Saltwater Thoughts

[Jedi_Master]

Hi there! I’ve maintained many freshwater tanks throughout the years, small, big and in between. I have done a lot of reading and am close to taking the plunge and trying my hand at a saltwater tank. I know the bigger you go, the more stable it is and less susceptible to large swings. However, I also have to be realistic at the present time in terms of budget and space. I do have a everything to do a basic budget tank with a 10-30 gallon long with a large HOB filter, etc. All I’d have to order is a decent affordable LED light. I’m not looking for big or extravagant, just nice and simple. I’d like something that would house at least a pair of clowns, but it would be great to add a yellow watchman goby, one or two Banggai cardinal fish and perhaps a purple dottyback (small clowns and less fish depending on size of tank). I’d love to throw a few basic, robust corals eventually as well. So my questions are as follows and I appreciate any and all feedback.

1. Just set up a basic 10 gallon and see what happens? If so, what kind of light?

2. I really like the look at cubes. I’m just torn whether to piece one together or buy an AIO?

Thanks!

 

[Euphyllia97]

Hi! Welcome

I would not buy a 10 gallon tank if I were you as you will be very limited in terms of life stock.

If I were you I would recommend you the biggest AIO tank that you can afford. In long term I guess this will be the best option financially and satisfaction.

 

[Jedi_Master]

Hi! Welcome

I would not buy a 10 gallon tank if I were you as you will be very limited in terms of life stock.

If I were you I would recommend you the biggest AIO tank that you can afford. In long term I guess this will be the best option financially and satisfaction.

Which AIO and size would you recommend?

 

[Euphyllia97]

Which AIO and size would you recommend?

I have looked into “coralife fish tank LED biocube aquarium LED”, before I bought my 125.

Was a nice AIO system that looked pretty appealing aswell. Price was around 400$ On Amazon if I’m not mistaken.

 

[Fred2482]

I agree, biggest you can afford, definitely AIO would be better than hang on back IMO.

 

[JoshO]

Welcome to R2R!
The answers to your questions depend on you really!
Do you want to spend the extra money and get yourself a cube so that you may enjoy it for longer, or do you want to try your hand with what you have first?

 

[Rudzbrewski]

Hi there! I’ve maintained many freshwater tanks throughout the years, small, big and in between. I have done a lot of reading and am close to taking the plunge and trying my hand at a saltwater tank. I know the bigger you go, the more stable it is and less susceptible to large swings. However, I also have to be realistic at the present time in terms of budget and space. I do have a everything to do a basic budget tank with a 10-30 gallon long with a large HOB filter, etc. All I’d have to order is a decent affordable LED light. I’m not looking for big or extravagant, just nice and simple. I’d like something that would house at least a pair of clowns, but it would be great to add a yellow watchman goby, one or two Banggai cardinal fish and perhaps a purple dottyback (small clowns and less fish depending on size of tank). I’d love to throw a few basic, robust corals eventually as well. So my questions are as follows and I appreciate any and all feedback.

1. Just set up a basic 10 gallon and see what happens? If so, what kind of light?

2. I really like the look at cubes. I’m just torn whether to piece one together or buy an AIO?

Thanks!

I had this exact same dilemma of large vs small for my first saltwater tank, and it seems like almost everybody making the plunge into reefing does as well. Lucky for you, it sounds like you have all of the stuff necessary to run a small budget build nano tank (10G or larger). I did all the research and reading and weighing the pros and cons. Ultimately, I decided to start with a small 10 g nano budget build that would eventually be able to be converted to a QT setup for my goal DT tank in the future. This allowed me to get my feet wet at a reasonable cost while learning things like how to prepare high quality water and so on which are the foundations for success.

One recommendation I would make is to go with a 20 or 29 gallon tank vs 10 because the 10 gallon is really limited for aquascape and livestock. I was planning on having it be a desktop tank, but location changed and a little larger would have been nice for a little extra room with really no additional cost. I've learned a ton so far by doing it hands on without breaking the bank. In addition, it is helping me stay on a strict regimen and ultimately what I've been told is if you can make this work you'll have no problem with the larger DT in the future. I made sure to plan out both setups to do my best to avoid buying duplicate gear and also select products that will be transferrable down the road vs replacing. You can check out my build thread for additional thoughts, details, etc.

 

[fishguy242]

hi welcome to the reef going to love it here!!
lots of fun/info/fun/help/fun....
i would reccomend aio /bio cube w lights,

 

[vetteguy53081]

Hi there! I’ve maintained many freshwater tanks throughout the years, small, big and in between. I have done a lot of reading and am close to taking the plunge and trying my hand at a saltwater tank. I know the bigger you go, the more stable it is and less susceptible to large swings. However, I also have to be realistic at the present time in terms of budget and space. I do have a everything to do a basic budget tank with a 10-30 gallon long with a large HOB filter, etc. All I’d have to order is a decent affordable LED light. I’m not looking for big or extravagant, just nice and simple. I’d like something that would house at least a pair of clowns, but it would be great to add a yellow watchman goby, one or two Banggai cardinal fish and perhaps a purple dottyback (small clowns and less fish depending on size of tank). I’d love to throw a few basic, robust corals eventually as well. So my questions are as follows and I appreciate any and all feedback.

1. Just set up a basic 10 gallon and see what happens? If so, what kind of light?

2. I really like the look at cubes. I’m just torn whether to piece one together or buy an AIO?

Thanks!

Starting with at least 40 breeder would be ideal

 

[vetteguy53081]

Welcome to the R2R community as you get more suggestions .

 

[Niteowl]

Welcome to R2R. Agree with vetteguy. 40 would be great.

 

[Victor_C3]

Welcome. A forum like this is a great place to learn and bounce ideas around.

As far as a starter tank, you’ll probably get a whole slew of different opinions. I personally started with a 30 gallon tank and I would recommend that to anyone starting, but I’m a bit biased.

You’ll have a decent selection of fish you can keep in a tank that size and there is enough room that it will take a while for you to outgrow a system that size.

I won’t make a recommendation as to a specific tank or all-in-one solution as I don’t have experience with those, but a cheap 30g tank from petco would be perfectly suitable.

 

[Peace River]

Welcome to R2R!!!

 

[Chrisfish]

Welcome to R2R

 

[Crabs McJones]

Welcome to R2R!

 

[SPR1968]

Some good advice already so Welcome to R2R!!!

 

[NeSsyAqua]

Welcome to R2R!!
Go bigger go home!
You'll find yourself wanting a bigger tank once you see how small a 10g really is with all the rock, sand and livestock. And of course later on, like all of us, you'll want a bigger tank than what you start with .

 

[Reefnman2]

Welcome to R2R!

 

[Tamberav]

Get something between 20-30g. A 10G will be too limiting with the fish you want. A pair of clowns can fill up a 10g just on their own.

Innovative marine makes nice AIOs along with waterbox.

Don't get a purple Dotty...they can turn murderous... especially in a nano. A Royal Gramma would be a good replacement.

Bangaiis need to be a male/female pair.

 

[SaltyCupcake]

Welcome to R2R!!