# smallest saltwater tank ?



## Flear (Oct 5, 2012)

i'm curious what the smallest recommended saltwater tank would be
i'm familiar with freshwater and wouldn't recommend anything less than 20 gallons, (and things less than 10 gallons being cruel 

for saltwater, it's a whole different world isn't it, the fish are different, the options are different, the algae is different, ...

i could guess having a strickly reef/coral tank would be a different "minimum size" than one that has fish.

what minimum sizes would be recommended for each ?
based on what reasons ?

for freshwater, i base 20 gallons on it's really hard to find small fish that won't get cramped in smaller tanks.

what are peoples views of saltwater ?


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## crzy2u (Jan 16, 2014)

I would say the bigger the better! Same as with freshwater. Small saltwater tanks are very hard to maintain (even harder than freshwater I think). There's a reason you don't see many nano saltwater tanks around.


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## Flear (Oct 5, 2012)

at what point would you say is "too small"

oh if i could get away with it i'd love to have a tank (or several) that just went on and on, a renters life isn't so agreeable though


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## crzy2u (Jan 16, 2014)

Flear said:


> at what point would you say is "too small"
> 
> oh if i could get away with it i'd love to have a tank (or several) that just went on and on, a renters life isn't so agreeable though


Haha I know what you mean.
Unfortunately nothing under 20 gal. 55 gal is the easiest thing to work with and the most desirable. 20 gal is pushing it. It's harder to maintain, some types of fish cannot be in such a small tank and you are very limited as to what you can do. 
On the bright side since you have experience with freshwater you'll have "practice."
Long story short, 20 is hard but you can do it  
But if you have the ability to go higher I would.


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## Flear (Oct 5, 2012)

so about 50 gallon, ... k, got it

i've played with the idea of having a small coral tank (5-10 gallon), no fish, sitting inside of a planted freshwater tank, ... just for that visual ... live coral in the middle of a thriving planted freshwater tank.

but for fish, 50 gallon for a minimum, ... k, thanks , i'll remember that


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## crzy2u (Jan 16, 2014)

Flear said:


> so about 50 gallon, ... k, got it
> 
> i've played with the idea of having a small coral tank (5-10 gallon), no fish, sitting inside of a planted freshwater tank, ... just for that visual ... live coral in the middle of a thriving planted freshwater tank.
> 
> but for fish, 50 gallon for a minimum, ... k, thanks , i'll remember that


50 wouldn't be a minimum, more like 20. For you, since you have an apartment and only around 1 year of tropical experience maybe 30? 30 gallon seems like a very good number; it's also a good size for clownfish.
It's also better for fish because you can't stock as many fish as you would in freshwater.


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## crazy4fish (Dec 31, 2007)

I never done anything with saltwater so forgive me if the answer to this is obvious but would a 5-10g with just corals and maybe a cleaning crew be possible or is even that a bad idea?


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## badxgillen (Aug 20, 2010)

If you were up for some extra attention to detail and went with corals that are not too demanding on calcium,alkalinity, or other dosing.I have seen some amazing nanos so it is not far fetched just easier said than done.I used to have a 9 gallon full of corals but I did a weekly water change religiously,I have since turned that tank into a cold water.


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