ackshee
Community Member
Hi everyone, just wanted to introduce myself. I'm new to saltwater fish-keeping. Just yesterday I 'inherited' my first saltwater tank from someone I know who is moving across the country. It's a small 2.5 gallon / 10 litre tank with a super low-tech setup. It's home to a masked goby named Bripp, a couple of tiny hermit crabs, and some sort of assassin snail who is quite elusive. No corals/anemones. I'll post more details and some pictures in a separate thread in a few days.
I have plenty of experience keeping freshwater fish and maintaining Walstad-style planted tanks. But I know saltwater is an entirely different beast, and I'm excited for the challenge. My biggest concern is the size of the tank -- I realize 2.5 gallons is quite small, and fluctuations in temperature and water chemistry can cause serious issues. That said, this tank has been established and stable for quite some time, so that gives me some peace of mind. Regardless, I may upgrade to a 10 gallon or 20 gallon down the road. I have some empty aquariums in my garage.
Unfortunately, there is not a pet store close to my house that caters to saltwater/reef tanks. I'll have to drive about 30 minutes or so, which is kind of annoying. At first, I was worried I would have to make the drive quite often to purchase pre-mixed saltwater for the tank, since I don't have a water filter at my house. But then I remembered... I work in a laboratory, and we have a filter system for ultrapure RO/DI water. So I can just bring jugs of clean water home from work, and then mix in the salt. Right? Another convenience of working in a laboratory: I can bring my water to work and test for ammonium, nitrite, nitrate, alkalinity, hardness, as well as about 20 other minerals, metals, and micronutrients. I'm a chemistry/biology nerd so I think this will be a good project for me.
Anyways, I'm a little bit overwhelmed with this tiny tank, but I'm excited to be here, and I'm looking forward to learning from y'all.
I have plenty of experience keeping freshwater fish and maintaining Walstad-style planted tanks. But I know saltwater is an entirely different beast, and I'm excited for the challenge. My biggest concern is the size of the tank -- I realize 2.5 gallons is quite small, and fluctuations in temperature and water chemistry can cause serious issues. That said, this tank has been established and stable for quite some time, so that gives me some peace of mind. Regardless, I may upgrade to a 10 gallon or 20 gallon down the road. I have some empty aquariums in my garage.
Unfortunately, there is not a pet store close to my house that caters to saltwater/reef tanks. I'll have to drive about 30 minutes or so, which is kind of annoying. At first, I was worried I would have to make the drive quite often to purchase pre-mixed saltwater for the tank, since I don't have a water filter at my house. But then I remembered... I work in a laboratory, and we have a filter system for ultrapure RO/DI water. So I can just bring jugs of clean water home from work, and then mix in the salt. Right? Another convenience of working in a laboratory: I can bring my water to work and test for ammonium, nitrite, nitrate, alkalinity, hardness, as well as about 20 other minerals, metals, and micronutrients. I'm a chemistry/biology nerd so I think this will be a good project for me.
Anyways, I'm a little bit overwhelmed with this tiny tank, but I'm excited to be here, and I'm looking forward to learning from y'all.
