Starting a new tank

[skmackley]

So i am saving up for a new salt water tank, i have a lot of experience with my fish but need to take it to the next level. I am thinking of something simple and VERY cheap, also tank and product wise should be long - lasting, so i am thinking of getting a 30-40L but theyre very expensive! upstairs i got a 15 L rectangle and can be cold or tropical water tank. And just keeping it simple with maybe one or two starfish or a pair of common clownfish, and live rock or possibly live coral? do i need a lot of costy things? will this be easy? and starfish like maybe the little red ones but what are the cheapest and easy ones,

Many Thanks

Sam.

 

[Bectan01]

Is this your first saltwater tank? Check out the articles on here on how to set up and maintain a saltwater tank - the first thing you will find is that is is not cheap! To set up and to run. There are cheaper ways to do things of course but be prepared to outlay the dollars especially if you want corals. My 55g initially cost around $1600 to start (mainly for the live rock and lighting) not including the tank itself. It's totally worth it tho!

 

[skmackley]

i thought if i want a nano tank with two clownfish and all filters an everything, it wont be that much certainly not! the tank will be 16L maybe? and comes with great lighting,

 

[Bectan01]

Ah, I was thinking the 30-40 you mentioned earlier. I also just set up a 10g and without the tank I spent around $40 on a powerhead, $90 on lights, $20 on a heater, I already had sand leftover from my other tank, and rock was about $100. I buy my saltwater and ro-di water from my LFS and I already have test kits and a refractometer. Hope that helps!

 

[Bectan01]

16litres or long? What kind of lighting do you know?

 

[jhawk__]

i thought if i want a nano tank with two clownfish and all filters an everything, it wont be that much certainly not!

I did a 10 gallon saltwater nano and it cost me $250 + to get it all together and that's not including the new light fixture I plan on getting in the future.

You'd need
Tank $15
Filter $25
Heater $25
Light fixture $45
Power head $35
Live rock or base rock $90
Sand (preferably live but not a must) $20

Those are rough estimates of what everything costed for me.

 

[skmackley]

Ah, I was thinking the 30-40 you mentioned earlier. I also just set up a 10g and without the tank I spent around $40 on a powerhead, $90 on lights, $20 on a heater, I already had sand leftover from my other tank, and rock was about $100. I buy my saltwater and ro-di water from my LFS and I already have test kits and a refractometer. Hope that helps!

yes but i realised they were more expensive than cold&tropical water :/ yeah i have sand, can you buy saltwater from LFS?:0 but my nearest one is 30 miles away. and from the seller about the lights he put:

The telescopic arm LED Lighting System clips onto the back of the tank and can be angled in a variety of different ways thanks to its flexible arm. The dual model LED lighting is perfect for Small Fish Tanks and offers the option of daylight or blue moonlight modes, with extra bright compact LED's creating stunning ripple effects in the water. L.E.D lighting is more efficient and economical than traditional lighting, making it cheaper to run. L.E.D Bulbs generally have a much longer lifespan too.

 

[skmackley]

16litres or long? What kind of lighting do you know?

no 16 litres volume, i work in litres not gallons it is around 8 gallons - 9 gallons

 

[skmackley]

I did a 10 gallon saltwater nano and it cost me $250 + to get it all together and that's not including the new light fixture I plan on getting in the future.

You'd need
Tank $15
Filter $25
Heater $25
Light fixture $45
Power head $35
Live rock or base rock $90
Sand (preferably live but not a must) $20

Those are rough estimates of what everything costed for me.

i would love to know where you got those cheap prices from! how many gallons/litres was your tank? arent filter and power head the same , im new to saltwater

 

[Evansimp]

Try going used for equipment! You can do ...

Filter 10-20$
Heater 5-15$
Power heads 20-40$ for 2
Sand - free or just buy dry sand for 15-20$
Rock 50-100$
Lighting 50-100$

I have a big reefing community in my area so gettin all this stuff for cheap is fairly simple! Look around your area!

How many gallons is this tank?

 

[Mebbid]

For a pair of clowns I wouldn't do smaller than a 75l aquarium. Assuming you want to skip corals it will make this build a lot cheaper.

To save money on live rock you could go with 10 lbs of dry rock from bulk reef supply.

You can also buy a HOB filter instead of powerheads.

Not counting the price of the tank and stand you should be able to get everything you need for $100 but that is a very very basic and simple setup.

Basically with salt water, the smaller the tank the more difficult it is to maintain especially when you don't have a refugium / sump. I would suggest waiting and saving up to get a properly sized tank with sump to make your life easier.

 

[skmackley]

thank you! so -
75L tank
a pair of clown fish,
hang on back filter
bulk live rock

what else, im new to saltwater
also, what tank do you recommend for a breeding pair of clown fish?

 

[Bectan01]

Sand, test kits, a refractometer, salt mix. Your light should be ok for fish only but not sure it will support any corals. If going reef will need to use ro-di water too but you can get away with treated tap for fish only. Breeding clowns could be a bit tricky for a first time salt owner, I don't know much about it but you would need a separate tank for raising the fry and specialised food for them - I wouldn't attempt that just yet

 

[bribo12]

Don't forget powerheads to create current!

 

[Mebbid]

Don't forget powerheads to create current!

For a fish only tank a hob filter is enough. Also, a hydrometer can take the place of a refractometer in fish only.

 

[skmackley]

For a fish only tank a hob filter is enough. Also, a hydrometer can take the place of a refractometer in fish only.

thank you very much! so how do i do saltwater mix ?

 

[skmackley]

maybe a shouldnt breed?? maybe two males:/

 

[skmackley]

or would it be a lot easier to have starfish?

 

[Mebbid]

Clowns will actually switch sexes when they are together based on dominance.

 

[skmackley]

Clowns will actually switch sexes when they are together based on dominance.

oh gosh, so how do people breed then?:0 how do i do saltwater mix

and is starfish better? maybe one or two couple of live rock and what tank