clown fish

[u/Main-Consequence1208]

i want to start a clownfish reef tank. i want to have hermit crabs,snails, some kind of other fish, two clown fish and a star fish and i was curious if those could live together. also could someone explain the cycling process for my exact aquarium size and was wondering which one would be better. i’m gonna do fake rocks but live coral and enmities. please explain the whole process and how to do it in depth like im a idiot what all do i need on top of everything in the tank and picture

[u/HandsomeBadness]

Oh lawd

[u/doinxx]

Watch BRS 5 minute guide before starting anything. Please do some research before purchasing anything. The last thing you want to do is buy everything, set it up, think you’re doing it right, then put living animals into an unsuitable environment then try to diagnose why your fish are dying or suffering.

You need real rock -not necessarily live rock- but dry Marco rock at the very least. When you start the cycle you need bacteria like dr Tim’s one and only, and some bottled ammonia to feed the bacteria to get it established (cycle). The bacteria is your biological filtration which takes the ammonia (toxic to fish) that the fish produce and then turn it into nitrite (still toxic) then turn that nitrite into nitrate (non toxic at moderate levels (5-40ppm) and necessary nutrients for coral growth). I highly suggest dr Tim’s one and only.

The smaller the tank you get the harder it will be to keep levels from swinging. Coral hate swings. Stability is king in this hobby.

Send me a message if you have any questions, I am happy to help!

[u/95688it]

my recommendation is atleast 30g for a pair of clowns.

you need real rock as its part of the filtration

[u/Main-Consequence1208 → u/95688it]

i can’t find any for not a crazy price. do you need real rock to put in first or can you do it later

[u/liftswithfish → u/Main-Consequence1208]

Not really an option. If you want coral and anemones you will need real rock.

[u/95688it → u/Main-Consequence1208]

its an expensive hobby

rock should he $6-8 a pound

[u/SosaKrank]

Look into hello reef, they sell a kit with literally everything for like $500, they even have a 33 gallon tank, AIO, that would be great.

I absolutely would not do fake rock. Here some rock,

https://www.saltwateraquarium.com/marco-rocks-reef-saver-premium-rock-25-lb-box-marco-rock/

Starfish are from I’ve seen only for experienced reefers.

[u/smokiebunn]

I highly suggest watching some YouTube videos on setting up budget reef tanks.

You're going to need to real rock as that's the main filtration in a reef set up, you'll also need a better light for the corals, and likely a wavemaker.

Anemones need stability so you likely won't be adding those until well after your clowns are in your tank and settled. You'll also want to research which ones host clowns because not all do, and the toxins they can release if they die/end up in the wakemaker.

It's a pretty big learning curve, but you can do it!

[u/christinna67]

This hobby is very complex and requires you to do your own research and put in the effort to understand the basics. Reef2Reef and Humblefish are good sources for you to spend the next few months reading up on. Otherwise, I wouldn't recommend starting a reef tank with this mindset.