# new to the salt water world



## Guest (Feb 13, 2007)

or at least i hope to be. i have a 16 gallon thank that is currently empty. if possible, i would like to make a small reef tank. i was hoping to put one or two hermit crabs, one coral banded shrimp, two firefish, and one false percula. are these fish compatible? can they be housed comfertably in a 16 gallon tank? if not i appreciate suggestions. before i add the firefish and the percula, i would cycle the tank without fish for a few days, then add two damsel fish. after the tank is fully cycled, i will add the crabs and shrimp. i will keep the fish like this till both the damsels die, then i willl add the firefish and percula. does this sound OK to you? this is my first time with saltwater so i have no experience at all.

as for the filtation, i will be running a power filter with a bio-wheel capable of filtering 20 gallons. i will also install a powerhead for current. i am not sure of the exact model as of yet. first i want to see if what i am doing is feasible. i also have a heater for a twenty gallon tank that i will be useing. what temp. should the water be? i have read that protien skimmers are a good addition to any salt water tank. what do they do and do i need one? how do i check the water quality? do i have to buy a special tool or do the have those little paper slips. what should my salinity be set at?

for decorations, I will have one to two pieces of live rock depending on how big they are. no other decorations.

i am sorry about all the questions. this is my first salt water tank and i want everything to go smoothly and all the fish and crustations to survive without any problems:chair: . thanks for all your time (trust me, it might take you a while to answer all my questions).
Andrew


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## Damon (Jan 18, 2005)

Hello and welcome to the saltwater world. FIrst, there are many threads in this forum covering what you are looking for. Second, your first sw tank should be much bigger than 16 gallons. As you will read, it is not the same as a fw setup. 16 gallons is possible, but the chance of success is severely stunted. A 50 gallon setup is the minimum we can recommend here on this site as your first tank.


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## Guest (Feb 13, 2007)

thanks, i already found some if the info that i needed.
Andrew


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## Damon (Jan 18, 2005)

I hope your endeavor goes well. Its an expensive hobby that can cost thousands if you don't do the research before buying


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## Guest (Feb 14, 2007)

i am on a tight budget right now and as you can see i am only 15. i think that i will just admire my lfs sw tanks for now and set up a larger sw tank when i have more money on hand.(i read in an old post that it is easy to get money from your parents. Boy is he wrong! i have to pay for my own college, car, and anything to do with my pets!) just so you know you did not scare me away from keeping sw fish. when i posted i figured that it would end up this way. i just want something "out of the ordinary". there are not that many sw tanks where i live. it is OK tho, i already have a list of fw fish to put in it that will be cheaper and earier to care for. thanks again for all your help. i really appreciate it.
Andrew


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## Fishfirst (Jan 24, 2005)

Andrew, since you are coming of age in the working world... soon would be a good time to get a job... which means a bit of income for the saltwater endevor that you long to accomplish. 55 gallons are standard in the hobby, and are relatively cheap for the gallonage they hold... also once you have some money saved up... check your local paper, craigslist, ect for used tanks and supplies... used tanks can be wonderful for starting you off.


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## Guest (Feb 14, 2007)

thanks fishfirst. i already have a job at an ice-cream store but in michigan, the ice-cream buisness is only a half year thing. this year i will be old enough to drive so i am hoping to get a job at my lfs so i can work all year and so i can get more money. in my third post you can soo that i need to pay for a car and college. right now that is more important to me than a fish tank even though i want the fish more . when i can start a sw tank i will be back her for help for sure. it might be a few years tho:-( . thanks again,
Andrew


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## Reefneck (Oct 15, 2005)

Wow......A Young person that has his priorities in order!! This makes me really smile! I wish my own 15 y/o had as much of a brain.

fishbguy....My hat is off to you sir!


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## Guest (Feb 14, 2007)

thanks reefneck. i appriciate it. and i am a he.


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## Guest (Feb 14, 2007)

i forgot, i like your signiture!


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## Fishnewb1 (Mar 24, 2006)

Hey im 15 too...and you guys never told me that when I first came! I came here wanting a little tank but you said that i should have a minimum of 55 so i did, got addicted, now i have like 50 bucks im my savings. 
Ohh well its worth it.:chair: 
:withstup:


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## Damon (Jan 18, 2005)

Wow. To get a compliment from Keri is an accomplishment in itself!


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## Guest (Feb 14, 2007)

thank you all very much for all the complaments.

fishnewb1-i think the reason that they are complamenting me is because i am putting education before fish. no matter how much i want them. and trust me, i want a sw tank badly. i know that it is worth it but in the longrun when you need to pay for college, you will be sorry that you didn't save the money that you spent on the tank. college is getting more and more expensive by the year and you need the best education possible so you can get a good paying job, right now the economy isn't the greatest so buisnesses are looking for the most educated people to work for them.
Andrew


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

The first hing you need is a GOOD book on the subject. It's apparent from your first post that you have some good info mixed in with some very bad info in your personal knowledge base, and a skewed idea of how things work in a reef tank, which is simultaneously both identical to and very very different from a simple fish tank.
You are off to a good start, don't get me wrong, but it's a very good thing you decided to ask some questions before proceeding further. I'm really somewhat surprised that the other guys haven't set you straight on a few things already, but I guess they didn't want to scare you. 
As for your plan, no, it doesn't sound ok. It has a few really big flaws which would be very obvious to you if you knew the primary differences between reef tanks and fish-only tanks, as well as a few things about the fish you've chosen.
So, then, your job is to figure out what the heck I'm talking about. I could just tell you, but you'll get a better understanding of it if you learn it on your own, and you'll learn a lot of other critical info while on your quest.
(_ I'll give you some hits if you need them later_ )


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## Reefneck (Oct 15, 2005)

Damon said:


> Wow. To get a compliment from Keri is an accomplishment in itself!


heheheheh, I think it's the old age kicking in. That or knowing my days are numbered perhaps makes me try harder to be a good person instead of a butthead!


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## Fishy_Burger (Feb 28, 2007)

Its weird becuase im 15 and in college soon, that is my reason for starting a saltwater tank. We dont have to pay for college, unless its privet here, we actually get paid, £30 a week to go. £30 flexable depending on your situation. I am waiting till then to start then i can have money for salt, food etc. Also i cant drive till im 17 anyway, and they might be changing it to 21. 

but good luck whenever you do start!


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## Guest (Feb 28, 2007)

Psht, I wish I could get paid to go to school. lol :razz:


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## Guest (Mar 1, 2007)

if people were paid to go to school, there would prolly not be so many high school drop-outs. same with college. there would also be more people attending college.


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## stargate_geek (Dec 1, 2006)

True!

I would LOVE to have a big saltwater tank (55 or more  ) However. I'm starting college in 10 months and going to a foreign university after a year or two. So... that wouldn't be that partial. I’m not dragging my tanks to Germany or wherever with me! My dad will enjoy having the two ten gallons to play with, and maybe a 29 gallon. But I don’t know if he’d go for saltwater or not!

Plus my little puffs and other fish take up a lot of time and money already (for someone who doesn’t have a job!)


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## flamingo (Nov 5, 2005)

I'm 15- and I just got a babysitting job to actually pay for the stuff i've been wanting. I'd love to get into marine biology- so I guess having all of this fish helps out lmao.

I'd get a bigger tank also- I started with a ten gallon, while it worked for me, it may not work for everyone.. but I wish I had started with somethign bigger back then. It crushed my savings of the little money I had- and I was already planning on a new tank because of how little space I had.


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## Guest (May 26, 2007)

I posted this here because I am getting the fatal error on every iother section in SW so...But it still has stuff to do with this thread. thanks


Can anyone tell me what the minimum tank size for the following species are? I am currently learning how to set up a SW tank and I would like to set my 16 gallon up. These are the fish that i am interested in.

1. Firefish
2. Clown Goby
3. Zebra Goby
4. Ocellaris Clownfish
5. Bangii Cardinalfish
6. Pajama Clownfish
7. Midas Blenny
8. Bicolor Blenny

thanks alot...I will ask more questions as i come to them and I'll keep y'all updated.

andrew


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## Fishboy93 (Jun 11, 2005)

fishbguy said:


> I posted this here because I am getting the fatal error on every iother section in SW so...But it still has stuff to do with this thread. thanks
> 
> 
> Can anyone tell me what the minimum tank size for the following species are? I am currently learning how to set up a SW tank and I would like to set my 16 gallon up. These are the fish that i am interested in.
> ...


IMO
1. Yes
2. Yes
3. Probably
4. Maybe
5.No
6.No
7.No
8.No


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## Bear (Jun 8, 2006)

If you are new to the SW world please think of setting up a much larger tank. A 40 gallon or larger will serve you much better through your learning experiences and will give you a much larger array for lil' fishy friends that will be happy in your tank. If space is a problem and this is why you are going for a small tank, than I wouldn't go SW. I believe most other SW people here would agree; you always end up taking more space that you had thought.

Do not give up on SW if a larger tank is not in the cards. This just gives you something ta shoot for!

If the cost is the thing keeping you from a larger tank, hurry go crab some ads and get reading. You can find some amazing prices on the net, the recycler, craigslist, etc. I found a complete 100 gallon set up, excluding LR, for about $400 and that's a small fraction of what most tanks, meaning just the tank, cost.


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## Guest (May 26, 2007)

I would like to set up a larger tank but i don't have the room or the money to get a larger tank. I want it to go as easily and cheaply as possible. There will be no corals, only fish and a few crabs/snails. I will have chrushed oyster shell for the substrate and a few pieces of live rock and a few pieces of lace rock. filter, maybe a protien skimmer, no overflow. Right now i just want to see if i can do this and am reading everything i can find on the subject. I just wanted to see if those fish could live comfertably in a 16.


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## Reefneck (Oct 15, 2005)

The word "CHEAP" does not exist in a marine aquarists vocabulary!

You can not be "CHEAP" in anything about this hobby or you will fail! Take the advice given. If you don't have the money or the room to go bigger don't waste your money and the lives of the animals.

Crushed Oyster Shell for substrate? No matter the tank size that is asking for trouble!


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## Guest (May 26, 2007)

why is chrushed oyster shell bad? what do you suggest as a substrate then?


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## Ice (Sep 25, 2006)

Live sand is better.


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## Fishboy93 (Jun 11, 2005)

or just plain old aragonite sand....


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## Fishfirst (Jan 24, 2005)

oyster shells have a huge dead spots where detritis and debris can accumulate creating nitrates.


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## Guest (May 30, 2007)

oh...okay...thanks

how was the Bahamas?


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## Fishfirst (Jan 24, 2005)

still there, thank god for wireless internet


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## Guest (May 31, 2007)

lol...so...how IS the bahamas?


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