how small could i make a salt water aquarium?
i am thinking of making a small salt water aquarium with one or two small pieces of coral, and maybe rocks, with a few small tropical salt water fish. possibly a neon blue goby?. i know about fresh water fish keeping as i have a tank already but dont know much about salt water fish. can i be advised 
??
Well, there’s "could" and then there’s "should". The smaller the tank, the more difficult they are to maintain and keep water temperature and water chemistry stable. I’ve seem photos of pico tanks of less than a gallon with small corals and invertebrates like snails and hermit crabs (no fish). The smallest I ever presonally tried was a 2.5 gallon quarantine in which I housed some corals, a few hermit crabs, an emerald crab, and two peppermint shrimp for about a month before moving them to a larger tank. But, I should mention I already had about 4 years of saltwater experience before I tried this – my previous smallest had been 10 gallons. My very first tank was a 29 gallon, and it was much easier to take care of.
If you don’t have any saltwater experience, I would encourage you to do a lot of research before you attempt setting this up. If you want a "few" fish, I would look at a 29 (preferable) or 20 gallon long to start. The "long" tank has more "floor" space, as it isn’t as high as the traditional 20 gallon, so this gives you fish more room to establish territories.
I would also suggest a good book on saltwater aquaria – two that I found very helpful when I was first starting were The New Marine Aquarium by Michael S. Paletta. Microcosm Ltd. ISBN 1-890087-52-1 or The Conscientious Marine Aquarist by Robert M. Fenner. Microcosm Ltd. ISBN 1-890087-02-5
Some websites which may also be of help: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marsetupez.htm
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marineSetUp.htm
http://www.peteducation.com/index.cfm?cls=16
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/
A neon blue engineer goby, a clown goby, firefish/dartfish, yellow-headed jawfish, or an ocellaris clown would all be suitable for a tank that’s at least 20 gallons, and you could get a second clown, or cardinalfish if you had a 29 gallon. Note that just because I say these fish are suitable for a tank that size, that doesn’t mean all of them at once – 2-3 fish in a 20 long and 3-4 in the 29 is plenty. Saltwater fish are territorial, so you can’t crowd them together, especially once they mature.
What are some common side effects if you put too much salt in a salt water aquarium?
at least 29gallons.
November 5th, 2009 at 3:57 pmReferences :
I’ve seen 6 gallon saltwater tanks.
check out ratemyfishtank.com for ideas and pics.
November 5th, 2009 at 4:34 pmReferences :
i dont no much either, but you could have like 10 gallons.
November 5th, 2009 at 4:55 pmi do no that the bigger the tank is, the easier it will be, but the more expensive. try a 30 gallon, or a 55. thats what id start with. ive never had saltwater though. im "researching."
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Believe it or not I have seen a desktop saltwater aquarium with a damsel…and he didnt seem to mind at all.
It was no bigger than 2 gallons. You can make just bout any tank saltwater. However, compared to what is out there and for happy fish I wouldnt make it under 5 gallons…
Best of Luck!
November 5th, 2009 at 5:20 pmReferences :
Well, there’s "could" and then there’s "should". The smaller the tank, the more difficult they are to maintain and keep water temperature and water chemistry stable. I’ve seem photos of pico tanks of less than a gallon with small corals and invertebrates like snails and hermit crabs (no fish). The smallest I ever presonally tried was a 2.5 gallon quarantine in which I housed some corals, a few hermit crabs, an emerald crab, and two peppermint shrimp for about a month before moving them to a larger tank. But, I should mention I already had about 4 years of saltwater experience before I tried this – my previous smallest had been 10 gallons. My very first tank was a 29 gallon, and it was much easier to take care of.
If you don’t have any saltwater experience, I would encourage you to do a lot of research before you attempt setting this up. If you want a "few" fish, I would look at a 29 (preferable) or 20 gallon long to start. The "long" tank has more "floor" space, as it isn’t as high as the traditional 20 gallon, so this gives you fish more room to establish territories.
I would also suggest a good book on saltwater aquaria – two that I found very helpful when I was first starting were The New Marine Aquarium by Michael S. Paletta. Microcosm Ltd. ISBN 1-890087-52-1 or The Conscientious Marine Aquarist by Robert M. Fenner. Microcosm Ltd. ISBN 1-890087-02-5
Some websites which may also be of help: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marsetupez.htm
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marineSetUp.htm
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/
A neon blue engineer goby, a clown goby, firefish/dartfish, yellow-headed jawfish, or an ocellaris clown would all be suitable for a tank that’s at least 20 gallons, and you could get a second clown, or cardinalfish if you had a 29 gallon. Note that just because I say these fish are suitable for a tank that size, that doesn’t mean all of them at once – 2-3 fish in a 20 long and 3-4 in the 29 is plenty. Saltwater fish are territorial, so you can’t crowd them together, especially once they mature.
November 5th, 2009 at 6:08 pmReferences :
The smaller the tank the harder it is to keep it healthy. Everyone i have talked to says ideally 29 is the min. for salt water. I talked to lady who owns a Salt water fish only store and she said when it gets to around 75 gal. it becomes a lot easier to maintain.
November 5th, 2009 at 6:29 pmReferences :
Marine tank keeping is a very different kettle of fish, even for those with some experience of freshwater fishes. And the more inexperienced you are, the more you should avoid small tanks as the probability of problems arising are much higher in such a limited environment, there is practically no margin for any error at all. You see plenty of people who are absolutely new to the fish hobby and choose really small tanks thinking they’re much easier to maintain.
Nano tanks & much smaller ones are all the rage now, especially for marine setups, but really only very experienced aquarists should attempt this. In the beginning, there was a lack of suitable equipment for such small tanks but it’s slightly better now. It would be better to start with say a 2 foot long tank and learn properly rather than diving into marine tanks immediately with nano tanks. Before starting & buying anything, do lots of research first. You can easily find lots of sad stories on the internet of newbies crashing their small tanks several times & starting from scratch each time.
November 5th, 2009 at 7:09 pmReferences :