Tank size?

[Yoongicorn]

Hi guys! Im thinking of starting my first saltwater tank and im not sure what size tank would work best. My friend gave me her old 5g tank and im not sure if a 5g would work or not (maybe i can keep a coral in it?)

Would a 10g work? I want a few corals and maybe some shrimp to start with until i get more comfortable. Any advice is welcome!

 

[rayn]

Start with as big a tank as you are comfortable with. If that’s the 5, that’s fine.

Remember that the smaller the volume of water the quicker things change. Salinity can fluctuate quicker with evaporation. You can overdose quickly when adding supplements for the corals.

More water (volume) is usually better.

 

[Merv49]

Buy what you can afford, what fits your home, what you have time to maintain. Watch as many you tube videos as you can and start forming your own opinions about what will work for you.

 

[Yoongicorn]

Start with as big a tank as you are comfortable with. If that’s the 5, that’s fine.

Remember that the smaller the volume of water the quicker things change. Salinity can fluctuate quicker with evaporation. You can overdose quickly when adding supplements for the corals.

More water (volume) is usually better.

Ok thanks. Would a shrimp be ok in the 5g? Or should i use my 10g after my freshwater snails are moved?

 

[Yoongicorn]

Buy what you can afford, what fits your home, what you have time to maintain. Watch as many you tube videos as you can and start forming your own opinions about what will work for you.

Thank you

 

[Zero Nitrates]

75 gallon.

 

[rayn]

Ok thanks. Would a shrimp be ok in the 5g? Or should i use my 10g after my freshwater snails are moved?

Shrimp will be fine in there. I’ve used 5 gallons before just to hold feeder shrimp and it works fine.

 

[DracoKat]

some sexy shrimp would be great in there, with softie corals!

 

[john472]

Best of luck.

 

[CastAway]

I would suggest you get as large as you can. I always use this analogy; imagine peeing in a five gallon bucket of water, then imagine peeing in a swimming pool. Which is dirtier?

Larger volumes of water react slower to nutrients, and may give beginners a little more latitude for error and learning. I suspect I’d have failed at reefing if I had not gone “big” (and still may LOL).

 

[Steven91]

I would honestly say if you can go 20 gal. I tried starting small (had a fluval 13 gal) and it proved to be a nightmare as thing do change very very quickly with smaller amounts of water. I now happily own a 120 gal with a 30 gal sump and soon upgrading to a 220