First nano tank and any advise on saltwater tanks

[janalee626]

Hi, saltwater fish, invertebrates,corals and everything in between have been a huge passion of mine since I was a kid. I'm planning to start my first salt water aquarium soon, I have a 5.5 gallon tank converted from fresh to salt. I'm thinking about starting simple and only having one firefish and a small piece of coral. I have a lot of experience with freshwater tanks and hope some day to breed fish as a living, soon ill have a 55 discus breeding setup. I haven't decided if I'm going to breed salt water or not because of my inexperience. I'm looking for tips on my 5.5 nano tank and as much information on all things regarding salt water aquariums as I can get. Anything will be greatly appreciated.

 

[flower]

Quote:
Originally Posted by janalee626 http:///t/395903/first-nano-tank-and-any-advise-on-saltwater-tanks#post_3526038
Hi, saltwater fish, invertebrates,corals and everything in between have been a huge passion of mine since I was a kid. I'm planning to start my first salt water aquarium soon, I have a 5.5 gallon tank converted from fresh to salt. I'm thinking about starting simple and only having one firefish and a small piece of coral. I have a lot of experience with freshwater tanks and hope some day to breed fish as a living, soon ill have a 55 discus breeding setup. I haven't decided if I'm going to breed salt water or not because of my inexperience. I'm looking for tips on my 5.5 nano tank and as much information on all things regarding salt water aquariums as I can get. Anything will be greatly appreciated.

Hi, and welcome to the site...
A 5.5g tank isn't large enough for even a firefish, smallest tank requirement is 20g. The smaller the SW tank the harder it is to keep alive. a good starter tank would be a 55g. No smaller then a 29g. Sorry I have been in the fish hobby for over 30 years and I couldn't keep a 5.5 SW tank going. Frankly it would be hard to keep a little goldfish alive in a 5.5g tank.
I know it seems a little tank is a good place to start, but not so with a saltwater tank. A 5.5 would be expert only.

 

[geridoc]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Flower http:///t/395903/first-nano-tank-and-any-advise-on-saltwater-tanks#post_3526102
Hi, and welcome to the site...
A 5.5g tank isn't large enough for even a firefish, smallest tank requirement is 20g. The smaller the SW tank the harder it is to keep alive. a good starter tank would be a 55g. No smaller then a 29g. Sorry I have been in the fish hobby for over 30 years and I couldn't keep a 5.5 SW tank going. Frankly it would be hard to keep a little goldfish alive in a 5.5g tank.
I know it seems a little tank is a good place to start, but not so with a saltwater tank. A 5.5 would be expert only.
I agree with Flower. I had a 12 gallon nano in my kitchen for about a year, and it was a year from fish h_ll. Small tanks tend to be very unstable, so that when things start to go wrong (and things always start to go wrong, regardless of the tank size) a small tank quickly descends into disaster, whereas a larger system can absorb changes more easily. You will have to keep up with your water changes and analysis, and evaporation will become a major problem in such a small system. My advice - get a larger tank for your display, and use the nano as a sump.

 

[janalee626]

Thanks for the advise, good idea using the smaller tank as a sump. We decided to keep the tank as it is for raising fry. Another tank I was looking at was a 30 gallon kit. I'm in love with having a firefish so since Flower said minimum tank size 20 I'm assuming I might have the opportunity to get another fish. I looked at a lot of the small gobys and absolutely love the blackray shrimp goby. I've read a lot that they need to have a tiger snapping shrimp but others say that they would be fine without. Which is true? The other fish I love is the tailspot blenny. Both fish say they get 2 inches, would 7 inches of fish in 30 gallons with the best set up I can manage be ok? I do have expert experience with freshwater tanks and my fiancé cleans fresh and salt tanks for a living. I'm going to be the only one taking care of the salt water tank though. I'm still looking for any tips, suggestions, and helpful information and setting up, maintaining, and keeping the fish happy and healthy in a salt water aquarium.
Thank you

 

[flower]

Quote:
Originally Posted by janalee626 http:///t/395903/first-nano-tank-and-any-advise-on-saltwater-tanks#post_3526524
Thanks for the advise, good idea using the smaller tank as a sump. We decided to keep the tank as it is for raising fry. Another tank I was looking at was a 30 gallon kit. I'm in love with having a firefish so since Flower said minimum tank size 20 I'm assuming I might have the opportunity to get another fish. I looked at a lot of the small gobys and absolutely love the blackray shrimp goby. I've read a lot that they need to have a tiger snapping shrimp but others say that they would be fine without. Which is true? The other fish I love is the tailspot blenny. Both fish say they get 2 inches, would 7 inches of fish in 30 gallons with the best set up I can manage be ok? I do have expert experience with freshwater tanks and my fiancé cleans fresh and salt tanks for a living. I'm going to be the only one taking care of the salt water tank though. I'm still looking for any tips, suggestions, and helpful information and setting up, maintaining, and keeping the fish happy and healthy in a salt water aquarium.
Thank you
Hi,
A 30g is much better. Please...a good species book will help you so much...I personally have this book...Blah, I was able to post a picture of one of the pages. The name of the book is Pocket expert guide...Marine Fishes 500+ essential-to-know aquarium species....By: Scott W. Michael