What is the smallest saltwater tank I can set up?
Question by Sally: What is the smallest saltwater tank I can set up?
Well, I have a 00 budget for new fishtanks this year. This year I decided to get a new 75 gal. with another oscar. I have never did salwater before and I imagine after my oscar tank is done I will have about 0-0 left over. With this I would like to set up a very small saltwater tank. Is it possible to have a reef tank very small? I have never did saltwater tanks before, so I would like to start small anyway. I think maybe like a 5 gallon? I have heard of people successfully keeping, I believe a type of damsel, in a 5 gallon saltwater tank with live rock and an anenome. Is this ok to do? How much would it cost me? Thanks for any answers!
Best answer:
Answer by Madison
Five gallons is way too small for any fish to be kept in, whether it be saltwater or freshwater. Saltwater fish tend to need more space than freshwater- plus, you need to keep the fish in pairs, not just keep one alone in a tank. I would say no smaller than 45 gallons since you have to include live rock and what not.
What do you think? Answer below!
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saltwater Invertebrates
How hard is it to maintain a saltwater fish tank?
My 37 gallon saltwater reef aquarium tank, sump, and equipment
The larger the tank, the more “forgiving” it is of chemical and water changes!
Going small will only make it exponentially harder to maintain!
Keep it as large as you can afford it and , not only will yu enjoy it more, but you will also work less and probably keep your fish healthier for longer periods of time.
I wouldn’t do it. We did a salt water tank (our first) in a 10-gallon. It was a real pain to keep the salinity and other levels balanced and the damsels died off within a few weeks.
If you are on a budget I would try places like Craigs List – they sometimes have large tanks for FREE that you can pick up in your area. We got a 100 gallon tank for our turtles that way – and returned the favor, giving away 2 55-gallon tanks to others “in need.” OR – try local classifieds or Penny Saver type things. A lot of people just want to “get rid of” their old tanks – that would leave you with the funds to buy quality decorations and some really nice fish!
There’s a difference in what you CAN set up, and what you can keep successfully. There’s a lot of “nano” in both fresh and saltwater these days, and I saw an article in one of the major magazines (this was a few years ago) of saltwater tanks less than a gallon (no fish).
The answer that mentioned stability has it right – the smaller of a tank that you have, the harder thay are to keep. Not only do you have a stable temperature to worry about, you have less volume for dilution of wastes (and marine fish tend to be more sensitive to poor water quality), but there’s the problem of chaning salinity as the water evaporates.
Also, consider that most marine fish tend to be larger and more territorial than freshwater “community” fish. You mention oscars, so to make an analogy you might relate to, keeping marines would be more similar to keeping cichlids – there aren’t many I’d try in a 5 gallon tank as adults. Damsels, for their size, are quite agressive, and they can grow 3-6 inches (some will be even larger). Chances are, if there were damsels in a 5 gallon, these were juveniles about 1 to 1 1/2 inches. Only about 3 fish types (clown gobies, smaller shrimp gobies, and firefish) should be kept in 10 gallon tanks as adults – everything else should be in a larger tank.
The smallest size I would recommend to someone just beginning in saltwater is a 29 gallon. That’s enough for 3-4 smaller fish. If you don’t want fish, only inverts, I’d go as small as a 20 gallon long (that would be large enough for a pair of percula or ocellaris clowns and an anemone), plus other inverts. you should know before you try this, that clowns and anemones are specific about which species are compatible. You can’t randomly put a pair of clowns with any anemone and expect them to use it – some anemones won’t host clowns at all: http://www.bestfish.com/tips/032698.html
Also, when you get fish for the tank (assuming you plan more than one species), it’s best not to mix members of the same family, or fish of the same color and/or body shape as a way to further reduce aggression between fish in your tank. Few can be kept as a mated pair, and even fewer are truely “schooling” in captive conditions. If you get clowns, it’s best to buy them as juveniles and add them together. If one should die, don’t get a replacement until you are able to replace both – the remaining fish rarely accepts a new mate.
I had a 5 gallon onces with 1 seahorse…!!
Freakin awesome!
it is so hard to keep everything in balance in a saltwater tank…and dont just spend what you have just because you have the money…if you wanted saltwater you should have thought of that before you went out and bought a boring old oscar…
to do salt water properly start with at least 30 gallons and dont be afraid to spend alot of money to get it set up
fish keeping is an expensive hobby and if you dont want to pay for it then dont do it…
Although a larger tank is more forgiving the is no reason u can’t do a 10gallon. The fish don’t need to be kept in pairs. U can buy a 1O gallon tank a heater filter some live rock. And the right lighting for all under 100.00 just use 2 corallife 50/50 20 watt bulbs in a screw in hood.just make sure to check re levels weekly and do small water changes
I agree frank.
Smaller tanks are definitely fun and relatively cheap compared to their larger counterparts – however you must be diligent with maintenance. On a 10 gallon tank, I would recommend weekly water changes, especially if you are planning to keep more than 1 or 2 fish.
Thanks!