# I want to start a saltwater tank..



## kouma (Sep 1, 2003)

It is a 20T gal tank (24" x 12" x 18") and I want to but a pair of clown fish. I already have sand from my freash water tank that i'll going to use.

Now I never did a salt water aquarium..so please help me will all the details.

Can someone give me pointers on what exactly to I have to do to setup on up, water preparations, maintaining, etc. everything I need to know to take care of it, I want to put two clown fish pair in there. I have many filters laying around including a AC300, and Penguin 125 Bio-wheel.

So how do I start?


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## rday (Mar 10, 2003)

first, read the couple of threads on here that say the equivalent of "i want to start a saltwater tank, what do i need." one will direct you to predatoryfish.net, salt and brackish water section where there is a pinned topic called salt water 101. read the whole thing because its is full of very useful info. after you read through that, determine what kind of tank you want, fish only, fish only with live rock (FOWLR) or reef. if its FOWLR or reef, i have a tutorial for starting a nano-reef on here. a 20 would be considered a nano. just do a subject search for nano reef and it should come up. you have a lot to learn at this point, so get ready!


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## kouma (Sep 1, 2003)

If it is too much reading, then I'll just forget about ithe whole thing. I just wanted something simple and after watching finding nemo I got interested in getting a clown fish.

I only want a tank with sand and some fake decor and two clown fish. Can someone just give me easy 1, 2, 3 pointers? i.e. water changes, the very very basic equipment (possible only a filter, ac300 or bio 125), and how to maintain tank so fish won't die thats all.


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## kouma (Sep 1, 2003)

I read some of the posts, and one said if you don't have the patience to read then you definitely don't have the patience to maintain a SW tank.

So I guess I'll give that idea away... man fresh water is much easier to maintain.


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## rday (Mar 10, 2003)

im glad you are mature and responsible enough to realize that you dont have the patience for a SW tank. you most likely have saved the lives of a couple of fish and possibly inverts. if only everyone would approach it like this.


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## TANK (Nov 18, 2003)

RDAY, Amen brother!!!!!!!!!


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## nitrofish (Jan 14, 2003)

a basic fish only salt water tank requres very little more than salt . you can keep all your freshwater equipment and mix the salt. use a refractometer of use a hydrometer to make sure the salt level is perfect . thats adout it, everything elese is just like a freshwater tank


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## TANK (Nov 18, 2003)

Nitro, hate to disagree bro but... telling someone that it is a freshwater tank with the addition of salt is misleading. For one thing there is a difference in substrate. You can not get away with the pretty blue gravel that you can buy at walmart. And about the equipment, years ago it was thought that only an undergravel filter was the only filtration needed for a salt tank. Times have changed and so has the thinking about salt tanks. 
One thing that im sure he does not have for his fresh tanks is a Skimmer. Does he need one for a fish only tank? IMO YES. How about a GOOD submersable heater. Salt is VERY hard on equipment and cheap hang on the back heaters are usually the first to go.


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## nitrofish (Jan 14, 2003)

TANK said:


> Nitro, hate to disagree bro but... telling someone that it is a freshwater tank with the addition of salt is misleading. For one thing there is a difference in substrate. You can not get away with the pretty blue gravel that you can buy at walmart. And about the equipment, years ago it was thought that only an undergravel filter was the only filtration needed for a salt tank. Times have changed and so has the thinking about salt tanks.
> One thing that im sure he does not have for his fresh tanks is a Skimmer. Does he need one for a fish only tank? IMO YES. How about a GOOD submersable heater. Salt is VERY hard on equipment and cheap hang on the back heaters are usually the first to go.


 you can use pretty blue gravel, you may have problems buffering your ph to maintain a 8.4 level, but It can totaly be done. Im not saying I suggest the bare minimum, but it is posible. I wouldn't use common gravel though, agronite is a much better choice.

as for heaters, a quality heater works for both fresh and salt water as long as its not stainless steel.I use a visatherm

of course you need to filter the tank, 10 timeswater turnover rate is a good start, but thats what I have on all my tanks, freshwater and saltwater, so theres no difference there.penguins,aquaclear,and emp are all good choices.

many people don't use a skimmer, I don't. If you maintain your tank properly you can get away without one.all it does is make the time between water changes longer by removing organics before they break down into ammonia.just ask blackbullet, she dosent use them either.

I still stand behind my oppinion that a fish only tank is not very different than a well maintained freshwater tank.


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## mr_meanor (Nov 5, 2003)

a few must haves

1 pound of live rock per gallon of water (prefrebly 1.5-2 pounds)

agronite sand (if reef and invert) crushed coral is fine for Predator tank (you want a thick sand bed, it helps in biological filtration)

SKIMMER!!! - don't even bother without it, it will save you so much time and will save some fish too

use RO water (reverso Osmosis) when filling the tank, will save some time cycling, make sure you use a PH buffer when using RO water because it is usually 7.0 and you need it to be 8.3-8.7

a good charcoal filter and a power head to keep current (if 55 gallon tank or bigger) an undergravel filter will work instead of a power head for a smaller tank

a test kit - saltwater fish are too expensive to be guessing

cycle for 2-3 weeks throw a damsel or 2 in after about a week then test and your ready to add some cool sh*t.

you can always buy a UV filter and bad ass lighting later (unless your going reef then a nice light system and UV will be a must have to start)

it can be done with less but why give your fish an unhealthy living environment, a salt water fish will die alot easier than a Piranha


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## kouma (Sep 1, 2003)

actually mr.meanor

All I got is a 20Tgal with a canopy light and I only want 1, maximum 2, clownfish-no live sh*t, etc. maybe some sand I already have in my fresh water tanks. That's all. Plain and simple, and I got all sort of power filters, but no skimmers(and I won't buy one). If after all this I still can't maintain a SW tank with my equipment and current knowledge I won't bother with it. Actually this tank was for my sister because she really liked Finding Nemo.

btw, what the hell is a PH buffer?


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## nitrofish (Jan 14, 2003)

kouma said:


> btw, what the hell is a PH buffer?


 it helps maintain a certain ph. either a powder or natural substance.

heres what I would get for your setup, not bare minimum, but on the cheap side anyway.

10 lbs live sand, 10 lbs agronite, available at most fish stores.test equipment (hydrometer) and buckett (you have to mix the salt before it enters the tank)

couple decorations, maybe dried coral pieces

good heater and good filter.

you can skip the protien skimmer, (even though they are cheap for a small one and would help you out in the long run.)

small powerhead to move the water.

thats about it.

Id try it, its a major learning experience.


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## mr_meanor (Nov 5, 2003)

clown fish are the coolest with a anemone to live in, can't keep the anemone alive without a skimmer, I know this for a fact I know people who have tried to do it in small tanks, but if you are only keeping the clownfish and nothing else it could work with what nitro said, but you better get an undergravel filter, besides they are only 10-15 buckk


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## nitrofish (Jan 14, 2003)

mr_meanor said:


> clown fish are the coolest with a anemone to live in, can't keep the anemone alive without a skimmer, I know this for a fact I know people who have tried to do it in small tanks, but if you are only keeping the clownfish and nothing else it could work with what nitro said, but you better get an undergravel filter, besides they are only 10-15 buckk


 yea, if your going to get a salt water setup, might as well do it right, rather than regret it in the end.

also an anemone may need more lighting that you have, that may get very expencive.


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