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adrock718

Aquarium Advice Newbie
Joined
Jan 31, 2004
Messages
3
Location
new york
hey i have a spare 5 gallon tank just lying around i was wondering if i could turn it into a salt water...i wanted to get a couple of clown fish and maybe a puffer if possible would that be ok or no?
i could live without the puffer also what would i need all i have is the tank and a fluval 1 filter which im not sure i could use as well as a heater
 
Welcome to AquariumAdvice.com :)

In a 5 gal tank you would be able to get away with one small growing fish or smaller species of clown. A pair would be best suited in a 10 or 20 gal tank depending on species. The puffer would be out for a 5 gal tank.

The fluval 1 could definately be used for water flow but I would remove the media. In smaller tanks, any amount of trapped detritus will affect water quality quickly. I would instead suggest about 10 lbs of live rock and some quality oolitic aragonite sand (1-1½") to function as your primary filtration source.

The need for a heater will depend on the ambient room temp where the tank is set up. There are many small titanium submersibles that could be tucked behind the LR out of view.

Cheers
Steve
 
so all i would need is the live rock and sand?
and what is oolitic aragonite sand ? is that live sand?
 
adrock718 said:
so all i would need is the live rock and sand?
That and good water flow will really be about all the fitration you will need. The Fluval 1 can be used to house media when you want to "polish" the water but media is not necessary 24/7.

and what is oolitic aragonite sand ? is that live sand?
Oolitic refers to the shape of the sand which is rounded and smooth. Unlike silica based sands that are flat and have sharper edges. Aragonite is a CaCO3 based sand that will aid in buffering the tank water.

Cheers
Steve
 
where could i get these items like the sand...my pet store guy doesnt seem 2 know 2 much
 
you need to find the lfs with saltwater stuff by finding your nearest stores on a website like switchboard.com or mapquest.com yellow pages, then call to see what they have and take a road trip, mapquest is good because you can get directions right there, just search for pet shop

I have gone 20 or 30+ miles to fetch stuff, all part of the fun!
 
one note of warning...a tank that small will be very difficult to
keep stable. The bigger the tank, the easier that chore is.
 
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