thinking of staring a marine tank

[BettaBoyz]

after randomly deciding to get a seahorse and then finding out how expensive the little buggers are, i've moved on. i still want to start a marine aquarium though, as all the bright fish and interesting critters seem to stay far away from my other fish-types.

i have questions for you, lots of them. ^^

- as a general rule, how much salt per gallon?
- what is the best substrate?
- does the tank need to be coral, or can it be densely planted with marine or silk plants, or set up with driftwood and rocks?
- what size tank is best suited for the critters i plan on buying (see below)?

i wasn't planning on buying fish, oh no. i have a lot of fish, my dad can't complain if i buy more water-critters that aren't fish ^^ i was thinking of buying a pair of Purple Nudibranch and a Chocolate Chip Starfish. i still need to do research on these critters, so any random input on them is very appreciated. i'd like to have the smallest tank possible, as i haven't got much space left. preferably something under 20 gallons. i understand this probably limits the critters i want, so please tell me. i wasn't planning on buying any fish, just the Nudibranch and Starfish. if they can't all fit, would a single star or Nudibranch fit in a 5/10/20 gallon tank? how many gallons of water would a single Nudibranch or Starfish need?

 

[FrankSlapperinni]

It's best to stick with Fish Only, and have as much live rock as possable. a 20 gallon tank would really limit what you could get. Purple nudibranch are a type of sea slug, which is hard to keep and needs lots of space. a getting a chocolate starr is kindof pointless unless you keep corral and live sand. Corral is not as hard to keep as it is expensive. not only is the corral expensive, but it limits your choise of fish and needs estreme lighting, like metal halide, which can cost $600 a fixture.
I read of an account of someone keeping 3 yellowhead jawfish in a ten gallon and having them thrive in there though. you might want to investigat this a little further.
Saltwater is different from fresh because it a lot more expensive. the RO system (which I might add, is supposed to be essential) will cost atleast $100, and the skimmer is a good $120 (for a 20 gallon)
This only what I know, I've never kept saltwater fish (like you, I'm only 13 almost 14) and had to much difficulty convincing my parents to hept "invest" in a project like that.
It is possable to keep saltwater life in a 20 or 10 gallon, but it would require lots of waterchanges and maintanance, for a small setup like that you would need live rock too, which is a rock that is collected from teh ocean and is covered with algea and benifitial organisms. this means that you don't need a filter, just a realy good skimmer.
you should buy a few books on the matter of saltwater tanks, and check out Reef Central, they are a saltwater forum with over 34.000 members, you get help there real fast.

 

[Landlocked]

I would be very careful about buying nudibranches. They will only eat certain types of food, and they require huge amounts of it. Also, when they die, the ammonia levels will go so high that they can take all the other fish with them.

 

[ste2k3]

I would NEVER buy a nudibranch as they are a specialist feeder and unless you can provide this fod for the animals entire life, don't bother getting one.

your S.G sould be 1.026- 1.025