Is taking care of a small saltwater aquarium hard?

Derek S · 31-07-09, 13:09

My brother is thinking about getting a 3 gallon tank.
He knows all about the ammonia and stuff and the cycling process, and he does not have a big budget but the tank includes everything you need for a saltwater aquarium.
A local pet specialist said that a clown fish will work as long as no other fish is added.

sharklover8 · 31-07-09, 22:41

Yes it is very hard and if you get a 3 gallon tank then you really can't put anything in it but a snail! 3 gallons is extremely, extremely tiny! If you want to get one goldfish then you could get a 10 gallon tank. If he wants to get a tropical tank then he needs a minimum size of 20 gallons and he can put in some smaller fish like guppies, tetras, barbs, dwarf gourami's. The bigger the tank the easier it is to maintain the water quality as there is a bigger surface area for things such as toxic ammonia to spread across, and in smaller tanks there is less water so it would be more concentrated. Any amount of ammonia is deadly to fish. The general rule is: buy as big of a tank as you can afford. Remember to tell him that he will need a filter, an air pump, and a heater (this last one is only for tropical tanks). Your LFS will tell him about the cycling process where bad bacteria is converted to good bacteria and the nitrogen cycle.

31-07-09, 13:09	#1
Derek S Join Date: Sep 2008 Posts: 6	Is taking care of a small saltwater aquarium hard? My brother is thinking about getting a 3 gallon tank. He knows all about the ammonia and stuff and the cycling process, and he does not have a big budget but the tank includes everything you need for a saltwater aquarium. A local pet specialist said that a clown fish will work as long as no other fish is added.

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31-07-09, 22:41	#2
sharklover8 Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 1	Yes it is very hard and if you get a 3 gallon tank then you really can't put anything in it but a snail! 3 gallons is extremely, extremely tiny! If you want to get one goldfish then you could get a 10 gallon tank. If he wants to get a tropical tank then he needs a minimum size of 20 gallons and he can put in some smaller fish like guppies, tetras, barbs, dwarf gourami's. The bigger the tank the easier it is to maintain the water quality as there is a bigger surface area for things such as toxic ammonia to spread across, and in smaller tanks there is less water so it would be more concentrated. Any amount of ammonia is deadly to fish. The general rule is: buy as big of a tank as you can afford. Remember to tell him that he will need a filter, an air pump, and a heater (this last one is only for tropical tanks). Your LFS will tell him about the cycling process where bad bacteria is converted to good bacteria and the nitrogen cycle.