[teresad]

I have had a freshwater tank for several years and would like to make the plunge to a saltwater tank. I have a 55 gallon tank. I need to know if this tank would be big enough and what equipment that I have that I could continue to use. I have a penguin bio wheel filter and a magnum canister filter. I have read a lot of info on starting a saltwater tank, but I believe you get the best info from people who have one. I want to know what anyone thinks is the absolute necessary equipment to have and the best fish for new to the hobby. I would like to start with a fish only with live rock tank in the beginning and maybe move to corals later. Any info would be appreciated.

[RyanG]

First, read this guide.

[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif][SIZE=2]New to the saltwater hobby? Read the new guide.[COLOR=#000000] Click here [/COLOR][/SIZE][/FONT]

[alex54]

Hi i want to start a saltwater tank with some clownfish in it and i would like to know what i need like how big should my tank be, how many i can put in there, what types of clownfish can i put in, what other types of fish i can put in there, also any accessories i might need for thriving saltwater community. Thank you for your time.

[volitan_fa]

Well first of all, read that guide. Read up as much as you can before buying anything....NEVER impulse buy in this hobby.

With clowns, you generally only want to keep one species per tank (there are exceptions). But within that species you can keep as many as your tank will allow (also has exceptions). Good hardy starters are percula and ocellaris clowns. General rule on fish is you can keep 1" of fish per gallon. This doesn't mean you can have a 2 foot fish in a 24 gallon tank, but that your total amount of livestock should add up to that or less. Other fish you may consider are gobies, firefish, blennies, and chromis.

Definitely get live rock and sand. It's almost a must. You will want a protein skimmer, heater, proper filtration, testing equipment, proper lighting, and a lot of patience to start into saltwater.

[Pacmanc]

Hi,
I am setting up a 55 gallon SW reef tank, and have purchased a drop in dry reef tower aquarium filter,3.5 x 17'' air induction protein skimmer w/pump, return directional output diffuser, 600 gph overflow system,and 600 gph main return pump, which all fits in a ten gallon fish tank. I have two multi directional power heads, three 100watt heaters. I'd like to have a refugium as well. can I create one within this system? or should I get a hang on acrylic refugium to use? any help for this newbie is greatly appreciated. I'm planning on using halide lighting and making this reef active with corals, invertabrates and fish a liitle at a time. thanks