salt water tank

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
How big is it? do you want fish only? reef? tropical, temperate, or cold water. If tropical you will probably want to start with live rock while thinking about the rest. I have VERY little exp. with sw, hopefully some of the saltheads will advise you, we got some good ones.
 
Thank you for you info. I got this really great deal on a mistake that store made on price of started tank so they had to sell it to me for what it says so i recieved a 15 gallon tank with all the stuff from fake plants to salt to water checker and other stuff I have read books on salt water tanks but its nice to hear form actual people. I think I would like little fish first just to see how i do with the tank then later move to a bigger tank if possiable.
 
Agreed, unless you go temperate and local,IE, free, remember that as everyone says, BIGGER IS BETTER, esp. with sw. Where in Ca. are you because you could do a fish only temparate tank with local pipe fish and masked sculpins and maybe one pin perch and a little turtle grass over a subsand filter with a small power filter as well. Easy and cheap and you don't feel so bad if you mess up. No clams, mussels, barnacles, or any other filter feeders, no flatworms or nudibranchs, etc. They will die and in doing so wipe out your tank.
 
hey if you do start one you will need about 12 to 15 lbs of live rock and you could start off with 2 or 3 damsels. also you need to use RO water because the tap water has too much phosphate and tis will make the fish stressed all the time. keep the damsels for about 4 to 5 weeks to cycle the tank then you can trade them it at some of the pet stores for other fish. also buy a small amount of live sand to help jump start your bio filter.go to aquarium arts of bakersfeild and he will help you get set up.(661)834-8516.
 
I have never heard of high phosphates causing stress on fish? With high phosphates you can run into red algae bloom problems. Often the thought of 'high phosphates' is due to lack of water changes, which causes a nutrient imbalance. If you do regular partial water changes, you shouldn't have a problem with it. I have very hard tap water here, but I do %15/week on a 55g saltwater tank, and never have issues with phosphates, nutrient imbalances, or algae blooms. If you have naturally imbalanced tap water, with a super-high phosphate content previously, an RO unit may be in order. You could also use products such as Phos-Ban. I don't use the RO unit for anything except wild apistos or discus.

Be consistant, and be patient. That's all it takes for saltwater :)

If it's not broke, don't fix it.

Miles
 
I do agree that a 15g tank is really not worth the effort for your first tank. It can be a big hassle..
 
if your going to try it you better have nerves of steel
it can be a pain in the ass... remember things happen alot quicker
in a smaller environment.... bigger is better sometimes
 
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