Opinion / Poll

[Steven A]

Do you think that I would be able to keep a 15 gal in good condition.
I have only been in freshwater for about 1 and a half years.
I have bred and kept many fish.
The fish I have bred are: bristlenose Catfish, kribensis, Angelfish, pufferfish, rainbow cichlids and all the livebearers.
Soon I will hopefully of bred discus to .

I am mainly fascinated with the "critters" in a sw tank.
I love them to bits. However I will want a nice fish in there lol.

[Steven A]

Also If I purchased a protein skimmer will I need live rock ?

[NewFishGuy]

If your thinking of doing a 15 gal....a "nano tank"....you should check out www.nano-reef.com also.....it is a GREAT site for nano reefs...they need to be treated differently than a larger tank in some ways. Of course it is the general concensus that the more gal you have the easier it is to keep your paramaters in line. The biggest thing to remember with a nano tank is that crashes happen MUCH quicker than in a larger reef tank. I am still planning on making my 10 gal into a nano reef eventually .... then it will be my QT tank for my larger reef tank.

[seaham358]

A tank that small will need daily attention. LR is very important and IMO is needed. A skimmer is a good idea also. FW and SW are to different things. It sounds like you have the dedication needed to make it happen so keep up on the redings and questions before you jump into salt.

[i have crabs]

depends what you plan on keeping in it if its 2 or 3 small fish and mabey some inverts probably not much of a problem if you want corals i dont think its a good plan.

[Steven A]

No corals or out just some fish and inverts. I am not increasing light etc and I do not have enough knowledge to keep corals.

This is what the tank would contain .... is it ok ?

20 pounds of live sand
A Protein skimmer -( Up to 60 gals incase I fall in love with s/w and want to change one of my 33 gals lol)

Thats all regarding chemistry ....

I personally dont want to add live rock as a filter source. I mite add a bit but only as decor!

This will be home to two very small fish and some inverts .

Thats all.

What do use think ?

[ccCapt]

If no live rock, what are your plans for a filter?

Oh, you'll fall in love - just after the tears stop! What a hobby? I think your plan is fine. Problem is, most plans change and then you decide to add this that and the other. Next thing you know, you have a full blown reef. For that size tank, it would only take 10-15 lbs of LR. Definitely worth the investment. If you buy uncured rock (much cheaper) then that would be enough of an ammonia source to start the cycle. Be sure to QT any fish for 6 weeks in a separtate tank before adding them in order to prevent the introduction of ich to the ST. Just as others have mentioned, a tank that small will require daily attention and the smallest change in chemistry could crash it so diligence is vital. Good luck!

KG

[greenmaji]

Steven..
Ive been watching you post for quite a while now.. I do think you spend alot of time paying attention to your tanks.. thats a good thing.. learning what your going to need to watch will be a first step tword this goal..
I think that if you dont want to have LR in the actuall tank that you might consider a canister filter full of LR rubble.. you can have quite a bit more flow in a SW tank.. canisters are normaly too much flow for a tank that sized in FW but for SW it would be fine.. HTH