Advice on setting up

[evelynb]

Hi I was wondering if anyone could help!? I want to set up a nano tank- and have been trying to research the best tank to buy and how to go about it ect! I went to my local Marine store and they were not very helpful said that I could not even think about setting up a marine tank unless I bought a tank that was at least 90 litres! is this true? and they said that the cheapest setup would be about £500 without live rock ect! is this true!
Please can someone help with a few questions I have!
Whats the smallest tank that I could setup as Marine?
Is there a particular make tank that are good- or can you set up any tank as marine?
Also what type of fish should I start off with that are hard? I would also like Corals ect?
Help!!!! lol so much to learn.

 

[mathewkofalk]

I would say read the forums.........but take everything with a grain of salt just cause one person says one thing dont turn it into the bible where i live people host a variety of creatures and such on what others say is a def no. i just started my tank but i have kept a variety of pets and i know especially with my tarantulas there is no deffinant answer for some questions. But to directly give u an answer i have seen tanks with s little less than half a gallon of water. Maybe the Marine store was just warning u that lower volumes of water can be more sensitive to changes.

 

[TimSchmidt]

I personally have seen the little guppy tanks turned into very nice reef tanks. (water changes daily, but it can be done) Depending on the work you want to put in you can have a tank of any size. Most common sizes I have seen are 6, 10, 12, 20, 24, and 30 gallon tanks. I have seen plenty smaller too so I don't think a 20 liter tank is too far fetched while keeping the maintenance from getting too demanding. You can buy "all in one" systems (check out a couple online stores - we have a vendor or two sponsorship :lol: ) or you can just buy any thing that holds water and make it your own with lights, pumps, and filtration.

 

[evelynb]

Brilliant thanks for you help! and advice!
do you have to have a protein skimmer when running a marine tank some people say you do others say you dont!

 

[Burgerking]

I think it depends on the tank. For a reef tank(corals) I would have a protein skimmer, but others disagree. If you just have a fish only(FO) or fish only with live rock(FOWLR), it will be far less demanding when it comes to maintenance, and cheaper.

Bigger is always better though, water doesnt fluctuate as quickly, and IME, maintenance is about the same between a small tank and a large tank. I worry more about the water in my 28g than my 75g.

As a noob to SW myself, I would reccomend reading like crazy. Search the web, there's tons of info on here, for free!!

 

[TimSchmidt]

if you are diligent on water changes then a skimmer usually isn't "needed" but it does help keep DOCs (dissolved organic compounds) down and thus the water "cleaner". Plus some corals prefer water with higher DOCs while other demand pristine water. Read up on the corals you want to keep to see if you should invest in a skimmer.

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