starting out tank size?

Yeah......I would agree. My 90 has been the easiest yet. And the largest I have run. I have a 10g I am constantly tinkering with ITO water quality. A 29g standard is a good starting point IMO. I ran one of those back in the 90s. Just be careful of overstocking.

 

red sea max makes a 34g compact all in 1 tank. (not super cheap, but not expesive) will fit on a desk. And is still small for a beginer, but it's what i started out with.
But realize it isnt cheap. You can get a small nano for cheap, but you may regret it inless you do endless research. Im dreading my tank trying to get into something bigger.
These guys know what they're talking about.

 

I was totally new to any sort of fish keeping when I started my tank in Feb. I have a 30g and believe it to be an excellent size.

Whilst everyone contributing to this thread is correct that bigger tanks are easier to look after, this is only true if you are willing to spend lots of money on the set up (sump, fuge, auto top off etc etc) otherwise you will need to spend lots of time maintaining the tank.

If you are totally new to this, then you've found a great hobby but you won't be certain if its for you until you've tried it for a bit. You may well be reluctant to spend ££££'s on day one.

Small tanks (below 20g) require lots of maintenance due to evaporation rates and are probably best left to the more experianced.

I would personally recommend something in the 30 - 50g range as a starting tank and then move out to the extremes at a later date when you are more experianced.

When I next move and have more space I want a 125g reef tank and a 15g invert only (I do like my crabs and shrimps;D)

 

since you want a small tank i vote for 20 gallon long. or a breeder
there dirt cheap from a saltwater hobbiest point of view(ie some one that has spent, what a non-hobbiest would call, a rediculous amount on a livestock item).
the 20 gallon long should only be like 40 dollars.

also i would recommend you buy or build a stand from 2x4s, each gallon of water weighs around 8 pounds. so a 20 gallon is 160 pounds. do you trust your desk to hold up that weight, i would only trust it if its made of real wood not the composite stuff a lot of places sell now.



side note not related:
while i enjoy the prices of mass production, at times i believe it killed good craftsmenship.

 

Not to be a sore thumb or anything but did anyone ask what he wants to use it for. He could have a 10 if he wants to do Freshwater! You all just assume SW! Now if you are wanting SW bigger is better for a new person to the hobby but if you want a small tank maybe FW would be better! SW can be done in a smaller tank but it is harder!

 

for what? a lizard or a sw fish tank?

 

If you really want a SWT imo you will want at least a 75 gallon. After reading for over a month purely on this stuff before I made my tank choice is from everyones opinion and I would say 99% of people say over 50 and if you can do it go with a 75.

I am not an expert by any means just giving you my opinion.

 

Started with a 30 gal. upgraded to a 55..(which IS easier to maintain)...and now a nice 70 gal. is starting to tickle my fancy......I just had to do a quick head check to make sure the wife didn't see me type that!... I better be content with 55 for now...or else..........I'LL be "sleeping with the fishes" : )
LG

 

Pack said it best, this hobby isn't for the weakminded, nor for cutting corners on cost. The smaller the tank is, the easier it is for the water parameters to get knocked out of whack. I started with the JBJ 12G nano and it drove me up the wall. One day the params were pefect, purple starting to form, hard tubes growing everywhere, then BAMMM, crash, start over. Luckily the day after setting up the JBJ, I saw a 20G tank on sale at Petsmart for $10, so I picked it up. I was happy, ran off to my LFS and asked "what do I need for a 20G saltwater tank that the JBJ doesn't have?" So they put the Bak-Pak, A Coralife 65W CF light, live sand, couple small Rios for circulation (this was pre Koralia), 5 jugs of Catalina SW, and 40lbs of LR and a bag of live bacteria to help the cycling on the counter for me to buy. With all that, I dropped $450, which was a great deal. 2 months later, I picked up my 150G All-Glass and have since dropped about $7-10k on this hobby.
I would say, don't go much smaller than 30, 20 being the smallest to start with. Get a decent skimmer; decent being at least a reputable ~$200 one (Remora, Octopus or Bak-Pak), get a decent light for your needs, and get good circulation in the tank and surface agitation. A well equipped 30G tank will probably set you back about $400-500 with water, LS and LR and the hardware you will need.

 

I started with a 12 gal. and now have a 5.5... You can keep a 5.5 but you need some type of auto top off..and you have to check it a couple times daily.. The biggest issue I have is evaporation.. You can have major salinity swings when your only dealing with a total tank volume of about 6.5 gallons.... I can evaporate about a quarter gallon daily.. I will be upgrading to probably a 20 high.. With a 5.5 gal you are very limited with the number of fish.. Probably a 75gal or so when I get a new house..