Need help

[Jay5]

Im a complete beginner i had a red sea salt water reef 30 gal tank had no experience at all rushed everything way too fast mostly all my fish died i had a person come in too do my matience but found at fast that i couldnt afford my the bill every month and that i had too do more matience than just monthly checks and changes that he did so at some point i do want another reef tank but i want knowledge first alot of it so with that being said if later on down the line i get another tank im going too go smaller but i want too have a pair of clowns and a flame angel so what minimum size tank would i halfto get too house those fish and some anemones and how long should i wait until the time i get my tank add water and live rock too get fish 

[Friendly]

welcome Jay!

 

you might want to edit your post though...break it up a bit and put in some punctuation. it's a bit overwhelming to read...

 

check out the pico forum...tanks that are 6 gallons or less and require very little maintenance. you will learn skill on the husbandry and with the success, gain experience that will let you grow into a bigger project! 😄

[Jay5]

Thanks alot for your help and taking the time 

[Jay5]

If i were too get like a six gallon what fish could i house in it?

[Friendly]

Just now, Jay5 said:

Thanks alot for your help and taking the time 

well...I'm not called Friendly without reason! 

 

we're moving and I'll FINALLY be able to setup my first pico reef in an 3 gallon Heritage Hills jar from Anchor Hocking. one of the nifty joys of a pico reef is you can use anything that's clear and holds a lot of water!

 

I hope to set up a larger tank soon after...a long and low 12 gal, 22 gal or 33 gal. my grandkids would be over the moon if they can watch a 'nemo'.  😉 I know...while I won't name it 'nemo', being 5 and 3, that's what they're prolly gonna call it. LoL!

[Jay5]

Where can i find pico tanks and what does pico mean? lol

[Friendly]

1 minute ago, Jay5 said:

If i were too get like a six gallon what fish could i house in it?

I'm not sure...probably a small goby, since they flutter and perch mostly. a small nano that is bordeline pico, like the Innovative Marine Nuvo Fusion 10, a 10 gallon tank with built in refugium. this one would easily hold at least a couple of smaller fish.

[Friendly]

4 hours ago, Jay5 said:

Where can i find pico tanks and what does pico mean? lol

well, to borrow an explanation from another website...nano means a millionth and pico means a billionth...so small and then even smaller. they don't have arbitrary definitions that are agreed upon in the hobby, but to make it simple, anything less than 6 gallons is a pico and anything between 6 and 30 gallons is a nano.

 

here's a link to the pico reef forum:

https://www.nano-reef.com/forums/forum/37-pico-reefs/https://www.nano-reef.com/forums/forum/37-pico-reefs/

 

and here's a link to the All-In-One forum:

https://www.nano-reef.com/forums/forum/35-all-in-one-tanks/

 

AiO tanks have a refugium, which is like a sump, but built into the tank behind a wall. this allows for a simpler setup that lets you hide filters, heaters, pumps, skimmers, etc. Innovative Marine is one of the most popular brands with AiO's.

[Floundering_Around]

Smaller tanks are, in a sense, harder to maintain as they are more prone to salinity swings, changes in temperature, changes in pH, calcium, nitrogen, etc. I would go with a tank between 10 and 20 gallons. Not too big that you get stir crazy and add a bunch of fish, but not too small that you have parameter swings and can't put any fish in it. In a 10-20 gallon tank, you can house a pair of clowns but no flame angel. There are a few other types of fish that you can also keep if you don't want clowns. 

 

Setting up a tank from scratch takes time. You'll need to let your tank "cycle", which lets bacteria grow and convert the ammonia your fish will produce as waste into a less toxic form called nitrate. Cycling properly often takes weeks; if you can get live rock or sand (already cycled) from a trusted fish tank or fish store, you'll significantly cut your cycling time to nothing (although, I would still wait a week before adding anything).

 

Equipment needed:

- a tank

-water movement: (powerhead, return pump for all-in-one tanks or if you have a sump, hang on back filter, etc.

-light: if you're growing corals, you'll need a stronger light but if you're just keeping fish, you can pass with a light that simply lets you see them. If you plan on keeping coral in the near future, I would just buy the light now instead of buying a cheap one now and then having to buy a more expensive one later

- rock: can be bought dried, but takes longer to cycle

-sand or gravel (not necessary but I like it 😄 )

-salt: buy a good salt mix. The better the salt mix, the less you have to worry. I use Reef Crystals, not too expensive and gets the job done

-water: you want a good water source. Either buy RO water from a pet store or use distilled from a grocery store. Avoid tap if possible, not everyone's tap water is good

- heater and thermometer:  keeps your water temp stable

[Tamberav]

4 hours ago, Jay5 said:

If i were too get like a six gallon what fish could i house in it?

Not the fish you want in your first post, that is for sure. A pair of clowns and a flame needs 30g min and you have a 30g already so I would just use that.

 

A six gallon, two tiny fish like a hi fin goby and neon goby.
 

 

 

Do you still have the 30g? 

[Clown79]

To be successful in the hobby there is a lot of research that needs to be done.

 

There is no quick response any of us can give, its pages of info.

 

So I would do lots of research on

 

Cycling a reef tank

Biological filtration

Mechanical filtration

Chemical filtration

 

Coral lighting needs

 

Proper maintenance of reef tanks

 

Reef chemistry

 

There is lots of info on nano and going through peoples journals will give you an idea of what is necessary to do.

 

Then there is a plethora of info online. Brs videos are a good source.

 

 

For your fish choice. 30g minimum. Without the angel, 10-20g minimum.

 

6g you can do small goby or a blenny.