mut
New Member
I’m planning on getting my first salt water aquarium and I have many, many questions and concerns. Although I'm not completely new to having aquariums, I have only dealt with freshwater aquariums and never salt water... and that was a long time ago!
Let me first start off with what I plan to have in the FOWLR tank (obviously live sand and live rock):
MUST GET
2 clown fish (about 1 to 1.5 inches long)
1 fire shrimp
2 twinspot gobies (about 1.5 to 2 inches long)
WANT TO GET*
1 scooter blenny
2 or 3 tiny little hermit crabs
2 or 3 snails
*depending on whether or not the size of tank (either 10 or 18 gallon) will permit. I would like to get more if it works.
Now, the source of my livestock and equipment: www.atlantissb.com. Believe it or not, this is the only fish-only aquarium that’s still in business within 40 miles of where I live. The owner has been in the aquarium business for 5 years; 2 independent, on-call aquarium service and 3 years running the actual store. I should say that I haven’t seen a single dead fish yet after five different one hour long visits.
I initially planned on getting a 10 gallon starter kit tank (originally designed for a freshwater) that provided lighting and filtration and upgrading to a more suitable light and a stronger filter. I was initially told by a LFS staff that it should be sufficient. By the way, this is when I didn’t know anything at all. Then I did read that I should get the biggest tank I can afford and well, I can’t do much bigger than a 20 gallon.
Later, I was told by the owner of the same LFS that he doesn’t recommend the 10 gal at all and instead recommended at least an 18 gallon (same dimensions as a 10 gal but just taller) Eclipse tank. It has the lighting and the filter system on the top of the tank. This seems ideal for my small room as the height increases volume but doesn’t take up any more space than a 10 gal. Regarding the size of the tank, I’ve read so many different posts on different forums about people having success with even 14 gallon tanks. I don’t know what’s true.
One of the things I ultimately want from my tank is to be able to keep my critters without so much nasty algae building up on the sand and glass, and that’s why I want to get the blenny, shrimp, hermit crabs, snails and the goby to keep my sand and glass clean. One important question is: Will I be overcrowding the 18 gal tank with the 6 different critters I listed? What’s my limit on the 18 gallon tank? Is it even possible to do this with lesser number of critters in a 10 gallon?
Another thing is that I’m reading all of this stuff about protein skimmers, refugiums and sumps, yet neither the LFS owner nor staff has yet to mention it. ??? I asked the staff about an RO/DI unit and he said it’s not necessary since he doesn’t have one (he has a 29 gal biocube at home) and because he uses the water the LFS sells, and they do water testing for free, he and I should have nothing to worry about. What the heck? Is any of this true? I’m reading a lot of stuff on the internet and asking the LFS people, and I’m reading and hearing a lot of contradictions unfortunately.
What I’m confused about is that (besides the tank, heater, filter, and lighting) if the sump, protein skimmer, refractometer or whatever else was necessary to properly maintain a salt water tank, wouldn’t he recommend that I buy it and try to up-sell me on these equipments? Or is he just a moron and doesn’t know that they’re needed, or are those other equipments simply recommended not a necessity?
Here are my questions in brief:
Is 18 gallon FOWRL aquarium suitable for 2 clown fish (about 1 to 1.5 inches long), 1 fire shrimp, 2 twinspot gobies (about 1.5 to 2 inches long), 1 scooter blenny, 2 or 3 tiny little hermit crabs and 2 or 3 snails?
In reference to the question above, how about in a 10 gallon tank?
Is EVERYTHING listed on this thread needed for a 10 gallon or 18 gallon tank? (btw, where is part 2?)
Why hasn’t/doesn’t the LFS recommend me a sump, protein skimmer, refractometer, RO/DI unit… is this because of what they said about it’s not needed since I’ll be using their water and the tank is already equipped properly?
There are still more questions I want to ask and I still have plenty of to read through on this forum. Thanks in advance for all replies!
Let me first start off with what I plan to have in the FOWLR tank (obviously live sand and live rock):
MUST GET
2 clown fish (about 1 to 1.5 inches long)
1 fire shrimp
2 twinspot gobies (about 1.5 to 2 inches long)
WANT TO GET*
1 scooter blenny
2 or 3 tiny little hermit crabs
2 or 3 snails
*depending on whether or not the size of tank (either 10 or 18 gallon) will permit. I would like to get more if it works.
Now, the source of my livestock and equipment: www.atlantissb.com. Believe it or not, this is the only fish-only aquarium that’s still in business within 40 miles of where I live. The owner has been in the aquarium business for 5 years; 2 independent, on-call aquarium service and 3 years running the actual store. I should say that I haven’t seen a single dead fish yet after five different one hour long visits.
I initially planned on getting a 10 gallon starter kit tank (originally designed for a freshwater) that provided lighting and filtration and upgrading to a more suitable light and a stronger filter. I was initially told by a LFS staff that it should be sufficient. By the way, this is when I didn’t know anything at all. Then I did read that I should get the biggest tank I can afford and well, I can’t do much bigger than a 20 gallon.
Later, I was told by the owner of the same LFS that he doesn’t recommend the 10 gal at all and instead recommended at least an 18 gallon (same dimensions as a 10 gal but just taller) Eclipse tank. It has the lighting and the filter system on the top of the tank. This seems ideal for my small room as the height increases volume but doesn’t take up any more space than a 10 gal. Regarding the size of the tank, I’ve read so many different posts on different forums about people having success with even 14 gallon tanks. I don’t know what’s true.
One of the things I ultimately want from my tank is to be able to keep my critters without so much nasty algae building up on the sand and glass, and that’s why I want to get the blenny, shrimp, hermit crabs, snails and the goby to keep my sand and glass clean. One important question is: Will I be overcrowding the 18 gal tank with the 6 different critters I listed? What’s my limit on the 18 gallon tank? Is it even possible to do this with lesser number of critters in a 10 gallon?
Another thing is that I’m reading all of this stuff about protein skimmers, refugiums and sumps, yet neither the LFS owner nor staff has yet to mention it. ??? I asked the staff about an RO/DI unit and he said it’s not necessary since he doesn’t have one (he has a 29 gal biocube at home) and because he uses the water the LFS sells, and they do water testing for free, he and I should have nothing to worry about. What the heck? Is any of this true? I’m reading a lot of stuff on the internet and asking the LFS people, and I’m reading and hearing a lot of contradictions unfortunately.
What I’m confused about is that (besides the tank, heater, filter, and lighting) if the sump, protein skimmer, refractometer or whatever else was necessary to properly maintain a salt water tank, wouldn’t he recommend that I buy it and try to up-sell me on these equipments? Or is he just a moron and doesn’t know that they’re needed, or are those other equipments simply recommended not a necessity?
Here are my questions in brief:
Is 18 gallon FOWRL aquarium suitable for 2 clown fish (about 1 to 1.5 inches long), 1 fire shrimp, 2 twinspot gobies (about 1.5 to 2 inches long), 1 scooter blenny, 2 or 3 tiny little hermit crabs and 2 or 3 snails?
In reference to the question above, how about in a 10 gallon tank?
Is EVERYTHING listed on this thread needed for a 10 gallon or 18 gallon tank? (btw, where is part 2?)
Why hasn’t/doesn’t the LFS recommend me a sump, protein skimmer, refractometer, RO/DI unit… is this because of what they said about it’s not needed since I’ll be using their water and the tank is already equipped properly?
There are still more questions I want to ask and I still have plenty of to read through on this forum. Thanks in advance for all replies!
