morganrules

How big of a tank would any of you saltwater gurus reccomend for a beginner that just wants a pretty SW tank

Alessa

Im no saltwater guru at all.. ( i dont even own one :P) but the tank size depends in wether you want a reef with fish, or only a FROWL.

morganrules

i want fish with live rock setup

Alessa

what type of fish? for example clowns need no less than 55 gals.

morganrules

i want to do a mixture of clowns and possibly a little tang or just some clowns and damsels

defcon11

well if you want tangs at least a 90 or above

sgould

In determining the size tank to buy, you need to take into account a couple of things. First, the larger the tank, the easier it will be to keep your water parameters stable because the larger volume of water will dilute any pollutants, giving you extra time to deal with the problem before your fish begin to suffer. In a smaller tank, the first sign of trouble may be a dead fish. Now, you obviously have to balance that against things like how much space you have and how much you are willing to spend. Next, as has been touched on above, research the space requirements of the fish you want to keep. If you want to keep tangs, you are going to need to go with a big tank (75-125 gallons, depending on variety of tang). Clowns do not require as much...many need only 30 gallons, and a few (such as Ocellaris) only need 20 gallons. As you research, be sure to look into compatability as well so you do not set yourself up for world war III in your tank by putting incompatible fish together.

morganrules

well then maybe just a couple clowns in my 29 gallon i will be getting and about 20 lbs of LR

clinton1621

Keep in mind with Live Rock that the more you have in there, the more circulation you will need to keep a good water flow throughout the tank. I prefer to use about as much live rock as I can cram along the back of the tank myself lol, but thats just me. I would highly recommend going with a canister filter instead of hang-ons, one canister rated for 50g to 70g works wonders in a 29g, and it will have plenty of circulation even with a high amount of live rock... also if you ever decide to upgrade to a bigger tank then you already have a filter rated for it =)

morganrules

how much do canister filters run

clinton1621

between $99 and $199 for one in the size range I mentioned.

morganrules

well im cheap but i think ill go with a biowheel cuz i love those

sgould

With a FOWLR, you'd be better off getting a protein skimmer and not worrying about a mechanical filter at all.

morganrules

its going to be a small little tank i dont think a PS is needed

au01st

They make nano skimmers. With live rock and a skimmer, you don't need a power filter.

morganrules

well how much would that small skimmer be thats what matters really

clinton1621

You would still need good water circulation, which a skimmer is not going to provide by itself... without a filter you would at least need powerheads to keep a decent flow in the tank, this helps keep solids dissolved in the water so they can be taken out by the skimmer. If your water is not circulating enough you're going to end up with algae problems from too much waste that settles on the live rock and the bottom, along with insufficient aeration to keep the bacteria on the live rock alive (this bacteria is why you dont actually need a power filter)... but thats just my opinion from experience.

nemo addict

the bio wheel flotar is a good option with a good built in skimmer and filter ,
you can also remove the wheel and put live rock rubble in for better filtering ,
but i would just get a larger tank and a sump because you know ya gonna in the end anyway dont it

morganrules

well nemo i just want a small little reef thing with fish in it for now i cant afford a 55 gallon or 75 gallon tank at the moment and the nano tank i can afford and those would fit perfectly in my room