RV/Traveling Saltwater Setup

Seajellyy · Dec 17, 2018

Disclaimer though, we only move the RV a couple times a year max and we dont move it far considering we have to stay close enough to work and school. No different than moving apartments a couple times a year or to and from college and we have been doing this with freshwater fish for years

So anyway, the saltwater tank. This is the tank 10 gallon that has been up for about 6 months with the clowns and the goby. It was setup on a very tight budget and before I knew anything about saltwater so here is what I have right now:

-classic 10 gallon tank
-Tetra Whisper 10 filter
-Aqueon 50 watt adjustable heater
-Coralife LED light

Basically I want to upgrade everything but having a hard time making decisions and figuring out what I want to do.

My first idea was to get a fluval aquaclear and mod it into a refugium. Then I figured it's still not going to look great and I might as well get one of the nice cube tanks or something now that my budget is bigger. But I was also thinking if the tank was a cube I might even have room for a 20 gallon... then again though, that is going to be a lot harder to move those few times a year.

Just wanted to start a thread to keep track of progress and get a little help/opinions/ideas.

Jesterrace · Dec 17, 2018

Just me, but the next step up from a 10 gallon should be a 20 Long as it offers the best use of space for the size. Cubes are cool and convenient for limited space, but don't really offer much in the way of more useful space dimensions for your fish. As you probably already know 10 gallons is really pushing it for clowns and then an extra goby means your bioload for that tank is maxed.

As for the portability/moving factor, that is a real concern. I would definitely want to keep the tank as small as possible for that reason as any additional displacement will be a hassle factor. Given the portability issue, I would just upgrade the equipment on your current setup and stick with it. A Fluval HOB would be a great upgrade. the Fluval 30 or 50 would work great for that tank and if you order them from Petsmart's website they are very affordable (I think $38 for the 50 is as expensive as they get). For lighting, what corals do you have? You really only need to upgrade the lighting if you are planning on delving further into corals. An AI Prime HD would do wonders for your tank if you plan on corals.

Seajellyy · Dec 17, 2018

Jesterrace said:
Just me, but the next step up from a 10 gallon should be a 20 Long as it offers the best use of space for the size. Cubes are cool and convenient for limited space, but don't really offer much in the way of more useful space dimensions for your fish. As you probably already know 10 gallons is really pushing it for clowns and then an extra goby means your bioload for that tank is maxed.

As for the portability/moving factor, that is a real concern. I would definitely want to keep the tank as small as possible for that reason as any additional displacement will be a hassle factor. Given the portability issue, I would just upgrade the equipment on your current setup and stick with it. A Fluval HOB would be a great upgrade. the Fluval 30 or 50 would work great for that tank and if you order them from Petsmart's website they are very affordable (I think $38 for the 50 is as expensive as they get). For lighting, what corals do you have? You really only need to upgrade the lighting if you are planning on delving further into corals. An AI Prime HD would do wonders for your tank if you plan on corals.

I would love to have corals eventually so after the fluval I'll make the light my next upgrade. Do you have any thoughts on the heater I'm using? Not sure if the brand matters, it's just the heater I already had here. I have a separate 5 gallon with a clown in it as well and I going to be upgrading him to a ten this week so if the goby would be better off in that tank that's an option too. Multiple tanks arenr a problem for me, we have a lot of space in the RV but it's more of a matter of having to be something I can lift when needed. We have the RV not so we can travel constantly but so we can relocate occasionally so it's not too much different than an apartment but a 20 would be doable. So I'm still torn between a 10 and 20. I agree 10 is easier and I dont nesscarily need to go bigger right now so I could always just wait.

JoshH · Dec 17, 2018

I would say your clown needs a step up in tanks, any way you could consolidate the three fish into say a Nuvo 20? Or is that out of budget?

Seajellyy · Dec 17, 2018

JoshH said:
I would say your clown needs a step up in tanks, any way you could consolidate the three fish into say a Nuvo 20? Or is that out of budget?

You mean the pair of clowns or the single clown? I was told 10g for a pair of 5g for one but I feel like the 5g isnt grear for her so I was planning on moving her into a ten this week like the other clowns. I could do a 20g but part of the reason I was thinking two tens instead was because I've also heard a lot about three clowns together not being a great idea when two of them are a mated pair. I'm open to opinions and ideas though, especially if you have experience because I do hear a lot of conflicting info and it leaves me unable to make a decision a lot of the time.

JoshH · Dec 17, 2018

Seajellyy said:
You mean the pair of clowns or the single clown? I was told 10g for a pair of 5g for one but I feel like the 5g isnt grear for her so I was planning on moving her into a ten this week like the other clowns. I could do a 20g but part of the reason I was thinking two tens instead was because I've also heard a lot about three clowns together not being a great idea when two of them are a mated pair. I'm open to opinions and ideas though, especially if you have experience because I do hear a lot of conflicting info and it leaves me unable to make a decision a lot of the time.

Oh my mistake I thought you had a single clown and the one goby then another single clown. Yes you are correct, it would not be good to have 3 clowns in that tank, but I really wouldn't have a single clown in anything less than a 10. My pair is in a ten right now and they are cramped as it is, I can't imagine one being in a 5....

You could actually do what I have set up right now, it would be a bit snug and I would move the goby and single clown in together then have the other two paired clowns in there own tank but dual Nuvo 10s, they both fit on the Nuvo 20 stand perfectly I'll have to get a picture for you later...

Jesterrace · Dec 17, 2018

Seajellyy said:
I would love to have corals eventually so after the fluval I'll make the light my next upgrade. Do you have any thoughts on the heater I'm using? Not sure if the brand matters, it's just the heater I already had here. I have a separate 5 gallon with a clown in it as well and I going to be upgrading him to a ten this week so if the goby would be better off in that tank that's an option too. Multiple tanks arenr a problem for me, we have a lot of space in the RV but it's more of a matter of having to be something I can lift when needed. We have the RV not so we can travel constantly but so we can relocate occasionally so it's not too much different than an apartment but a 20 would be doable. So I'm still torn between a 10 and 20. I agree 10 is easier and I dont nesscarily need to go bigger right now so I could always just wait.

You definitely don't want 3 clowns in the same tank unless you have something really big (ie well over 100 gallons) as one will almost surely end up dead. Unless you have the space for a 20 Long, I would just upgrade the clown in the 5 to another 10 gallon and then move the goby in there with the single clown, that way you would have 2 fish per tank, which would be better suited for a 10 gallon (still cramped for clowns in the long run though IMHO). Are these just Ocellaris (ie Nemo) type clowns? Just wondering as there are clowns that get much bigger/more aggressive that will determine which way you go here. Also have they settled into a set space in the tank or do they swim all over?

As for the tank heater, it all depends on how much temperature fluctuation you experience. If your RV is in a relatively mild climate then what you have is plenty, if you live in a climate with more extreme temperature fluctuations (ie cold winters) then you might want to bump it up to a larger heater.