Smallest possible sw tank?

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I'm not sure what I want really. Is the fowlr setup a good setup for fish or is it better to have coral? I know smaller setups are harder to take care of but I willing to put the time in to keep it up and take care of the life in the tank. I think I'll look for an all in one 5g nano. Will it have everything but fish and lr?

It's not just time, it's alot about experience. It's stressfull at times if something gets eaten or dies you think the whole tank will implode! I'd say avoid a 5, I've had no experience with nanos but I think 5 will be restricted and hard. As for cost, I'd do exactly what you said in spending the money over time that's a really good idea (patience is a virtue :D) because I spent all mine at once and you start to think was it worth it? But with anticipation I've found it gives you a great sense achievement. Espicaly because your going smaller, post every problem you have on here and don't trust everything your lfs shop tell you e.g you could have a fish that's too big for a small tank which costs you money. There's a lot of knowledge on here and it's helped me so much :)
 
Indeed. With proper research and planning, a nano tank is possible, even for beginners. Recent issue of TFH profiled a 5 1/2 gallon nano reef with a postil/goby pair and little else.
BUT... I'd use the 10 gallon over a 5 any day. If you can find a 20 for free on craigslist, even better. Price is proportional to size, but difficulty is inversely proportional.
$500 over the next few months is very reasonable for a 10 gallon. Just take it slow, research everything you want well before putting it in, and ask questions frequently!
 
MacDracor said:
Indeed. With proper research and planning, a nano tank is possible, even for beginners. Recent issue of TFH profiled a 5 1/2 gallon nano reef with a postil/goby pair and little else.
BUT... I'd use the 10 gallon over a 5 any day. If you can find a 20 for free on craigslist, even better. Price is proportional to size, but difficulty is inversely proportional.
$500 over the next few months is very reasonable for a 10 gallon. Just take it slow, research everything you want well before putting it in, and ask questions frequently!

Will do for sure. I did alot alot of research when I was setting up my 55g fw planted community. I may end up waiting for my fire fighting job or my emt job before I begin that way I have more money to work with. But when I do get ready to set up I'll definitely be asking more questions on here for help. But the workload seems like it may be too much at the moment. I appreciate all your guys/gals help on the subject and letting me know what I'm in for.
 
Macdracor is right, you def wanna go with at least a 20. Honestly, IMO, the 20 will prob cost a little less if not the same as a 5 or 10. With a nano under 10, the time required is so much more than for a 50 or bigger. My little 3 gal has driven me close to giving up bc of how much time it requires. Try and I with at least a 20 and then you can have a little more room for nem and some cool tangs and such. Just give lots of lr to hide in.
 
Jmkb02 said:
Macdracor is right, you def wanna go with at least a 20. Honestly, IMO, the 20 will prob cost a little less if not the same as a 5 or 10. With a nano under 10, the time required is so much more than for a 50 or bigger. My little 3 gal has driven me close to giving up bc of how much time it requires. Try and I with at least a 20 and then you can have a little more room for nem and some cool tangs and such. Just give lots of lr to hide in.

You can not keep a tang in a 20 of any kind
 
I disagree, a small sail fin or yellow or even a hippo would be just fine. I'm not saying for him to keep it forever but for a year or so. I did in my first tank and my lfs gave me two small tangs and a pink spotted blenny when I traded in my yellow and went to a 60 gal. I'm just saying if he's trying to save money that's one way to do it.
 
Jmkb02 said:
I disagree, a small sail fin or yellow or even a hippo would be just fine. I'm not saying for him to keep it forever but for a year or so. I did in my first tank and my lfs gave me two small tangs and a pink spotted blenny when I traded in my yellow and went to a 60 gal. I'm just saying if he's trying to save money that's one way to do it.

Many people do differant things, but this is just wrong. The size and bioload of the small tang may not be very much, but they still need alot of swimming room and a 20 is a kiddy pool to them. The owner will most likely get attatched to the fish and let him grow full size in a small tank. This is one major rule of saltwater fish keeping and it should not be broken IMO. If this rule is broken where do we draw the line? Sharks in 50 gallon tanks? Eels in biocubes?
 
Ok maybe I should clarify a bit, I bought a yellow tang that was all of 1 and a half inches and sold home back to my Lfs when he was all of about 4 inches. It was him, a law mower blenny, and a cuc. It was not cruel by any means and I learned a great deal about sw with that tank. I was simply making a point that he could set up a relatively simple fowlr tank in a 20 gal and not sell his car to do it. You will want to talk to your Lfs to make sure they are ok with this, as fish do grow and you will have to trade them in or get a bigger tank.
 
I'm clearly not a rocket scientist but wouldn't it be easier and smarter to just get the size fish that you know is suitable for your size tank without the worry of them outgrowing it? I wouldn't have a tang in my 55 gallon tank cuz it's just not fair. This all stems down to my first few posts that somehow I got crucified over! If ya want the large fish that belong in big tanks save your pennies and get the tank that suits the fish you want to have. Gesh
 
At the risk of sounding like the dreaded "Tang Police"... even a baby tang should not be kept in a 20 gallon tank. The size requirements for tang tanks are far less about the fish's size than they are about the fish's behavior. Tangs need a lot of swimming room, and even as babies like to do sprints, and a small tank is just going to crowd them.
There are also numerous threads and articles about the long term health effects, including disease susceptibility, stunted growth, permanent skeletal damage... Long story short, just because you "know this guy who had a blue hippo and a yellow tang together in a 30 gallon with no problem (for a few months)", tangs do not belong in small tanks. Period.
Think of it this way. Do you have kids? When small, do you keep them in the closet? At 2 years old, are they then allowed to have a bedroom, and at 5, allowed into the rest of the house? LOL
Size isn't the factor.
Hmm. I just scrolled up, and it wasn't even the OP who mentioned tangs. Methinks we're all preaching to the choir here. LOL
 
MacDracor said:
At the risk of sounding like the dreaded "Tang Police"... even a baby tang should not be kept in a 20 gallon tank. The size requirements for tang tanks are far less about the fish's size than they are about the fish's behavior. Tangs need a lot of swimming room, and even as babies like to do sprints, and a small tank is just going to crowd them.
There are also numerous threads and articles about the long term health effects, including disease susceptibility, stunted growth, permanent skeletal damage... Long story short, just because you "know this guy who had a blue hippo and a yellow tang together in a 30 gallon with no problem (for a few months)", tangs do not belong in small tanks. Period.
Think of it this way. Do you have kids? When small, do you keep them in the closet? At 2 years old, are they then allowed to have a bedroom, and at 5, allowed into the rest of the house? LOL
Size isn't the factor.
Hmm. I just scrolled up, and it wasn't even the OP who mentioned tangs. Methinks we're all preaching to the choir here. LOL

Haha this is a possibility. I was just curious about smaller tanks and it turned into a war room thread. Lol. But yes when I do go sw I plan on making sure the tank is right size for the fish full grown size
 
I set up a 55 gallon on a budget as I am a college student also...it is the best way to go I think personally! It make you not have impulse buys an put anything that won't work in your tank. Cause at least for me forking out $20 to $100 for a livestock I wanted to make sure it wasn't going to die. Your tank may not have all the coral and live stock you want right away but it will eventually and the best part is you always will find something better so building on a budget kind of leaves the door open so that you can always have what you want in the tank. My tank is been up 15 months and I still have space for fish and coral and to me it's awesome cause I still can research and add more. Yea it would be nice to have it full of coral and my fish livestock set but the lfs always have different things so it allows the opportunity to get what you want not get something cause they don't have what you want
 
Well everyone else in chiming in so here is my two cents. I had a 29g bio cube a few years back and it was a great little tank that was able to handle most things I wanted in it, I'm currently setting up a 55g and am about $1000 into it just buying lighting and SOME live rock. The 55 is going to be more stable but I would recommend keeping an eye on Craig's list or kijjijji and find a cube. By far the best route to go, the added water volume adds stability and they have everything you need short of sand, rock and livestock. You could likely find one for around $200. Just the hardware to convert your 10g would likely cost that. Also you could likely find a cube that comes with rock and sand for close to the same price.
 
Id go with the second one and start to barter at 150-175 on just equipment..if he's willing to sell the livestock for 200 leaves 250 for the equipment which seems to be a better deal already then the other
 
Mrc8858 said:
Id go with the second one and start to barter at 150-175 on just equipment..if he's willing to sell the livestock for 200 leaves 250 for the equipment which seems to be a better deal already then the other

I have texted them and I'll let u know what happens when they text back. I started at 175.
 
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