Any ideas for a new mini 15gallon setup?

[LTL]

Hi,

I currently have a small 2 ft tank, abt 15gallon which used to house freshwater fish (they all died ).

I am thinking of converting it to a mini saltwater habitat. Any recommendations for such a small tank?

looking for more of a simple setup with minimal maintainence.. (hmm.. bare tank?? )

 

[I3u11he4d]

If your planning on doing saltwater dont do a bare tank.This will make it much harder to keep stable and would actually have a much more intense maintenance schedule.Do a small reef tank w/ 10 lbs of rock about 4 lbs of sand a few small fish,pair of percula clowns,symbiotic shrimp gobies or something along those lines,but keep the stocking levels on the low side.maybe with a aquaclear hang-on filter as a small refugium w/ calupera or more live rock or even some mud.depending on the light source you plan on using you may be able to keep some corals and inverts.With such a small tank you would be much better off with a reef tank instead of a fish only.It is a very broad question you are asking,there are many ways of setting up such a tank and many ways to stock it.I suggest that you do alot of research before you even start anything such as a salt tank of that size,reef or fishonly.It would be in the best intrest of the future occupants and yourself.

 

[screwd]

Get some gobies tht will pair up wif Alpheus shrimps,these look nice together.

 

[Ornatapinnis]

Although 15 gallons aquariums are possible to do, they are tricky to be sucessful with. WHy'd all your freshwater fish die? I don't mean to be negattive but if something happened to wipe out your freshwater fish which are typically easier than saltwater, why would you think saltwater is a good idea?

I would do livesand with liverock, a good powerfilter and very minimal livestock. A damsel or small clown might work. A shrimp or some crabs could work too. YOur going to be very limited on what will tolorate this size aquarium.

Another option would be to use your 15 gallon for a filter or refugium for a larger aquarium like a 55 gallon or so.

 

[LTL]

Although 15 gallons aquariums are possible to do, they are tricky to be sucessful with. WHy'd all your freshwater fish die? I don't mean to be negattive but if something happened to wipe out your freshwater fish which are typically easier than saltwater, why would you think saltwater is a good idea?

I would do livesand with liverock, a good powerfilter and very minimal livestock. A damsel or small clown might work. A shrimp or some crabs could work too. YOur going to be very limited on what will tolorate this size aquarium.

Another option would be to use your 15 gallon for a filter or refugium for a larger aquarium like a 55 gallon or so.

There was a 10" Andi bicher in it and 2 Afircan Butterflies, together with some live feeders.

Suppose to shift the bicher to a 4ft tank coming week but it died of viral infection over a weekend which I am not around.

My floating dead Andi should have disrupted the conditions of the tank as few hours after I removed the carcass, the 2 butterflies are sinking upside down... Tried to 'save' them but unsuccessful...

I do have another 3 ft tank with a few other bichers in it, so would like to try out a saltwater setup.

So is true that a small saltwater eco is harder to maintain than a larger one?

 

[FunkSkunk]

It is harder because you have less water to diffuse any mishaps. For Example: a teaspoon mistake in a 200 gallon is barely noticed, but in a 15 gallon problems could be seen almost instantly!

 

[I3u11he4d]

It is harder because you have less water to diffuse any mishaps. For Example: a teaspoon mistake in a 200 gallon is barely noticed, but in a 15 gallon problems could be seen almost instantly!

although saltwater tends to be more stable than fresh.A small reef tank if stocked properly(under average limits) will almost be self-sustaining.Basicly the occupants of the tank do all the cleaning and filtration i.e.live rock,live sand,snails,shrimp,crabs and other inverts.feeding is done in small amounts and focused on individuals,most of the food comes from within the tank itself.So in short dont be scared to do a small reef tank but do your research first.If you dont understand what your doing you will fail miserably every single time.And yes salt water is more stable than fresh.......and the only thing that makes it difficult is being lazy

 

[LTL]

Thanks guys.... great help there...

Think I would be looking more into a simple coral & reef setup, with a couple of clowns.

Would an overhead filter works just as well?

I would be getting a power-head for more circulation and a cooler unit too... is pretty hot here in the tropics... Might be changing my lighting too as it heats up the water too fast...

 

[screwd]

Overhead filter?you mean those tht have a pump tht pump water up into the filter media?
Yes,they work for me,but they look awful,its best if you could go an overflow tank..

 

[Ornatapinnis]

A simple coral & reef set up?

It might be a consideration to get a really good book on salt water aquariums before attempting this. Having a good book will help prevent making some mistakes and give you some great ideas on lighting, filtration, etc. COuld save you lots of money too. I really like the salt water for dummies book, it's written really well. Martin Moe's books are great too.

You really need to learn and understand the basics before doing a "reef" type set up.

Joel