coral.aims.gov.au/factsheet.jsp?speciesCode=0268

You'd find this:

Habitat: Mostly lagoons.

Look at a handy light-spectrum-in-water chart like this:

You can see the different regions above mapped to reef zones below by matching the shapes almost like jigsaw pieces.

The lagoon zone would (often) correspond with the estuary light profile.
The coastal zone would encompas everything from the lagoon zone out to the fore reef or butress zone.
"Pure" saltwater would roughly be represented below from the butress zone on down.

It takes a little bit of digging to find that info (R2R always helps!!), but now your have the backstory for your coral's lighting and water flow needs. A little more reading or a couple questions in the forum and you should have some ideas on how to pull it off.

Anyway....my point, I think like @Duke4Life, is that you should start with one or just a few frags of what you like.

Plan them out like I described, and it should be easy-peasy.