Newbie

[Ctetra18]

Hey I'm just figuring out how to work this,so go easy on me.

I am mostly a reptile person but I have been getting into fish. I want to make a 20 gallon saltwater so everything is helpfull

 

[obscurereef]

Welcome to AA! It would be tedious and confusing to just feed information about saltwater. Really suggest researching from reliable sources like there are some good basic AA articles, etc. If you have any specific questions would have no problem helping answering it (and I'm sure others will be glad to also).
Basic info:
Important Information for Those New to the Aquarium Hobby - Aquarium Advice
Cycling:
Cycle your salt tank - Aquarium Advice

 

[Ctetra18]

Thanks!

 

[Ctetra18]

Ok dumb question.fw snails tend to leave more waste than they clean, is that true for sw? What is the best beginner sw tank size

 

[SaltwaterNuB]

Welcome! I'm new to the salt water scene. I have a 135g fowlr tank. It's been up and running for about 3/4 months now. I've heard that its easier to start with a larger tank... What size tank are you thinking about getting?

 

[Ctetra18]

20-40 gallons... I don't want a huge expensive tank

 

[obscurereef]

A CUC (clean up crew) consists of SW snails, hermits, etc. Their job is to scavenge for left over food, most eat diatoms and some nuisance algae. They do create waste, but it's very minimal. We're talking about 5 snails say in a 30. Depending on what you think, generally people may get around 60 snails (varying species) and some hermits as well. Also if a fish or invert dies (and usually they will hide in rock so you can't find/get them) they will eat the dead animal before it decays and raises the nitrate. Nassarius are my favorite!
Ideas of CUC members:
Reef Cleaners| Clean up Crews and Macroalgae

General great online store w/ quick stats and info:
Aquarium Fish: Tropical Freshwater Fish and Saltwater Fish for Home Aquariums

First of all, what do you want in your tank? What fish/inverts are you hoping for and do you want coral or just a FOWLR (fish only w/ live rock) tank? 30 gallon is a great starter, but that's not to say any other size will do. The more gallons the better b/c a larger volume of water allows for mistakes to have less of a consequence. If you put too much salt in a 100 gallon tank, it wouldn't have such a large effect as it would if you put too much salt in a 10 gallon. The larger you go though, the more expensive it gets. 10, 20, and 30 are sizes that many beginners have and it doesn't cost as much as larger tanks do.

 

[obscurereef]

If you can get the 40, definitely recommend it. Try checking on craigslist too b/c there can be really great steals! Also, if you're willing to do the work, DIY projects save a ton of money!

 

[Ctetra18]

I have always liked mardins (i hope that's right)are they difficult?

 

[Ctetra18]

Hermit, snails, and crabs were what I was thinking

 

[Ctetra18]

For cuc

 

[Ctetra18]

Fish ...
Fire fish
Clowns
Gobys
Neon gobys
I really like goby's, but somthing more mid tank and active

 

[obscurereef]

You mean mandarins? These fish eat specifically copepods, tiny organism the size of a period. Dragonets(species) can eat 2,000-4,000 a day. They constantly feed searching for food on live rock. This means you need a huge population of them which takes a while, plus sometimes the mandarin will demolish the population before it can multiply and the mandarin will starve. It's best to buy one already trained to eat frozen food or you can take a risk and add it to a tank w/ a large population of pods and train it to eat frozen foods.

 

[obscurereef]

What tank size were you thinking of? That's not too bad of a list, especially since a lot of people who are new to SW overstock their tanks.

 

[Khij159753]

I had a 29 gallon that had 1 clown, 1 firefish, 1 goby/pistol pair, 1 scooter blenny, and 1 bangaii cardinal. If your planning on doing a FOWLR it's really not THAT expensive. The most expensive parts are the light for coral

 

[daney90]

"The most expensive parts are the light for coral" i second on that!!! Lol!! Until now my tank looks boring cause I'm saving up for the lights

 

[Ctetra18]

What about orange spoted prawn gobys

 

[Ctetra18]

So right now I'm thinking a 30 gallon

 

[obscurereef]

The prawn goby will work. A watchman goby and a pistol shrimp would be an awesome pair to view!

 

[Ctetra18]

Ok 30 gallon
What would be a good mid water fish?