Returning Hobbyist

[Eleuthera08]

Hey y’all!

I’ve recently come down with the saltwater itch after some time away. I just want to do something small and pretty low maintenance. I don’t have unlimited funds at the moment, so definitely want to go for a small system and just rely on weekly/biweekly water changes rather than dosing. I am considering the reef casa 6 pico. I think it’s super cute and I like the dimensions. My dream fish is a naked clownfish because they are just so freaking cute, but would it be wrong to house one in a 6? I know that usually a 6 would be too small, but maybe because it’s a wider tank that wouldn’t be a problem? He’d be the only fish. What do y’all think? I haven’t purchased the tank yet. I wanted to wait and hear some opinions. I already bought most of the other stuff I need though.

 

[Baldyreef]

Hey y’all!

I’ve recently come down with the saltwater itch after some time away. I just want to do something small and pretty low maintenance. I don’t have unlimited funds at the moment, so definitely want to go for a small system and just rely on weekly/biweekly water changes rather than dosing. I am considering the reef casa 6 pico. I think it’s super cute and I like the dimensions. My dream fish is a naked clownfish because they are just so freaking cute, but would it be wrong to house one in a 6? I know that usually a 6 would be too small, but maybe because it’s a wider tank that wouldn’t be a problem? He’d be the only fish. What do y’all think? I haven’t purchased the tank yet. I wanted to wait and hear some opinions. I already bought most of the other stuff I need though.

Welcome back to the hobby and reef2reef!! its always good to have a former hobbyist back at it
a clownfish should be fine with those dimensions as long as its not paired

 

[Nixperience]

Welcome back! Those reef casa tanks seem great and have really nice dimensions. Should be fine with the single clownfish, plus those tanks seem to have room in the aio chamber for chemical media like carbon or chemipure and I think you can even fit a bubble magus mini Q if you decided you needed a skimmer. I’m a firm believer that if you have more horizontal swim space, you can size up stocking a little, if you can keep up with the bioload. A single clown shouldn’t be too demanding and they’re not crazy swimmers.

 

[Eleuthera08]

Thank you guys so much for your input! I’m gonna go for it! I really want this to be a natural looking tank, with a soft white spectrum and easy corals. I am gonna go with the white tank instead of the black. I think I’m gonna hold off on getting a light until my tank is really established because it’ll help with algae control, but also it will force me to take it slow and not go crazy with coral right away. I’ll be able to just enjoy my little fishy for a while. When the time comes for me to get a light, what do yall think of the white AI prime? Are they reliable? I’ve heard that sometimes they melt…? What is better if those aren’t “it”?

 

[Fish Fan]

That seems kind of small for a Clownfish to me

If you're on a budget, why not get a 10 or even 20 gallon standard tank from PetCo, a heater, a circ pump or two, and some rock and sand? That's really all you need for a minimal tank, and you'd have a lot more room for your Clownfish and even other critters. If the budget allows, you can add a reef capable light for some easy corals or a Hang On Back filter to run some carbon or GFO if needed. Get a food safe 5 gallon bucket from your local Mega-Lo-Mart, and a cheap heater and circ pump, and premake and preheat saltwater for regular, partial water changes, and you could have a very successful system without breaking the bank.

Good luck whichever way you go!

 

[Eleuthera08]

yeah I guess I could do that…I find the idea of mixing my own saltwater very intimidating. But I guess it can’t be that hard? I also don’t have an RODI machine so I guess I would have to buy freshwater from the grocery store. I definitely prefer the look of an AIO versus an HOB setup. How fast do clownfish grow?

 

[Fish Fan]

yeah I guess I could do that…I find the idea of mixing my own saltwater very intimidating. But I guess it can’t be that hard? I also don’t have an RODI machine so I guess I would have to buy freshwater from the grocery store. I definitely prefer the look of an AIO versus an HOB setup. How fast do clownfish grow?

Fish grow much faster than most people expect

What was your plan for water, to purchase it from your fish store pre mixed? That's fine to do, but I would double check the salinity just to make sure it's correct, and if you're changing more than like 5% or 10%, it's still a good idea to preheat the water to the same temp as your tank. That helps reduce stress from the water change. That's more for corals, if you're only keeping fish and critters, most of those animals would be more tolerant of a temp swing.

Mixing your own water is the way to go. For a small system, there's a budget RODI filter called the RO Buddy With DI, that's around $70, I believe. Or, you could purchased gallons of distilled water from the grocery store, or a lot of fish stores also sell RODI filtered freshwater.

I'd suggest trying to work an RODI system of some kind into the plan sooner than later; hauling jugs of water around gets old in a hurry

Mixing your own saltwater is nothing to be intimidated by. This video has some good basics, and certainly ask here if you need help:

 

[Eleuthera08]

yeah I guess I could do that…I find the idea of mixing my own saltwater very intimidating. But I guess it can’t be that hard? I also don’t have an RODI machine so I guess I would have to buy freshwater from the grocery store. I definitely prefer the look of an AIO versus an HOB setup. How fast do clownfish grow?

Fish grow much faster than most people expect

What was your plan for water before, to purchase it from your fish store pre mixed? That's fine to do, but I would double check the salinity just to make sure it's correct, and if you're changing more than like 5% or 10%, it's a good idea to heat the water to the same temp as your tank. That helps reduce stress from the water change. That's more for corals, if you're only keeping fish and critters, most of those animals would be more tolerant of a temp swing.

Mixing your own water is the way to go. For a small system, there's a budget RODI filter called the RO Buddy With DI, that's around $70, I believe. Or, you could purchased gallons of distilled water from the grocery store, or a lot of fish stores also sell filtered freshwater.

I'd suggest trying to work an RODI system of some kind into the plan sooner than later; hauling jugs of water around gets old in a hurry

Mixing your own saltwater is nothing to be intimidated by. This video has some good basics, and certainly ask here if you need help:

Yeah last time I did saltwater I would just buy the water premixed from my LFS. I watch the video. Thank you! If I did the ReefCasa 12 tide instead, would that be enough swim room? Also, how long does one bag/bucket of salt last? Is mixing your own water significantly cheaper?

 

[kevgib67]

Welcome back!

 

[Fish Fan]

Yeah last time I did saltwater I would just buy the water premixed from my LFS. I watch the video. Thank you! If I did the ReefCasa 12 tide instead, would that be enough swim room? Also, how long does one bag/bucket of salt last? Is mixing your own water significantly cheaper?

Yes, over time, owning your own RODI system and making your own freshwater and your own saltwater is cheaper than buying it at the store, but for a small tank, it may be affordable either way.

Yes, if you can do the Reef Casa 12 gallon, that would be great for a Clown, even a small pair

Another fine choice is the Innovative Marine 15 gallon AIO. It's out of stock now because they just did a sale, but they will restock them soon I'm sure:
https://www.innovative-marine.com/s...qph9AadzVfYZtuv5eCDV7J_BuOErs8J0qYI7gSE-kaSzQ

The rapidly approaching Black Friday sales can be an excellent time to purchase reefing gear

 

[Fish Fan]

Also, take a look at like Facebook Marketplace, sometimes people are practically giving away entire systems.

 

[Nixperience]

Yeah last time I did saltwater I would just buy the water premixed from my LFS. I watch the video. Thank you! If I did the ReefCasa 12 tide instead, would that be enough swim room? Also, how long does one bag/bucket of salt last? Is mixing your own water significantly cheaper?

Yes the 12 tide would be great, even for a pair of clowns. Keep in mind, it is the same height, but a much larger footprint. The studio would be the same footprint as the 6 pico, but higher water depth. Either is good. Also, an ai prime would be a great light and not need to be upgraded. Others are suggesting larger cheaper tanks, but I’m under the impression you are going for a sleek aesthetic and the white reef casa 12 tide with a white ai prime would probably be your best option for a nice, clean looking setup, that’s more than capable of supporting everything you want to do.

 

[Eleuthera08]

my first ever saltwater tank was a fluvall evo 13.5. when I got my clownfish, the guy at my LFS said that the tank wasn't big enough and that I would have to upgrade it. How is the reefcasa tide 12 better and suitable for clownfish? is it the dimensions?

 

[Nixperience]

my first ever saltwater tank was a fluvall evo 13.5. when I got my clownfish, the guy at my LFS said that the tank wasn't big enough and that I would have to upgrade it. How is the reefcasa tide 12 better and suitable for clownfish? is it the dimensions?

Clownfish will get to about 3” full grown, if you have a pair, the male might be 2.5”. They’re not incredibly athletic swimmers and tend to find an area they like and stick around that area. An evo 13.5 would’ve been fine for a pair of clowns, but might have been tight at full grown size. The tide and the studio seem to have better dimensions of horizontal space.

 

[Eleuthera08]

and as far as the RO buddy goes...which model would be best? I live in South Carolina and the water is kinda gross so we have a full house filter. do I need the 3 part or the 4 part?

 

[Fish Fan]

my first ever saltwater tank was a fluvall evo 13.5. when I got my clownfish, the guy at my LFS said that the tank wasn't big enough and that I would have to upgrade it. How is the reefcasa tide 12 better and suitable for clownfish? is it the dimensions?

It's just a judgment call, and they are not really wrong. I honestly like to see a pair of Clowns in a 15 or even 20 minimum, but many people on the forum that talks about very small tanks have kept a pair in a 10 gallon AIO. I think 1 Clown in a 10 is better, and I really wouldn't want to go much smaller for even just 1 Clown. But if the OP wants to try one or even two in a 12 gallon, I would not call the humane society and complain