New and need help

[nefarious]

Hello everyone,

I am new to both this board and to actually keeping fish alive. My family always had freshwater fish but managed to kill them all.

Anyway, I'm looking at buying a tank and have an opportunity to get a 5 gallon tank with everything except lights for $50. That or I can buy a 20 gallon tank with everything for $100. I don't even know if I'll be able to keep anything alive.

So my question. Since I'd rather spend a little money to begin with and see if i'm a saltwater fish murderer, what fish are recommended for starters with 5 gallon tanks? are there really any fish that can be kept in that small of a tank?

or should i just bite the bullet and go with the 20 gallon tank?

thanks in advance

nefarious

[BMW Rider]

Small saltwater tanks are much more difficult to keep than larger ones. A 5 gallon is not something that I want to attempt even with over seven years experience. Even a 20 gallon saltwater could be challenging for a beginner to keep, and is still considered to be a nano tank. If you really want to try saltwater, probably a 50 gallon would be a good starting point. The greater water volume of a large tank makes it a more stable system less prone to sudden water quality problems. In the long run, spending a bit more to set up a larger tank will probably be a more positive experience with better longevity of your livestock. Do lots of reading about what you need to do to get started, then you will be better able to make an informed decision if this is the right choice for you.

[Ruth]

I have to agree with BMW go as large as you can afford. The smaller the tank the more prone it is to imbalances in the system. Even something like putting your hand in there to replace a fallen rock can have very negative effects if your hand was not clean.
With that said it looks like you have narrowed your options to 2 so I would suggest to go with the 20g and just take everything really slow. Talk to other reefers either in person or on this or other boards - do lots of reading - there are lots of links on here and if you just ask Beverly will give you plenty. If you get a chance go and see other peoples systems and see what works for them. And my #1 recommendation is do lots of water changes - especially on a small system. It's easy cause your not dealing with a lot of water so weekly 25% or more water changes are not really a hassle.