ctaylor3737 Posted October 10, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 10, 2014 Im thinking of setting up a saltwater tank for marine inverts... But im still intimidated by a salt tank lolThe initial startup might be alarming. If you do it right its no more than a decent freshwater tank. Buy the biggest you can afford, a sump is really the best way to go. Return pumps are pretty cheap. Live rock, do not buy from a store. I found mine for 1$ a lb. Stores was 6-8$ lol. Craigslist is a must and patience. Refracto, good test kit and decent lighting is all i used. You can spend much more obviously easy but just gotta set a budget and stay there. Mixing salt is easy, first time sucks but you become a pro. Water changes weekly and cycle the tank. Add a few power heads because rock is your filter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
featherblue Posted October 10, 2014 Report Share Posted October 10, 2014 Looks great! Great rockwork for a reef;-) @countryboy beware tiny sw tanks. Salinity and temp swings are a nightmare Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
countryboy12484 Posted October 10, 2014 Report Share Posted October 10, 2014 Looks great! Great rockwork for a reef;-) @countryboy beware tiny sw tanks. Salinity and temp swings are a nightmare my options are a 20 or a 29... I would haft to tear down the 29 so i would preferably use the 20.. How hard would a 20 gallon be ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ctaylor3737 Posted October 11, 2014 Author Report Share Posted October 11, 2014 my options are a 20 or a 29... I would haft to tear down the 29 so i would preferably use the 20.. How hard would a 20 gallon be ?20g wouldnt be so bad. If you cycled it well and do small water changes. Seen a few rocking 20L before. Some use them for frags. aquariumlover10 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
metageologist Posted October 31, 2014 Report Share Posted October 31, 2014 Saw this and thought of your tank ctaylor3737 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aquariumlover10 Posted October 31, 2014 Report Share Posted October 31, 2014 This is AWESOME! My lfs has a lot of mantis shrimp now and then. Have you tried zoas and mushrooms(or ricordea)? They would look cool. ctaylor3737 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aquariumlover10 Posted October 31, 2014 Report Share Posted October 31, 2014 20g wouldnt be so bad. If you cycled it well and do small water changes. Seen a few rocking 20L before. Some use them for frags. Yup I agree, bigger is better, but imo smaler tank have a lot of pros, in a nano tank you can see a lot more stuff then you would in a 100g tank, for instance, in a 100g you wouldn't see a snail, but in a nano you can see/notice everything. ctaylor3737 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ctaylor3737 Posted November 1, 2014 Author Report Share Posted November 1, 2014 This is AWESOME! My lfs has a lot of mantis shrimp now and then. Have you tried zoas and mushrooms(or ricordea)? They would look cool. I actually have about 5 corals in there right now, got some zoas, brains, kenya tress, and another I dont remember off hand. They are doing pretty good, I had another in there but it didnt do so hot, still was pretty new when I added the first one. I think my levels were off a bit now everything has matured more I will start to add some things. My LFS is having a coral sale this weekend so I will probably bring home some more corals! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ctaylor3737 Posted November 1, 2014 Author Report Share Posted November 1, 2014 Saw this and thought of your tank Its true, he destroys everything lol. He has a stack of snail shells up by his den that are stacked up like trophies. He is a character, sucks though everytime I try to show him off he hides and just peeks around the corner. He will only come out if its me and if I am alone, letting my wife feed him to get him used to new people. They have a very funny personality and are social with me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aquariumlover10 Posted November 1, 2014 Report Share Posted November 1, 2014 Ok, sounds cool, any pics? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
metageologist Posted November 1, 2014 Report Share Posted November 1, 2014 If I am ever so inclined to setup NaCl H2O tank I think I would deffinatly get a mantis shrimp. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aquariumlover10 Posted November 1, 2014 Report Share Posted November 1, 2014 Haha, sounds cool, their is a mantis shrimp that is smaller and changes color depending on paremeters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
countryboy12484 Posted November 1, 2014 Report Share Posted November 1, 2014 Man... I still want one so bad but all my other projects are eating up my money and space... I cant wait till i get a house with a basement then its really on! Lol ctaylor3737 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ctaylor3737 Posted November 2, 2014 Author Report Share Posted November 2, 2014 Man... I still want one so bad but all my other projects are eating up my money and space... I cant wait till i get a house with a basement then its really on! Lol Yea the startup can be a bit more than freshwater, but do like I did and just look for used things. You can't go real cheap in saltwater but you can get very close to what it costs to start a freshwater. Biggest thing being the light,sump, salt, refractor and a few others things lol. But if you take your time and look for live rock it is cheaper than you would probably spend on ADA soil if you find a deal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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