# Starter clownfish tank



## JMK33 (Sep 26, 2010)

Hi everyone, first post here but ive been doing some reading over the past few days. 

Im interested in starting a small saltwater tank, with some clownfish and maybe a couple other fish once im up and running. I am currently living in a dorm room though, so any tank that I purchase needs to be on the smaller side. 

Questions: 

Is it possible to have freshwater from a tap, and mix it into saltwater for the fish? 

Do i NEED live sand and rocks for clownfish? I know there is the "1in fish per gallon" rule but would say 3-6 clown fish be okay in a 10-15 gallon tank? 

As far as reefs go, I would like to provide a small habitat for the fish, so im wondering what ways people have gone in doing this. 

Im pretty new to all of this, I used to have a 20gallon freshwater tank at home when I was younger and would like to get back into it to have a hobby, as well as a cool night light!

Thanks for the help


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## robertmathern (Aug 3, 2009)

Well my first and probably most important piece of advice is keep reading you got a long way to go. No you cant have 3-6 clownfish in a 10-15 gal they will kill each other. The most would be 2. I do recomend having some live rock skip the live sand and get just regular sand it will become live anyway. If you want a reef look into some of those clip on metal hailide fixtures they look nice and some LED nightlights. I will not recomend using tap water but yes you can use it. And stay away from the 1" fish per gallon rule its just garbage. Get you a small skimmer and your all set.


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## JMK33 (Sep 26, 2010)

Okay, I wasnt sure how many fish I could have in this small of a tank before things got ugly...

So youre saying 2 clownfish is the limit per fish, or just clownfish? Would I be able to have a couple other kinds of smaller fish? I dont want to over stock the tank but I want to have more than two fish if possible. 

As far as invertebrates go would it be possible to have some snails or maybe a crayfish?

I would like to have some sort of reef or coral set up, I have been looking at the 6 or 10 gallon nano cube tanks, and ive read that the lighting that comes with the tank, as well as the filter is enough to provide light for live coral. 

As far as a skimmer goes, are you talking about a protein skimmer to use with full water changes, or to skim the water during partial water changes. Im new to this but have been doing some research. 

My goal is to have a healthy tank (as everyones is) that has a couple cool creatures living in it to take care of. Hope someone can continue to point me in the right direction. Thanks!


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## aquariumcentral (Jun 8, 2010)

Hey you should check out my videos, I started a saltwater tanks a few months ago and it's on the small side also.

YouTube - 20 Gallon Saltwater Aquarium Startup [Update 1]

Definitely do a lot of research before you start!


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## TheNoteBooker (Nov 28, 2010)

Yes, you can mix tap water. I still suggest you let the water cycle for a really long time before any fish go in.

1"/gal per fish is for freshwater, and even then I personally stick to 2". 
For Saltwater your going to want something in the range of 1"/ 5-6gallons Per fish.

Best I can advise for a small 10 Gallon is getting some live rocks and make a natural looking cave out of them. As for sand, if you're strapped on cash, regular sand will be perfectly fine after a while.

Also, keeping the lights on might mess with your fishes sleep cycle.
I suggest you get an actual night-lite if that's a main reason for this tank.


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## robertmathern (Aug 3, 2009)

Regular sand is fine but make sure it is aragonite (calcium based). there is a simple test you can do by pouring white distilled vinegar in a glass and dropping a pinch of the sand in the if it fizzes then it is a calcium based sand. You can also do that to rocks just an FYI. You can use regular sand but the problem with it is most sand has silica in it witch will cause a diatom bloom till the end of time lol. No I started my old 55 with regular sand and had a diatom bloom for a wile but it did go away eventually. Dont go for the crap sand in a bag called live sand its not worth the money spent. Instead get some chep aragonite sand and with live rock the sand will become live good luck


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## aqjossy7 (Dec 3, 2011)

why do i keep thinking aobut nemo here lol


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