Trying to start a saltwater aquarium

Kulay Wolf · Aug 2, 2015

I am thinking of starting a saltwater aquarium. I have a twenty gallon tall aquarium and a Marineland Bio-Wheel 150 Power Filter and some aquarium sand. I am trying to decide between reef salt or regular salt. I am also on a tight budget. I have 80 dollars allowance each week. I can get some salt tomorrow after I pay my phone bill. What else do I need in order to make this a successful salt water aquarium.

The tank was going to be used for a goldfish tank but I have changed my mind.

can I still use life sand on top of the aquarium sand or should I use life rock? I have 20 pounds of sand in the tank right now.

madtownguy · Aug 2, 2015

I think maybe some of your numbers are off, 20lbs of sand in a 20 gallon tank seems like a ton. If you just want salt water fish, and small ones you could go with a salt water aquarium. It will take probably 10x's more work and money so just keep that in mind. You will need a heater, and lots of live rock would help since your filtration is on the low end. I wouldn't put any corals in that tank.

Cleo642 · Aug 2, 2015

You can start a basic fish only setup, with sand and decorations. Here is a couple of videos of a guy setting up a basic 25 gallon saltwater aquarium.

Cleo642 · Aug 2, 2015

Maybe you could start a nano reef bit you would need a protein skimmer and some live rock. Both can be a little pricey.

kschweer · Aug 2, 2015

All good advice above. I would take a look around the site a bit and gather a Little more info to see if you want fish only or a reef. The more research you do the more successful you will be. Best of luck and welcome to R2R!!

Cleo642 · Aug 2, 2015

Just my opinion, but I would start just a basic saltwater aquarium first. Then you gain experience with it. While you are caring for your tank and gaining experience you can research further by looking on the forum, on your tube, reading, etc. Then you can decide if you want to go further into the hobby. The basic saltwater, or even freshwater aquarium, is a good start in the aquarium hobby. The guy in the videos looks like he got a pretty decent little tank. Clownfish are good fish.
And welcome to reef2reef!

Harold Green · Aug 2, 2015

Don't use regular salt. Reef salt has the right proportions of trace elements to keep marine animals alive. For basics you need a heater, hydrometer to mix salt, ro filter or will have to purchase ro or distilled water, crushed coral or dolomite( no sand blast or freshwater sand), a pump to circulate more water than the hob filter you have will move. It's possible to have a marine tank that small but you also have to realize that salt water doesn't support as much fish as fresh water so the tank will have to be very sparsely populated. I would think of the tank as a learning experience for when you have enough time and money to set up a larger tank. Don't get me wrong, I've seen some amazing small tanks but they usually require more equipment and a lot of research before being successful. Start by learning all about the nitrogen cycle and how to set it up before adding fish to the tank. Good luck.

Kulay Wolf · Aug 2, 2015

Thanks for all the responses. I have a hydrometer. What is a hob filter?

Cleo642 · Aug 2, 2015

Kulay Wolf said:
Thanks for all the responses. I have a hydrometer. What is a hob filter?

Hang on back, like the one you have.

Russ265 · Aug 2, 2015

i just set up a budget tank for my wife.

petco has a gallon per dollar sale atm. she bought a 40 gallon breeder.

so i bought her the biggest hang on back filter i could, and a 100 watt heater and a powerhead from walmart for $20.

its so rigged i took one of my old socks, filled it with carbon and rubber banded it to the outflow of her hob to clean the water up from the sand.

she was up and running for $150 and has her lone trigger in there.

granted she stole some of my sand and lr from my fuge.

im thinking par38 pvc diy lights to complete it's budgetness glory

Harold Green · Aug 2, 2015

I've always been a fan of the 40 breeder tanks. Probably the best all around tank out there for the money. If money is the object I'd stick a cheap 36" t8 shop light over the tank. Use cool white lamps and add a small blue led strip if you want more color in the tank. Be careful with the walmart powerhead, they're cheap in more than cost. I've always been a fan of do it yourself. Decades back I had a 250gallon plywood and glass tank and for a filter I used a ten gallon tank. Set it at the same height as the big tank. Put in a divider at one end of the ten gallon with the bottom raised up an inch. Set egg crate raised one inch in the larger area created. Placed three one inch thick foam pads over the egg crate. Set a pump in the small section. The pump returned water to the main tank with a two inch siphon pulling tank water into the ten gallon. When the water level dropped in the pump section I'd remove the top foam pad and wash it, then return it to the tank. Today it would be called a sump but that was long before the use of sumps or the popularity of biological mediums.