Can I start my saltwater journey with a 2 feet tank ?

[sgfishfanatic]

HI all, its my first time venturing into saltwater tanks.

Ive had experience with keeping caridina shrimp for a few yrs (wine red, king kong, PRLS) etc.

, but not sure if that translates to marine 

I've watched some videos online like 5 min reefing, and budget 10 gallon tank build (inappropriate reefer), and read some articles online so far everything points to using a 40g breeder to start 

I'm wondering if its even possible to set up a 2 feet reef tank and be successful, or should I just stick to a fish only system? 

or am I  just going to be wasting money, the goal is to eventually keep corals ( beginner friendly ones obviously)

Im still a student so budget wise cant go overboard, btw the tank was given to me for free, larger tank size abit diff due to space constraint.

heres what im thinking for equipment:

1) LIGHT aqua knight 

2) hang on back skimmer, or those mini skimmers

3)tank 2 feet (60cm by 30cm by 35cm)

4)hang on back filter (aquaclear) for mechanical and biological filtration (maybe I turn it into DIY refugium?)

5) H28a chiller (already have from past shrimp keeping)

 

lifestock wise, probably 2 clowns and some clean up crew to keep bioload low

 

what are my chances of success? or should i just wait until I get my own house plus job lol

[Tabungrahim]

I started my tank using hang on skimmer on my 10 litre tank with 2 clownfish then slowly upgrade to 3 feet tank


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[sgfishfanatic]

 

3 minutes ago, Tabungrahim said:

I started my tank using hang on skimmer on my 10 litre tank with 2 clownfish then slowly upgrade to 3 feet tank


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what was your tanks filtration ? and water change schedule ?

[Tabungrahim]

For small tank last time every week wc ……for bigger tank I lazy to wc I just top up ro water and some chemical needed .


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[ahkiet99]

2 feet cube tanks with 3 crown 1 blue tang , have not change water for 15 months. Mini skimmer and normal wool filters.

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[sgfishfanatic]

oh i see, so far all the success have been with fish only tanks, any success with corals ?

[longipods]

Success is possible. The main concern with small tanks is the volume of water. If something goes wrong, you do not have enough water to ‘dilute’ the effect and that may cause your tank to crash.

You will need to practice good husbandry, and perhaps start with hardy corals.

Good luck!


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[alexcyf]

Start small is alright. Don’t need to go for too many different equipments for now but don’t scrimp on essential equipment. Start with easy fishes and hardy soft corals and work from there.

Good to start small first, eventually when you get your own place, you have a better idea if you wanna dive deeper and get a bigger tank n better system.


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[sgfishfanatic]

Start small is alright. Don’t need to go for too many different equipments for now but don’t scrimp on essential equipment. Start with easy fishes and hardy soft corals and work from there.

Good to start small first, eventually when you get your own place, you have a better idea if you wanna dive deeper and get a bigger tank n better system.


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What type of equipment would that be?
Skimmer? Refugium? Hang on back filter for mechanical filtration + biological filtration

Im planning to start with clowns fishes first after cycling then *slowly* add corals etc.

So do I start with a hang on back skimmer, and HOB mod as a refugium ?

Or wld that be overkill for two clowns ?

Would a DIY refugium be beneficial, or shld i just hang a simple HOB with filter media etc for bilogical filtration ?

I watched inappropiate reefer, 10 gallon budget build , he ostrted with a DIY refugium without skimmer, I assumed that can only be done with tanks with small bioload

Thanks so much in advance for the help


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[DottyClown]

If you are really only going to have 2 clowns and some corals, then I would think either a skimmer or refugium or ATS would be sufficient. Your HOB Power Filter would mainly serve as Mechanical Filter, as there’s usually not much space for Bio Filter media.  So unless you have tons of LR inside the tank, else it would be good to add another HOB for Biological Filter. That said, HOB increases water loss due to evaporation. So you need to think about too many HOBs, and if to add a ATO system.

[sgfishfanatic]

If you are really only going to have 2 clowns and some corals, then I would think either a skimmer or refugium or ATS would be sufficient. Your HOB Power Filter would mainly serve as Mechanical Filter, as there’s usually not much space for Bio Filter media.  So unless you have tons of LR inside the tank, else it would be good to add another HOB for Biological Filter. That said, HOB increases water loss due to evaporation. So you need to think about too many HOBs, and if to add a ATO system.

Thks so much for the advice, I'll probs start in sep or aug so plenty of time to research.

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[sgfishfanatic]

Hi guys i saw this set on carousell was wondering if its worth it to buy ?


Is the space in an AIO tank sufficent for filtration, cus i dont want to buy all this HOB for a normal glass fish tank, only to sell them away later on once i upgrade.



Whole set for $150 including
2 feet AIO tank
Mini skimmer
Return pump
Algae scrapper
Sand
Test kit API



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[DottyClown]

I think $150 for all these items seems like a good deal. Subjected to the conditions of these items.

If the question is in filtration, I think the back chamber should provide enough space for medias, for a lightly stocked tank.

What you need to consider is, the small compartment size will limit the Skimmer size. There will a be limited number of good skimmer with footprint that can fit inside, so you won’t have much options.

You need to consider how you want to pipe the Chiller IN&OUT. Using 1 pump for return and another pump for chiller? If so, does sump have enough space to fit 2 pumps. Or if using only 1 pump for both chiller and return, you may need a stronger(bigger) pump, then will the bigger pump fit inside the sump?

Best you look at the dimensions and check what equipment options can fit inside the sump and if you are comfortable with these options.

[Adamkwek]

Good deal for beginners but when u get hook in this hobby, u find it everything not enough.... Can try.

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[sgfishfanatic]

I think $150 for all these items seems like a good deal. Subjected to the conditions of these items.
If the question is in filtration, I think the back chamber should provide enough space for medias, for a lightly stocked tank.
What you need to consider is, the small compartment size will limit the Skimmer size. There will a be limited number of good skimmer with footprint that can fit inside, so you won’t have much options.
You need to consider how you want to pipe the Chiller IN&OUT. Using 1 pump for return and another pump for chiller? If so, does sump have enough space to fit 2 pumps. Or if using only 1 pump for both chiller and return, you may need a stronger(bigger) pump, then will the bigger pump fit inside the sump?
Best you look at the dimensions and check what equipment options can fit inside the sump and if you are comfortable with these options.

Thank for the all the considerations , Ive thought about it and decided against getting one, I dont want the back AIO filtration capacity to be the limit to what i can stock, where as for a glass tank I can add on appropiate stuff like HOB skimmer etc so more flixibility, so theres an option to keep upgrading and eventually ill proboably do away with all the HOB and just get a sump.

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[sgfishfanatic]

Started to buy some supplies !!! Quite excited

I bought
Microbacter 7
Refractometer
Coral epoxy
All from amazon, pretty good deal esp when theres free shipping !!

Also got a RO DI system from carousell

Now just sourcing for marine rocks
If any hobbyist here have dry rocks to sell / giveaway do pm


Also I chanced upon this aqaurium app _ aquarium note , its very easy to use and useful
Helps to calculate dosage, litre measurements + keep track of parameters , best parts its free lol

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[sgfishfanatic]

Spent some time doing up different rock scapes.
These are some dried rocks from a fellow hobbyist
Just checking do I have to soak these again, or scrape off the algae ?

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[rarf]

you might as well put the rocks in a tub of seawater and a bubbler from an air pump to start cycling them


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