• Looking to buy a cephalopod? Check out Tomh's Cephs Forum, and this post in particular shares important info about our policies as it relates to responsible ceph-keeping.

My tank - starting from scratch

Tintenfisch;92407 said:
I come up with about 15 gallons (14.7), if there are 4.5 litres per gallon (though I've heard two different conversion figures - I guess there are two different 'gallons' - one is 4.5, one is 3.7 litres?)...


Yup US Gallons and UK Gallons are different!

J
 
chrono_war,
Your dad won't like my thinking but ...

I don't believe you will learn much about saltwater fish/reef keeping by setting up your tank for freshwater. If you enjoy freshwater fish or just fish in general, you will like this kind of setup but the differences are extensive. Even if your dad thinks you need to learn about the daily routine of keeping a tank, the amount of work required for saltwater is 10 times more (and far more critical) than for freshwater.

You might want to start by looking at a couple of nano forums to see what beginner critters attract you and not try to keep something exotic until you have experience. Beginner (read hardy and low cost) critters don't have to be boring. Live rock, sand, interesting cleanup, a couple of softies and a pair of jaw fish make a really interesting small tank. There are a number of options depending upon your tastes and how much time/money (particularly for feeding) you have to put into the project. Saltwater tanks are, however, a daily concern and require at least freshwater top off every 24 hours and water changes weekly for the smaller tanks. If your time does not allow daily attention, then a freshwater tank is more forgiving but you will learn very little about reef keeping.
 
good, because my dad just had a colleague say the exact same thing to him. Saltwater and freshwater don't match. Anywho, the tank is going nicely, I have built a list of what to buy. But what type of sandbed do I want if I want to keep a cuttle? I was thinking of a deep sandbed, but I have no idea what to do with such a small tank except for keeping juvnile cuttles and then releasing them back to sea.
 
A few years back, I kept a 10g fresh as my first tank because I wanted a spotted green puffer. I wouldn't say I learned a ton, but I did learn a lot about how water quality is important, the nitrification process, and how some fish don't mix (puffers and guppies :roll:). So I wouldn't say keeping a fresh will teach you nothing, but a FOWLR tank may be better if you are looking into a ceph or some other type of salty critter.
 

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