i picked up one of the all inclusive setups this weekend, not the biocube but one of the eclipse. i couldnt say no for $30

i'm thinking i could do saltwater with it, gonna set it up this weekend hopefully if it shows up.

and i have babies in my freshwater tank right now. one of my swordtails gave birth about 3 weeks ago, i've got 5 babies, they growing oh so good

 

I had that one with my marine setup.

I've since emptied it out and probably going to go planted tank with it now :hs:

All of my tanks have heaters.

 

did you not like it?

i enjoy my freshwater and want to get a 55gal here soon

i considered turning my 30 into saltwater once i had the funds an the 55 was set up. i wanted to try my hand at saltwater so i figured a really small tank would be perfect to try it and keep costs down while i learn. it's only 6gallons btw :hs:

 

my tanks also have heaters. they never come on in the summer, but they are still there.

 

:sad:

It was my 2nd small marine setup. First is the one at my gf's place, gal. with relatively cheap fish (damsels, clowns, crabs). It's been good for almost a year or so. In the beginning, no one told me how critical live rock was...so the fish just kept dying.

Contrary to what people think, a smaller tank requires more work and time. Water changes should be more frequent than say a 55.
Little changes have big impacts on small tanks.
You could get by with just a few hardy marine fish and an abundance of live rock.

It was fun for the first month or so but it quickly lost its novelty.

My 75 and 38 gallon tanks are keeping me occupied.

 

Quite the opposite.

The larger you go with saltwater, the easier it is for beginners. More water volume = way more room for error.

It may be hard to believe but a small setup that crashes all the time could actually cost you more than a larger, more stable setup.

 

I agree w/ zma. Fresh water on the other hand, it seems easy w/ a big tank at first but when things go wrong, it us uber-failure. Big fish are def. not for beginners.

 

if i could have a larger i'd love to. but the problem is i dont have the room in my apartment once i get my 55g and i have to get that, my freshwater community is exploding, like i said i have 5 babies, and i'm pretty sure another is about to lay eggs.

the 30g will become the saltwater once the larger tank is set up and ready.

the nano tank was a good deal so i picked it up, figured i'd put it in the kitchen. i have a AWESOME local shop that has a HUGE array of saltwater tanks and life, with some really awesome people i've been talking to. they have saltwater ready made and everything, guess i'll think about wether i want to saltwater with the nano or do another freshwater of sorts

 

Here's my strong suggestion for a small tank:


Buy an auto top off.

The thing that is mostly hard to keep stable in small systems is the salinity level. Water evaporates, salt doesn't. This means that the salt content ratio in the water will rise like crazy, very fast in a small system. With an auto top off, it replenishes the system with fresh water the second the water level drops even a bit. This will help you get a stable system.

Hope this helps man. If you have any other questions just shoot me a pm. I've been doing this for a couple years and have gone through a couple tanks.

 

i love my freshwater setup but its time for something with more color / different look

and that means african cichlids or saltwater for vibrant color and neither are exactly cheap

i've been reading up at nano-reef.com and theres alot of reference there for small setups