Help from step one

thefickens

Reefing newb
I have been doing freshwater tanks and am now moving to saltwater. I am converting my small 8 gallon tank first to get down the concept then moving to the 55 gallon tank. I need help from knowing what fish is good for the small tank, when to introduce live rock/sand, can I put reef in a tank that small, what kind of lighting for a fowlr and for a reef tank. Basically all the necessities. The most important thing I would like to know is what is the best filtration? And how do I build it myself. I did some research on sump/refugium filters and DIY but would like a personal opinion and not just googles.
 
I have been doing freshwater tanks and am now moving to saltwater. I am converting my small 8 gallon tank first to get down the concept then moving to the 55 gallon tank.

Congradulations on the switch! Welcome to the site! Check out the articles section at the top left.

I need help from knowing what fish is good for the small tank,

Liveaquaria has a good amount of information and recommended tank sizes. Here is the Nano tank section. The rule of thumb is 1 fish per 10g. So with the 8g you will be limited to 1 small fish.
Nano Fish

when to introduce live rock/sand, can I put reef in a tank that small, what kind of lighting for a fowlr and for a reef tank.

To start I would add the live rock then the sand around the rock then add a small piece of raw shrimp and let your tank cycle. This is the most crucial part in setting up a new aquarium. Using live fish to cycle is cruel and very often causes the fish to die.

Basically all the necessities. The most important thing I would like to know is what is the best filtration? And how do I build it myself.

Your live rock (full of beneficial bacteria) will act as your filter. Then regular water changes will be enough on a 8g. (The rule of thumb is 1-2 lbs per gallon) On the 55g you may add a protein skimmer to pull out the dissolved organics before they break down. However this will not eliminate the need for regular water changes.

I did some research on sump/refugium filters and DIY but would like a personal opinion and not just googles.
Check out the different build threads, there are a lot of DIY sump setups pictured. You are better off checking them out then asking specific questions as you near that phase of your build.


Again welcome and we love to see pics as things progress!
 
Hello and Welcome!

+1 Kev

I would highly suggest starting out with the 55 as the saltwater tank. Larger tanks are much easier to care for because problems occur more slowly and you have a larger room for error. Things to go wrong really fast in a tiny tank. Plus you a limited only one very small fish in that, which gets really old quick. A 55 will let you keep 5-6 fish, which is much more satisfying.

If you do want to go reef eventually, which most of us do, plan ahead. You dont have to start with a reef right away, but it can be annoying to have to remove fish or other things later when do decide to switch it up.
 
The only thing is the 55 is setup with a mediocre emperor 400 biowheel filtration with a smaller powerhead. The lighting is cheap walmart lighting that came with the tank. Upgrading to saltwater is going to be way more expensive than the tiny tank. I would have to replace everything from filtration to lighting. Plus I already have brackish water with my figure 8 puffer so very simple to transition to saltwater.
 
I want a proper filtration system built and operable with all the fundamentals before I move on to a larger more permanent saltwater tank. I don't want to set up my 55 gallon with so little information that I kill more than I keep
 
Nano tanks are harder because there isn't a lot of water to dilute small changes in parameters, so things like nitrates get high fast, or evaporation causes a rise in salinity faster than in a larger tank, and temperature rises and falls quickly. BUT, you can do a nano tank as your first saltwater tank, just make sure you do water changes regularly (some of us iwth nano tanks have had to do them a few times a week on occasion), and test your water parameters daily in the beginning. Make sure to get decent testing supplies (liquid test kit, not test strips, and a refractometer instead of a hydrometer so that you know your tests are accurate. And be careful with fish choices. I think you'll do okay with a nano tank as long as you go into it with your eyes open and be prepared to monitor it closely :)
 
I agree, even without a proper filtration system a 55 gallon tank will be MUCH easier than an 8 gallon tank. I would not recommend that anyone start saltwater with a tank as small as an 8 gallon. It will not take much going wrong to crash the whole system (the smaller the system, the more sensitive to changes it will be).
 
Start with the 55. If you're not going to be keeping corals anytime soon it's OK to have the stock lights on the tank. Setting up the 55 will be a little more expensive than the smaller tank, but it will save you money in the long run.

Starting the first time on such a small tank is a disaster waiting to happen. Without careful monitoring of everything going on in the 8 gallong it can get out of whack in just a few hours and cause a crash. It is not worth wasting your money on equipment for that (Especially since the 8 gallon equipment will be next to useless on the 55 gallon tank).

Good luck!
 
Alright. Y'all have convinced me. I will start with the 55 gallon. And just leave the 8 gallon as a brackish. I'm thinking about making a wet/dry drop filter with a sump. Is just bio balls adequate enough or should there be other filtration also?
 
I would skip the wet/dry with bioballs, they tend to lead to nitrate problems. Your primary source of filtration will be the bacteria living on your rock, so dont skimp on the rock. You can buy mostly dry rock (much cheaper) and just one piece of live rock, and after you cycle your tank all the rock will be live and you will have more cash in your pocket for the good stuff. If you dont have a good protein skimmer to help you out, just make sure you dont over stock your tank and are doing regular water changes.
 
But don't I need some sort of exterior filtration? Yes I could keep the emperor 400; but for saltwater wouldn't a sump/refugium be much better? And I thought the bioballs that collect the bacteria take out the nitrate. And no I don't have a protein skimmer and don't really have 200+ dollars to spend on one. So the plan I was thinking about was to do the wet/dry filter sump refugium for now until I had the money to get a skimmer. Like I said 100% new to this saltwater stuff so these are my ideas and ya'lls opinions help alot.
 
Nope you dont! Just do those regular water changes!!

Having sump with a fuge is really handy, but not 100% needed. And if you decide its in your budget at a later date, you can add it then. Same with the skimmer, which you can find quality skimmers for about $150.
 
oh and what brand protein skimmers are good and which are bad? also is the air skimmers good or the ones with the weird bean things in it better?
 
skip that filter and anything else designed for freshwater, saltwater is a VERY different animal.

Good brands of protein skimmers are the reef octopus, Aqua C remora, bubble king, SWC (not to be confused with sea clone skimmers, they suck!)

And you shouldnt be feeding so much food that a bunch of it ends up hitting the bottom. But people invest in a clean up crew that helps eat food that gets missed and helps keep algae under control.
 
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