Thinking About a Clowfish Tank

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Arget

Aquarium Advice Freak
Joined
Jun 11, 2017
Messages
259
Location
SE Kansas
I've been thinking about getting my feet wet with clownfish for over a year. I've got plenty of experience with freshwater tanks. I probably won't actually do anything about getting a saltwater tank for a few more years. It wouldn't be anything big, just a 20g or so. It'd only have clownfish, marine fish get pretty big, and most of them are wild caught. If I do get clownfish, I'd convert one of the tanks I've already got. How do marine tanks differ from freshwater? Do clownfish need need sand, or would they be okay with gravel? What about filtration? The best filters on my tanks so far are canister filters. I don't want to deal with a sump, none of my current tanks are drilled, and I'd have no clue how to maintain it.
 
You’ll need marine sand not fw sand and live rock which acts as your main filtration for sw. on a 20g fish only system with 2 clownfish you could just run some carbon or Purigen in a hob filter. You’d also need a power head for flow in the tank.
 
I'd guessed that I'd need live sand, but wasn't sure if I could use gravel for a pair of clownfish or not. The 20g that I'd convert currently has a 107 with a spray bar hooked up to it. I've already got a powerhead, but it's very powerful. Sand is a pain to get out of filters, depending on how fine it is. Even with a sponge filter to keep it out, they still need to be cleaned very frequently. Even if a sponge filter is on the intake very fine sand can still get into the filter. Would black sand work? Or would they be more comfortable with white?
 
Gravel is a no no in saltwater. Saltwater breaks down things really well, and with all the wonderfully colored rocks and decorations just don't belong in these tanks. The salt breaks down the paint and releases the toxins into the water column.

The color of the sand doesn't matter. I have black volcanic in my current reef. There is also pink.
 
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