New to the SW World

[james1988]

Hello all,

First let me introduce myself, I'm James and this is my first post here. I've been in the freshwater game for some time now but I've always wanted a salt setup. I've done a fair bit of research and I've come to realise my 30g tank is only going to be able to house one or two fish and a little bit of coral.

I'm currently looking to move my freshwater fish onto a friend of mine (he's into the hobby as well) and start up a saltwater tank. I asked today at my LFS if I could use my Fluval 205 filter with a SW setup and they have said it will be fine (from what I've read it doesn't seem that way so any advice there would be great). I'm aware everything would have to be cleaned and sterilised.

From the research I've done I assume I'm going to need a skimmer (any advice on what make / model to go for would be great) and live rock will help massively with filtration.

I understand I will need to change the lighting so that isn't a problem either.

That type of aquatic community I would like to go for is corals with some invertebrates and the odd fish or two. Would this be achievable?

Any advice given will be greatly appreciated and duly noted!

Thanks, James

 

[TMartinez]

First off, Welcome.

Secondly, a 30g is a perfectly acceptable tank size. i have had a 29g setup for about 2 months now and it's perfectly fine. The concern becomes with "nano" tanks or 20g and smaller. I currently have a AC110 as my filtration and will be adding a protein skimmer. One is not needed right away and you can start with just a power filter. I am getting an AquaC Remora and I'm sure everyone else on here will agree, it is the best.

Live rock, if you have a reputable LFS get it from them. My was cured and had corraline. The rule of thumb for amount is 1lb per gallon. Adjust accordingly for your needs.

Corals, inverts a several fish is attainable. I have a zooanthid, a frogspawn and a mushroom coral right now. these are my starters and I've had them for 3 weeks and everything is ok so far. You can also keep more than 2 fish... I currently have 2 clownfish and a sandsifter goby. i will be adding a mandarin soon and to finish off my tank a dwarf angel. Plus I have some shrimp in the tank too.

Lighting will be important for corals and proper algae growth. I have a Coralife Lunar H.O. T5 setup that I love. Alot of the serious reef setups use metal halides or a mixe of M.H and T5

The key is to use RO/DI water, get a good amount of live rock, some crushed coral or aragonite. Set it up and let it cycle for 2 weeks minimum. This will allow growth of beneficial bacteria and start the nitrogen cycle.

I'm sure there is more I am forgetting but this will get you started

 

[nonstophoops]

First off, Welcome.

Secondly, a 30g is a perfectly acceptable tank size. i have had a 29g setup for about 2 months now and it's perfectly fine. The concern becomes with "nano" tanks or 20g and smaller. I currently have a AC110 as my filtration and will be adding a protein skimmer. One is not needed right away and you can start with just a power filter. I am getting an AquaC Remora and I'm sure everyone else on here will agree, it is the best.

Live rock, if you have a reputable LFS get it from them. My was cured and had corraline. The rule of thumb for amount is 1lb per gallon. Adjust accordingly for your needs.

Corals, inverts a several fish is attainable. I have a zooanthid, a frogspawn and a mushroom coral right now. these are my starters and I've had them for 3 weeks and everything is ok so far. You can also keep more than 2 fish... I currently have 2 clownfish and a sandsifter goby. i will be adding a mandarin soon and to finish off my tank a dwarf angel. Plus I have some shrimp in the tank too.

Lighting will be important for corals and proper algae growth. I have a Coralife Lunar H.O. T5 setup that I love. Alot of the serious reef setups use metal halides or a mixe of M.H and T5

The key is to use RO/DI water, get a good amount of live rock, some crushed coral or aragonite. Set it up and let it cycle for 2 weeks minimum. This will allow growth of beneficial bacteria and start the nitrogen cycle.

I'm sure there is more I am forgetting but this will get you started

Welcome Aboard!!

I agree that an Aqua C Remora is ideal for this setup. Depending on your budget I would also look into doing a sump instead of a canister or power filter. It will cost you more upfront, but is a much better way to keep your tank healthy. You can put all your equipment and media in the sump including skimmer, heater, media(carbon, chemipure, phosban, etc.), filter pads, etc.

A lb. per gallon is a general recommendation and I definitely wouldn't stick to that. Just fill your tank so that it is still open and water can flow freely.

I think you are right to stick with few fish if you want corals. You definitely can do more than 1 and I would say 2 to 3 would be good depending on species. I think that 5 is just too much for a 30 gallon and will cause water quality issues.

On a separate note, Martinez I want to warn you about a couple of your choices. The Mandarin really should be in a bigger tank, and not because it is a big fish(obviously). They rarely accept enough captive food to survive and need a very big tank with a thriving copepod/amphipod population to nourish them and help them survive. You will have a tough time keeping one alive in a 30 gallon. As for a dwarf angel, you may run into problems with them eating your softies(zoas, leathers, etc.). So if you are ok with experimenting and losing some corals then go for it, otherwise you may need to choose something else.

Lighting will depend on what you are planning to keep for sure.

Depending on your water source(you could test it) you may need to use RODI water. I would recommend it, it will save you a lot of headaches, but it isn't totally necessary. You could do a Phosban reactor instead and achieve similar results.

And lastly do aragonite sand, not crushed coral.

Oh, and get yourself 2 good powerheads to help keep that water moving. Koralia 2's or 3's would do the job quite nicely here. Definitely different than freshwater in this regard. You want lots of flow for saltwater and corals.

 

[TMartinez]

I didn't know that about the mandarin. Everything I've seen says you can keep it in a 30 and even my lfs said it would be fine size wise. I was unaware about their eating habits. Maybe I'll reconsider this. As to the angelfish, I am aware of possible casualties. I want to give it a try. If not I can always trade it out.

Oh, and get yourself 2 good powerheads to help keep that water moving. Koralia 2's or 3's would do the job quite nicely here. Definitely different than freshwater in this regard. You want lots of flow for saltwater and corals.

I agree here is well. I have the Evolution series in my tank and like it alot

 

[FLESHY]

Koralias for the price are hard to beat. I feel as if I replied to this thread when it was brand new...but I guess not.

At any rate, welcome to MFK!