Hello, I am looking to eventually buy a saltwater tank. I am wanting to make it an in wall tank but I'm not sure how big it needs to be. I know I want a wide assortment of color schemes in my tank but I can't decide on how many fish I need. I want coral as well because I want it to look like a warm reef somewhere in the ocean. I want things that I will be capable of keeping alive, but I'm curious on a few items after reading the post on beginning tanks. First, why should I put my tank in a low traffic area? It's just my wife and I along with possibly two future outdoor dogs. We have no children and will host small cookouts at times. So I want my guests to be able to enjoy them as well. Second, which fish will need to be paired together? For example, will I need even numbers of clownfish or can one or three live just as great? Are there species of fish that MUST have a mate or a playmate? Third, will my fish out grow my tank? I can list which fish I am looking at getting but these are just general questions, as I have many many more.
Beginner looking for direction
- Thread starter Salt4Life!
- Start date
- Tagged users None
MmmmBalf
Active Member
Hi, and welcome to R2R! Are you building a new house or installing in an existing wall? Do you have a size in mind or space you're limited to? Will you have a fish room behind the tank for sump and other equipment? Sorry for all the questions ;). Certain fish require certain size tanks, particularly Tangs or other larger fish, so determining the tank size first off will help answer some of the other questions. I wouldn't be too concerned about the low traffic area in your situation. Do you have a place in mind? The website Liveaquaria.com has lots of information on which fish are compatible and sizes etc.
Sounds exciting, looking forward to hearing more.
Sounds exciting, looking forward to hearing more.
Well I am hopefull that we can build a house. If not then I will definitely have to rethink on the size of my tank if we have to buy a home. Ideally I would have my tank either flush or recessed a bit in a wall and have the room behind the wall strictly for the maintenance for the tank. I have always wanted a tank from 6 to 8 feet long and around 3 to 4 feet high, for the benefit of having planty to view from either a standing or sitting position. I have sat down and compiled a list of so-called reef safe fish if that helps any.
120reefkeeper
Reef keeping with Military Precision!
To help you out a little , tank size can depend on a number of things. The space available, type of fish you want to keep, budget.
Generally speaking the larger the system the more expensive. Larger systems are usually easier to take care of. When you have a larger volume of water then if things get a little out of whack you have more time to react.
When you pick out fish try picking fish that are not only reef safe, but can be comfortable in the size tank your going to house them in and also consider how aggressive or territorial they are.
Soft corals are the easiest corals to begin with . After you become a seasoned veteran then you can move up to more difficult types to keep.
Patience in this hobby is everything. The more patient you are the better things will go for you, it will cost you less due to picking proper equipment that you'll need or don't need, and you'll have more success with keeping fish and coral with proper selection.
Also I'd like to highlight a point that I believe some people don't think about but is very important. It all starts with high quality water. Make sure you invest in a good quality RO/DI system. Making great water from the start can help you get a great start.
You've got choices to make so I encourage you to read , read, read! There is a great deal of other reefers build threads here that you can look over . When you find one that you like you can use it as a blueprint for what you want to do. Don't ever be afraid to ask lots of questions. Everyone here wants you to succeed!
Oh ya and welcome! Any question any time!
Generally speaking the larger the system the more expensive. Larger systems are usually easier to take care of. When you have a larger volume of water then if things get a little out of whack you have more time to react.
When you pick out fish try picking fish that are not only reef safe, but can be comfortable in the size tank your going to house them in and also consider how aggressive or territorial they are.
Soft corals are the easiest corals to begin with . After you become a seasoned veteran then you can move up to more difficult types to keep.
Patience in this hobby is everything. The more patient you are the better things will go for you, it will cost you less due to picking proper equipment that you'll need or don't need, and you'll have more success with keeping fish and coral with proper selection.
Also I'd like to highlight a point that I believe some people don't think about but is very important. It all starts with high quality water. Make sure you invest in a good quality RO/DI system. Making great water from the start can help you get a great start.
You've got choices to make so I encourage you to read , read, read! There is a great deal of other reefers build threads here that you can look over . When you find one that you like you can use it as a blueprint for what you want to do. Don't ever be afraid to ask lots of questions. Everyone here wants you to succeed!
Oh ya and welcome! Any question any time!
Thanks, I have a good understanding of the costs and work based on the size of the tank. The confusion that I run into are the various opinions on fish vs water. How many inches of fish per however many gallons of water. I've heard anywhere from 2 gallons per inch of fish to 5 gallons per inch. I've asked these so-called experts is this regarding their juvenile sizes or what they're expected to be as an adult, and nobody ever asnwered that question.
- Joined
- Sep 8, 2015
- Messages
- 6,514
- Reaction score
- 6,399
You can always start small too. Sometimes keeping a small tank doesn't have to be permanent and can also help you figure out most the ins and outs. Not to mention having frags ready for the new setup. You will want to learn about live rock, dry rock, and dry live rock. Deep sandbeds, low sandbeds and bare bottoms. Quarantine tanks and how to set one up.
Keep in mind this hobby is very rewarding. Just as much rewarding as taking care of a child :D
Oh and welcome to R2R!
Keep in mind this hobby is very rewarding. Just as much rewarding as taking care of a child :D
Everything in this hobby takes time. As does stocking the tank. Research your fish and the requirements they need. Before too long you will know if you have too many or not. Typically nutrient levels are a sign. But stocking fish isn't like freshwater.
Oh and welcome to R2R!
Here are the fish I'd like to have if they're compatible. Dwarf Angels (Atlantic pigmy, lemon peel, rusty,flameback,flame,coral beauty), Damsels (fiji devil, blue and gold), dragonets (green mandarin), basslets (royal gamma, black cap, macneill's), butteryflies?, chromis (blue reef), gobies (catalina, firefish, purple firefish), clown (ocellaris, maybe a maroon), tangs (yellow, purple), and maybe some TR pseudo aldabraensis, strawberry pseudochromis, and bicolor pseudochromis fish. Also, which of this are fine alone and which need to be in pairs or in groups of three or more? I'm looking for fish, invertabrates, and coral for a colorful tank.
120reefkeeper
Reef keeping with Military Precision!
There are several places you can look at compatibility charts this is a link to one . As far as how big the fish get you can also find that information with a little searching on live aquaria . If you research your fish then you'll find all of your answers. Live aquaria has a large database on recommended tank size, how big they get, what they eat and compatibility etc....
Inches of fish per gallon is always a debatable topic. Some folks have success keeping a fairly large stock while others are more conservative like myself. I don't go by inches at all but that's me. I've always gone with 1 fish per 10 gallons no matter the size.
Is it right?? Some will agree , some won't . I'm ultra conservative I think, but I'd rather be under stocked than overstocked. When you push boundaries in this hobby you either better know what your doing or be ready for problems. I can only speak for my self.
One thing you'll find in this hobby is there are VERY few hard and fast rules. We would all like it to be that way , but it's just not. All the things you hear are more guidelines. Through trial and error people talk about experiences they have had. And we all learn from each other.
Inches of fish per gallon is always a debatable topic. Some folks have success keeping a fairly large stock while others are more conservative like myself. I don't go by inches at all but that's me. I've always gone with 1 fish per 10 gallons no matter the size.
Is it right?? Some will agree , some won't . I'm ultra conservative I think, but I'd rather be under stocked than overstocked. When you push boundaries in this hobby you either better know what your doing or be ready for problems. I can only speak for my self.
One thing you'll find in this hobby is there are VERY few hard and fast rules. We would all like it to be that way , but it's just not. All the things you hear are more guidelines. Through trial and error people talk about experiences they have had. And we all learn from each other.
RJ Harris
Active Member
Just an idea to put in your head. I have a 125 in wall that i have in the Hall way going to our bed room even though it's down stairs it still gets plenty of attention. Any of our friends and family that know we have fish ask to see it. I was limited for space when we bought our house as it's an a frame I had a 50 gallon cube and a 54 gallon corner tank and tanks in the basement that were just taking up too much space. Finally I had the idea of putting up the wall and having a tank in it. Originally I had a 75 and I liked it for awhile but then I wanted to reduce the number of tanks I had so I bought this 125 and I love it. I'd say buy a bigger tank if your going to put it in the wall. I just think it looks better
Salty1962
Wrasse and SPS Lover
Welcome to R2R! I'd watch out for the Damsels, they get pretty aggressive as they become established. I would go as big as your budget will allow. We always start off small and swear we'll never get into corals. Well.... we always eventually do, so I'd go big from the start. I have a CL 70G Artisan II, it's @ 65G for the DT and gives me enough room for my wrasses and corals.
Thanks for all of the tips and info. I suppose my thinking is a bit backwards in that I'm looking at the amount of fish I'd like to have and form the tank around that. The first tank I figured dimensions for was around a 700 gallon tank. I do know I'd hate to have a big tank with 65% of it filled with coral and just one little fish in it.
aaronn
Community Member
Generally speaking for reef tanks you don't want to go too deep. 3 to 4 feet of height is Hugh for a reef. You will need a ton of strong mh lights to grow coral. I would try to make the tank deeper front to back then tall.
Similar threads
