Thinking Of Going Saltwater

[andywg]

Just to add, people stock lighter in SW tanks because they have to. If you think of the inch per gallon rule, in SW - due to the lower levels of dissolved oxygen and higher toxicity of ammonia, nitrite and nitrate when compared to FW - they estimate at the most you should look at 1inch per 6-10 gallons to start with and see where you get from there.

 

[davidcalgary29]

Hi..not meaning to be antagonistic, I think the post above is good. But, I just want to clarify some comments above:

2) Nano tanks force owners to "think small": reduced biological load capacity force owners to stock marine tanks very lightly (e.g. 1-2 fish in a 29g). Fewer animals mean fewer potential mistakes.

I don't really agree witht this comment. The volume of a nano tank may be small but all the potential problems and maintenance are BIG. Even among the best of us, there is a tendency to want to add more and overload. Also, in a nano reef tank without animals, there MAY be a little bit of cushion to make fewer mistakes. However, animals don't always cause the problem with nano tanks. Certainly rising nitrates can. However, many run into problems with pH/alkalinity/ dosing, cyanobacteria, valonia and hair algae. Corals and/or hitchhikers can die and nuke the tank. By any definition, a nano tank when mature and settled in may need minimal maintenance, but a crash is always a risk.

I agree! I do think, however, that some FW converts might be able to avoid quite a few beginner mistakes by placing themselves in a psychological mindset from the outset that they are working with a more limited and limiting environment than their previous FW setups, and that less is often more. I myself found it very difficult to think of my 90g as having a biological capacity (for fish) that was in some ways more limited than my 45g FW tank, and initially stocked my marine system according to my previous assumptions. Wrong!
I also wish that I'd stuck to hermit crabs and snails when I started my tank, but was convinced by a LFS that a copperband butterfly would make a great starter fish...and suffered the predictable miserable result.

I also agree that nano/micro tanks can be less forgiving than larger FOWLR setups, but think that a few hardy and attractive specimens can help acclimate the owner slowly while they learn the basics of reef chemistry, etc., and small tanks do tend to display live rock collections better (IMO).

You can avoid an RO/DI unit, but, you can't avoid RO water. You CAN avoid protein skimming with excellent water husbandry practice. You CAN avoid metal halides, but,if you want to keep SPS and/or clams, your lighting is NOT going to be cheap and it is NOT an area that most would recommend skimping on. I have a 46G FW and my nano tank has FAR EXCEEDED this tank in cost and blows away FW with regards to maintenance. Just an FYI.

Agreed as well; my local tapwater has very high levels of phosphates, and I didn't connect my recurrent algal blooms with nutrient levels until I investigated a number of printed resources. I still think that it may be possible to run a fishless nano system on aged tapwater, though even if this proves to be impossible, you'll get a much better appreciation for the need for top-quality water in marine systems.