What are some cool decorations for my tank?

[AstroCoral]

Best “decorations” for saltwater tanks are live rock and corals! Not like the weird stuff freshwater tanks have lol. Those kinds look tacky in saltwater in my opinion, detracts from the fish and their colors!

Definitely! In my opinion I don’t think freshwater tanks should have plastic decorations either. The fish come from natural streams and lakes that contain live plants, algae, wood, and rock - those four things should be in the tank instead of plastic; plus it’s more visually appealing.

As for the saltwater tips: definitely research and get a good foundation in how to take care of saltwater fish prior to purchasing them. If you already bought the fish then I’m hoping you cycled it with bacteria prior to introducing the fish or have established live rock in the system to convert the ammonia to nitrate.

 

[littlefoxx]

Definitely! In my opinion I don’t think freshwater tanks should have plastic decorations either. The fish come from natural streams and lakes that contain live plants, algae, wood, and rock - those four things should be in the tank instead of plastic; plus it’s more visually appealing.

As for the saltwater tips: definitely research and get a good foundation in how to take care of saltwater fish prior to purchasing them. If you already bought the fish then I’m hoping you cycled it with bacteria prior to introducing the fish or have established live rock in the system to convert the ammonia to nitrate.

I agree with that for freshwater too. When I was a kid I put plastic in there, when I had my freshwater in college I found a stone castle and went with sand for my bubble eye black goldfish, Buggy!

 

[shadow_k]

I have a ceramic submarine in my 20 gallon just the wife’s addition it’s growing GSP right now so it will be covered with it soon , the clown fish like to sleep in it.

And I’m also same on the fresh water no plastic in there all plants and rock

 

[AstroCoral]

I have a ceramic submarine in my 20 gallon just the wife’s addition it’s growing GSP right now so it will be covered with it soon , the clown fish like to sleep in it.

And I’m also same on the fresh water no plastic in there all plants and rock

Those are some very nice looking tanks! I’m thinking about starting a freshwater tank in the future, I’m definitely not leaving saltwater though so it’ll be a small additional tank.

 

[shadow_k]

Those are some very nice looking tanks! I’m thinking about starting a freshwater tank in the future, I’m definitely not leaving saltwater though so it’ll be a small additional tank.

Fresh water is 10000000% times easier lol

 

[cabinet pumper123]

wow im not sure what to say, but this community has been helping left and right. Grateful for this.

 

[cabinet pumper123]

Best “decorations” for saltwater tanks are live rock and corals! Not like the weird stuff freshwater tanks have lol. Those kinds look tacky in saltwater in my opinion, detracts from the fish and their colors!

I see your point, i'll definitely look into different types of coral. Thanks!

 

[thedon986]

You can always start out with fish only with live rock. Get the hang of keeping a saltwater aquarium and then start looking into adding coral. Just know that some fish are not compatible with coral and will eat them so if you want coral in the future, plan ahead.

You can also look into keeping macroalgae which is basically just saltwater plants. They are easier than corals to keep, just watch out for herbivorous fish that will eat them.

 

[cabinet pumper123]

You can always start out with fish only with live rock. Get the hang of keeping a saltwater aquarium and then start looking into adding coral. Just know that some fish are not compatible with coral and will eat them so if you want coral in the future, plan ahead.

You can also look into keeping macroalgae which is basically just saltwater plants. They are easier than corals to keep, just watch out for herbivorous fish that will eat them.

is there any daily routine? like cycling out the waters?

 

[thedon986]

Daily just feeding the fish and monitoring nitrate and phosphate levels. Macroalgae does a good job of helping to keep those low but still need to be monitoring. You will need to keep the water level topped off every day to make sure the salt levels in the water stay consistent. Water evaporates, salt doesn’t, so you’ll need to top off with pure water. You can use distilled from the grocery store or RODI from the fish store at first.

Read, read, read and don’t rush too fast.

 

[cabinet pumper123]

Daily just feeding the fish and monitoring nitrate and phosphate levels. Macroalgae does a good job of helping to keep those low but still need to be monitoring. You will need to keep the water level topped off every day to make sure the salt levels in the water stay consistent. Water evaporates, salt doesn’t, so you’ll need to top off with pure water. You can use distilled from the grocery store or RODI from the fish store at first.

Read, read, read and don’t rush too fast.

ahhh ok, I'll be extra careful before adding the salt water

 

[Townes_Van_Camp]

You can always start out with fish only with live rock. Get the hang of keeping a saltwater aquarium and then start looking into adding coral. Just know that some fish are not compatible with coral and will eat them so if you want coral in the future, plan ahead.

You can also look into keeping macroalgae which is basically just saltwater plants. They are easier than corals to keep, just watch out for herbivorous fish that will eat them.

This is always my advice to newbs. Start with fish rocks and some snails/crabs. Learn to manage nutrients; nitrates, and phosphates. After that is mastered, the tank will be mature and ready to test out on more delicate life forms.

While fish only with live rock, start working on you pod population and bio-diversity. Once that is all settledd up and mastered you will be 6 months to a year out and at that point it's then time to decide to step into the world of corals.

If you decide to move on to corals, start the homework over before you waste money on stuff you are gonna kill.

You will kill corals. Promise. But use the introductory period to dive into all the information you can before you kill them. It will increase your success tenfold.

 

[cabinet pumper123]

This is always my advice to newbs. Start with fish rocks and some snails/crabs. Learn to manage nutrients; nitrates, and phosphates. After that is mastered, the tank will be mature and ready to test out on more delicate life forms.

While fish only with live rock, start working on you pod population and bio-diversity. Once that is all settledd up and mastered you will be 6 months to a year out and at that point it's then time to decide to step into the world of corals.

If you decide to move on to corals, start the homework over before you waste money on stuff you are gonna kill.

You will kill corals. Promise. But use the introductory period to dive into all the information you can before you kill them. It will increase your success tenfold.

Really excited to be able to add corals when I'm experienced as they look amazing!

 

[Townes_Van_Camp]

Really excited to be able to add corals when I'm experienced as they look amazing!

They are absolutely beautiful and if you do it right, the pictures don't do the corals justice. The pictures don't come close to the beauty in person.

 

[cabinet pumper123]

I have a ceramic submarine in my 20 gallon just the wife’s addition it’s growing GSP right now so it will be covered with it soon , the clown fish like to sleep in it.

And I’m also same on the fresh water no plastic in there all plants and rock

wow can't believe that everything here is alive, have high hopes in myself for pulling this off. Fingers Crossed.

 

[cabinet pumper123]

They are absolutely beautiful and if you do it right, the pictures don't do the corals justice. The pictures don't come close to the beauty in person.

any recommended lights for pulling as much glow as possible?

 

[Townes_Van_Camp]

any recommended lights for pulling as much glow as possible?

Yes, but you are way out in front of yourself to be honest. You have a ton of decisions to make before picking a light. You need to know how big of a tank, not just gallons, but dimensions including depth. Then you need to know what kinds of corals you are gonna want. Lighting is a deep information intensive topic. There are people.here who have spent more on lights than I have on my truck. There are also people who do it quite cheap.

As an example. My 14 gallon nano. This is a small tank. My lighting is what I'd call mid grade. I have about $350-400 in that light. It's not enough for an anemone or a clam. But I can keep SPS and LPS nicely under it. I could spend probably upwards of $800 to light it, or $40. I probably don't need to tell you that the $40 light will kill corals due to low out put. It would however be good for fish only.

This is what my 350ish dollar light rig has done for me:

Another of the same tank from the front. It's been sorta re-arranged recently.

 

[cabinet pumper123]

Yes, but you are way out in front of yourself to be honest. You have a ton of decisions to make before picking a light. You need to know how big of a tank, not just gallons, but dimensions including depth. Then you need to know what kinds of corals you are gonna want. Lighting is a deep information intensive topic. There are people.here who have spent more on lights than I have on my truck. There are also people who do it quite cheap.

As an example. My 14 gallon nano. This is a small tank. My lighting is what I'd call mid grade. I have about $350-400 in that light. It's not enough for an anemone or a clam. But I can keep SPS and LPS nicely under it. I could spend probably upwards of $800 to light it, or $40. I probably don't need to tell you that the $40 light will kill corals due to low out put. It would however be good for fish only.

This is what my 350ish dollar light rig has done for me:

Another of the same tank from the front. It's been sorta re-arranged recently.

beautiful, i will first figure out the rountines and maybe decide to add the salt water, and fish. Maybe lastly i'll add those beautiful corals, Thanks for all the help Btw, Really appreciate it. As a newly joined member, I see this as a win for the community

 

[Townes_Van_Camp]

beautiful, i will first figure out the rountines and maybe decide to add the salt water, and fish. Maybe lastly i'll add those beautiful corals, Thanks for all the help Btw, Really appreciate it. As a newly joined member, I see this as a win for the community

Stick around.

 

[shadow_k]

Yes, but you are way out in front of yourself to be honest. You have a ton of decisions to make before picking a light. You need to know how big of a tank, not just gallons, but dimensions including depth. Then you need to know what kinds of corals you are gonna want. Lighting is a deep information intensive topic. There are people.here who have spent more on lights than I have on my truck. There are also people who do it quite cheap.

As an example. My 14 gallon nano. This is a small tank. My lighting is what I'd call mid grade. I have about $350-400 in that light. It's not enough for an anemone or a clam. But I can keep SPS and LPS nicely under it. I could spend probably upwards of $800 to light it, or $40. I probably don't need to tell you that the $40 light will kill corals due to low out put. It would however be good for fish only.

This is what my 350ish dollar light rig has done for me:

Another of the same tank from the front. It's been sorta re-arranged recently.

Agree ^ with this figure out what coral you want to keep then choose a light , I went with the AI prime 16hd it lights up my 20 gallon nicely