Small Tank

[KentCurtis]

Hello everyone. Recently I have been thinking of buying a 1-2 gallon mini cube. I saw them at my local pet store and thought it'd be a neat project. I have only ever worked with freshwater tanks and have been considering saltwater for some time. What are your thoughts on a saltwater tank this small? Could I get away with housing a single clownfish in it, as I haven't quite undertood how they work - is an anemone required?
Thanks, sorry for the newbie questions hehe

 

[Innovator]

I would not begin any smaller than a 20g if you have no experience in saltwater. Although I do not believe all of the reasoning's behind "bigger is better," it is a fair recommendation towards a learning curve. In a 2g you could only house a very small goby and a piece of coral fragment or two (I assume this is what you meant by plant).

 

[KentCurtis]

Would coral be necesarry, or can saltwater fish be alright in a somewhat bare tank?

 

[Innovator]

I would have liverock for biological filtration and a small filter at least for water movement and to filter particulates, but no coral isn't necessary. A shallow amount of sand can also be added for aesthetics.

 

[KentCurtis]

Ahh ok, so for a tank this small just a piece or so would be alright?

 

[roka64]

I agree with James. Go with a 20G for starters, a clown will not be happy in a 2 G tank. I think you will feel a lot more rewarded looking at your 1st 20 with a few fish as opposed to a tiny 2 G with a very small goby, that may or may not hide all the time....

 

[Fierro Nights]

i dont see why people try to keep fish in such a small area yes it looks nice but there is not much room to swim, i have a 20 gallon w/ just 2 fish and i feel they need more room to swim. but if i where to have a tank that was two gallons, i would just keep some polyp corals or some type of mat to grow on a center piece rock along w/ a couple of snails and an emerald crab. if i had to put in a fish it would be a yellow clown goby.

i like to feed my emeralds seaweed and i like watching them eat, and yellow clow gobies are tiny and its how they purch up on the walls and rock work.

the neat thing about having a smaller tank is that the required light system for coral is alot cheaper then for a larger tank.

 

[melosu58]

Go with a bigger tank. A tank that size is not a good idea.

 

[KentCurtis]

Thanks for the advice guys, I really wasn't sure if it was acceptable to do this or not, At my local pet shop they keep the marine fish in fairly small containers with maybe a piece of coral each and I was wondering if I could replicate that. The more I think about it the more I want a larger tank for saltwater fish, I am jsut kinda scared to try and set one up as I dont know what the equipment differences are compared to a freshwater tank and if I have enough money to get things rolling.

 

[Alexrd09]

IMO your going to end up with a bigger tank in the long run so why not go big now... i started with a 29 and moved to a 120 within 6 months.

 

[austinsdad]

Those fairly small containers at your lfs are likely linked to each other and maybe more tanks you can't see. Hence, larger water volume than you think. You won't be able to recreate that once you start dealing with the mechanical filtration/skimmer and heater won't be much room left.

 

[Fierro Nights]

it seems with this hobby, you want to have around a hundred bucks extra then what you need to get started off in case something happens, equipment failure or having to repair something from water damage if your sump set up messes up if going w/ a larger tank.

a larger tank is great, im looking forward to upgrading mine, however, you want to make sure you buy a quality tank, you get what you pay for, and i think a few people dont realize that water weighs alot, a flimsy stand can leave alot of water on the floor, and if you happen to have a fish tank on the second story of a house, i cant imagine the amout of damage 20 or more gallons of water would do.

i would like to share with you guys a video of what could happen with a fish tank and please learn what to should the glass on your tank ever break... just yell for your mom.

YouTube - wow a kid tryin to lift weights breaks fish tank.

i would also like to add this video of a crab that looks like its dancing.