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Saltwater Tank Ideal for a dorm room

4K views 3 replies 2 participants last post by  badxgillen 
#1 ·
So I've been doing fresh water tanks since I was little. Me and my older brother always had a stocked tank in our room. But now I want to switch to salt water. However, I've never done salt water before. I know that it is definitely a more cautious process of taking care of them. Also, in the fall i'm headed off to college so I need a set up that is ideal to take to my dorm with me. So my questions are: What are the need to know tips to setting up my first salt water tank, what are the best kind of fish to use in the tank (I want something thats not to high maintenance due to lack of time while in college and can travel easily), what would be the best size tank to use (keep in mind the size of a dorm), and if anyone has any other tips, tricks, or comments to add, please do!

Thanks in advance!
 
#2 ·
Unfortunately many corals and inverts don't tolerate changes to well but there are a number of fish and some corals that do,soft corals and zoanthida come to mind. As far as the setup you will obviously need to go small, have you looked into the all in one systems such as the biocube or aqua medic? These small self contained systems may be the ticket for ease of transport and maintenance.
 
#3 ·
I've been looking into the biocubes. I found one at the local pet store thats a 20 gallon and the dimensions seem doable for a dorm. Ive always wanted a clown fish ever since the first time I've watched Finding Nemo! But if the habitat doesn't agree, then I cant really complain. As far as a 20 gallon tank, how many fish do you think I could keep happily in there? And whats the best solution to keep the algae down? Ive read that hermit crabs and snails are a good way to go but is there anything else?
Thanks for the help!
 
#4 ·
Clown fish that are captive raised are generally pretty hardy fish so you could go with a tank raised occelaris or percula and most likely be fine. As far as how many fish can be housed in the tank it really varies in the marine world as even if you go with smaller fish many are not as accepting to one another. I might say that with an established system and going with some of the fishes that are not as heavy feeders you could have 4 maybe 5 fish in the end.
 
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