Salt Water Tank?

Question

I currently have a 20 gallon fresh water tank. I am looking into converting to salt water. How much different is salt water then fresh water. And also is a 20 gallon tank to small?

Answer 1

The tank is the cheap part of the equation but 20 gallons is possible, just a bit too small for most fish. Here is a site that will tell you what fish you could have (if you are interested) and you could also borwse through it to see if ther is anything you have to have and howm large a tank it requires.
http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/scateg.cfm?pCatId=2124
compatability chart
http://www.liveaquaria.com/general/compatibility_chart.cfm
To run a fish only tank you would require some good florescent lights (replace every six month), live rock (one pound per gallon of water and stuff with holes is the best), three inches of crushed aragonite as substrate, a filter with bio-wheel that moves at least ten (15 is better) gallons of water per hour per gallon of tank size (200-300gph for your tank), marine test kit, hydrometer, salt, aerator for mixing salt water, and heater. You can only use distilled or RO water for a marine tank. You add it to the water a day in advance of the weekly water change and aerate it to mix it. Top up evaporated water with plain water only (salt doesn't evaporate) and feed whatever food the fish likes. It really isn't more work then a normal tank, just a lot more costly. It does tanke longer to cycle a new tank depending on how good the live rock is. The set up I've suggested will also be good for a mix of invertibrates (needed in all salt tanks), but if you want mushrooms, zooanthids, and that sort you would need one actinic bulb and a skimmer.
A

Answer 2

You can do saltwater in a 20 gallon tank. Just keep in mind the smaller the tank the faster that things can go wrong. I would start with the biggest tank that you have room for. Its expensive but very worth it. I have had a salt water tank for 4 years now and after the first year went to a bigger tank. After the tank is established it becomes fairly easy to care for. Do some research on saltwater. There are some great web sites for reading up on saltwater. This is my favorite, www.reefcentral.com

Good Luck.

Answer 3

Salt water tanks are a lot more expensive to start & maintain. The fish are a bit more pricier too. And you'll be limited to one maybe 2 fish. Have to get into buying live rock, protein skimmers, salt, etc. But they are gorgeous. Usually the bigger the tank the better/easier it is to maintain. With smaller tanks, the water evaporates and the salinity will go up, so you have to stay on top of it. Also the nitrates will build up quicker in the smaller tank, so more water changes. You can do a 20 gallon sw tank, I've seen little nano tanks about 2 gallons. Check out one of these forums for better advice, I tried it with a 10 gal, it was hard-for me anyway. A sw tank can be converted back to fw, just have to rinse it very good. Most fw fish tolerate a little bit of salt in their water.

http://www.aquariacentral.com/
http://www.aquariumboard.com/forums/home.php

Answer 4

Having a saltwater tank is much different than fresh water. Many people have what is called a "Nano" tank, which is just a small tank like your 20g tank. This sounds nuts, but it's harder to keep up a 20g tank than a larger tank. check on http://www.reefcentral.com about a nano tank. You will be limited on what you can keep in it, maybe a shrimp, some snails or crabs, and maybe one or two small breed fish like a firefish or clown.

It would be good learning experience to decide if you want a larger saltwater tank. I have a 65g tank and have spent a few thousand bucks on the tank, stand, hood, lights, rocks and sand, skimmer, powerheads, fish and I'm sure I'm forgetting some things.

Answer 5

20 gallon is a bit small cause the water can change real fast and things can go wrong wich a bigger tank you can solve the problem with a bit more time to spare if you are intersted in saltwater aquariums you should read every thing you can about them a good book is saltwater for dummies which was my first book and i have two sw aquariums that are doing fine now for about two years. another possiblity would be to buy a nano cube they are small and self containd and fairly cheap as aquariums go to see on go to www.liveaquaria.com or just type in nano cube in yahoo search bar good luck

Answer 6

I've done it with a tank that small but you really have to be dedicated and detail oriented. Make sure you have a good chemical testing kit and use it weekly. Start your tank with "blue damsels" and don't be in a hurry to add other fish for at least a month or two. Make sure the fish and invertebrates are compatible with each other. Your pet store will be a good source of information (of course they'll try to talk you into getting a larger aquarium).

Answer 7

A 20m gallon tank is probably too small. Do you know how much it costs to convert to salt water, just for the basics like live rock and filtering system?

Answer 8

A 20 gallon tank is not too small but you will have to talk to your local dealer to see what saltwater fish can thrive in it.

Salt water is not that different from regular water tanks, ther are just more steps you need to follow in maintaining it. If you don't maintain you regular water tank as much as you should you should not go saltwater.

Aside from that, good luck and enjoy! I have a 55 gallon salt water and have not been happier!

P.S. Once a tank goes to salt water, it can never go back to regular water.

Answer 9

Reef Central
http://www.reefcentral.com

Answer 10

More work, more skill, more mess, more expensive....And yes a 20 is a bit small.

(stick to fresh)