saltwaterr questions

[supergourami]

looking to move over to the salty side of things but need basic info can someone direct me to a link with this info and i also have a few questions
can i have a 5 gallon saltwater tank?
can i just use a regular 5 gallon HOB for saltwater?
do i have to add salt to my water changes?
stocking?
lighting?

 

[supergourami]

bump

 

[nonstophoops]

looking to move over to the salty side of things but need basic info can someone direct me to a link with this info and i also have a few questions
can i have a 5 gallon saltwater tank?
can i just use a regular 5 gallon HOB for saltwater?
do i have to add salt to my water changes?
stocking?
lighting?

Go bigger than 5 gallons. Tanks that small are extremely difficult to maintain because water fluctuations happen so quickly. Shoot for something bigger, the biggest you can afford/have space for. I would say bigger the better starting at a 10 gallon absolute minimum, with a 20 gallon or more being much better.

Search some online for beginner saltwater keeping articles. You have a lot to learn....yes you have to add salt, otherwise you would have freshwater

Lighting doesn't matter at all for fish. Stocking will depend on the size you set up. Filtration on a small tank should include both a HOB filter rated for higher than the tank size and a couple powerheads for water movement.

Live Rock is also a necessity.

 

[supergourami]

Go bigger than 5 gallons. Tanks that small are extremely difficult to maintain because water fluctuations happen so quickly. Shoot for something bigger, the biggest you can afford/have space for. I would say bigger the better starting at a 10 gallon absolute minimum, with a 20 gallon or more being much better.

Search some online for beginner saltwater keeping articles. You have a lot to learn....yes you have to add salt, otherwise you would have freshwater

Lighting doesn't matter at all for fish. Stocking will depend on the size you set up. Filtration on a small tank should include both a HOB filter rated for higher than the tank size and a couple powerheads for water movement.

Live Rock is also a necessity.

thanks i think ill pick up a 10 gal once my plywood tank build is done and put it on the bottom of the stand

 

[Zoodiver]

Lighting does matter for fish. Poor light means the fish will not properly metabolize the food they are eating. Live rock is NOT needed... you need surface area for aerobic bacteria to grow on. Live rock is usually the easy way of providing that surface.

 

[EastBay]

As for adding salt, depends on what you're doing. If you're doing water changes, then yes, you add salt. If just topping due to evaporation, no, don't add salt.
I would suggest heading over to reefland.com. They'll have all the answers you need. It's the site I used when putting together my SW tank. They're pretty mellow and helpful over there.
Good luck!

 

[studd muffin]

looking to move over to the salty side of things but need basic info can someone direct me to a link with this info and i also have a few questions
can i have a 5 gallon saltwater tank?
can i just use a regular 5 gallon HOB for saltwater?
do i have to add salt to my water changes?
stocking?
lighting?

Can i have a 5 gallon saltwater tank?
-You can, but it is better to go big. I am a newbie at salt . I just recently started a 2g fluval spec tank. Small tanks are harder to keep because you will have to top it off every other day. The water parameters fluctuates faster. I test my tank every other day.

Can i just use a regular 5 gallon HOB for saltwater?
-Try this: Taam Protein Skimmers.

Do i have to add salt to my water changes?
-Yes. What I do is I get a bucket of drinking water then I add salt into it. I use a power head to mix up the salt in the bucket. If my salinity is to low I add more salt and If my salinity is a wee bit to high then I just add more water. Dont add fresh water into the tank and then add salt. Make sure that all your salt has dissolved before you add it into your tank.

Stocking?
-What ever is suitable for a 5 gallon.

lighting?
I would say go with LED. Not just any LED, get reef ready LED's. They are expensive, but will be worth it.