In need of guidance, please!

Hey guys, (sorry for the essay but please read I am in need of guidance!)

My name is Frank and have always wanted a fish tank for as long as I can remember. It came to fruition when a random little girl came up to me and gave me a bag with a goldfish in it at a carnival...I ended up getting two...and a 10 gallon tank with a filter, gravel and all of that stuff.

So, upon having the goldfish, I had no idea about ammonia (despite telling the guys at the fish store I am a complete novice) and that was the end of my goldfish, after about 6-8 days time. So, after they passed, I would not let my tank just sit there as a hole, so I bought "stress zyme" and treated the ammonia and cleaned the gravel, and when the water was tested and sufficient, I loaded in more fish (3 mollies, couple tiger barbs, 1 bala shark, a pleco, and a crab)
At this point the tank was cycled, the ammonia was down and everything was going great. For about 1.5 months everyone was thriving, the pleco was gigantic, their were two mollie fry living in their own corner of the tank (which every girl to see the tank got a kick out of ;D) and all seemed well. Until, like a novice, I got curious, and in the midst of a routine water change, saw an abnormal amount of waste coming out of deepest parts of the gravel. Seeing that, equating it to ammonia and having once already been marred by its effects, I panicked, I panicked bad...

I did a 60% water change, and added too much PH buffer (for reasons I am still unsure of) and put the fish into shock unfortunately killing every single one of them. I feel sick even typing it out, I was attached to these guys, especially one of the mollies who would seem to have conversations with me when i came to look at the tank. I cannot believe that I made such a debacle out of it. Being the stubborn idiot I am, I want to try it again. and this is where I need you guys, because the guys at the fish store don't seem to actually want to give me guidance and/or direction.

What do I do from here? I feel like I have learned a lot from all of this, and want to try again. Being that I have some knowledge now (not much but some), and my girlfriend, sisters, and friends all want me to try a small saltwater tank with the cliche 2 clownfish and some coral, how reasonable of an idea is this? Am I still far away experience wise? I mean I know it would be a gamble to take an even bigger risk in terms of price of the actual fish and attention needed but I am home a lot and really, since the loss of my dog, don't mind giving these guys everything they need. How hard would it be? What are the pros/cons of salt and fresh? and the MUST know's about both.

Thanks for reading this entire thing, but i am in desperate need of some feedback.

-Frank S

 

Sorry to hear about the losses :/

It's not unreasonable to start a SW tank with what you know now. You just have to remember that SW and FW are very different. When I started in SW, I had never had fish before, and started out with a 90G. If you want to start a small tank with clowns and coral, the absolute smallest would be 10g to have a pair of clowns. But if you're a beginner in SW it's Better to go bigger because of dilution of salt and etc. I would type out more for you, but this message is coming from my phone while on break at work, so I'll let the more experienced reefers answer

 

I think that starting a saltwater tank is doable for you. You've learned from experience how important a good biological filter is needed to sustain fish. I would suggest that you do a ton of reading - you can search on this site for information on starting a saltwater tank. Once you understand the basics, then starting one is possible. Many of the same principles that apply to freshwater apply to saltwater. Way back when, I was too intimidated by salt and wish I would have started sooner than I did.

If you're willing to learn and to read, and be patient, then you can find success in keeping a saltwater tank. HTH

 

I am I the process of staring a sw tank, we have several large fw tanks. Just do a lot of research and you should be good. I've been scrolling around the net for a month and the absolute best info I have found yet is a sticky on this forum called "mistakes I have made as a newbie" it has save me a lot of mistakes already and I have only started cycling my qt.

 

You've come to the right place frank. Its crazy how we can learn so much from previous tradgedies and I'm sorry for your losses. Starting a saltwater tank is a great idea and very doable as long as your willing to be patient and due dillagence. You will make mistakes as we all do along the way but all the fellow reefers here will help out. I started out with a freshwater tank and was always scared to try saltwater, I wish I did it sooner. Reefing is my passion now and I never looked back since I started. I would strongly recommend that you start larger than 10 gallons. 30 or more will be a lot easier to keep stable. Keep an open mind through this journey because everyone has there own opinions. There are many options when buying a tank, filtration, lighting, ect. Just don't get overwhelmed and think of the long run when purchasing items for the tank. Anyway, welcome to 3reef and please ask away because we love to help. One thing though! We only help if you post pics of your tank build and progress. Lol.

 

Hey guys,
Just wanted to say thank you for all your feedback, it has been really helpful in building my confidence back to try this again. I am going to try SW, I am taking it very, very slow. I will post pics as soon as I get the water in and start the cycling process. Again, you guys are awesome thank you very much. The only advice I'm not obeying is to get a bigger size, not because I don't want to but financially (as I am only 19) I can't afford to keep going back to the LFS. I did tell the owner of the LFS exactly what happened and that I needed more help from guys like him in guiding me and he seemed to understand, and said all the same things you guys have said "it's doable" "go slow" and "be patient" all three things I am willing to do. So cheers guys!

-Frank

 

If you cannot afford a bigger tank my advise is to stick with fw.Small tanks are a challenge you don't sound ready for IMO. When selecting fish it is important to choose the ones who like similar water conditions.This will make it easier to sustain the right environment.Read,read then read some more.

 

remember, variable opinions abound

 

Hundreds of years ago when I tried SW for the first time it was actually pretty crazy, I had a 10g tank, a heater, a light and undergravel filter. I do believe that was all not to mention table salt to make my water salty, hahaha! I think I had some damsels and chromis, the silly things actually lived. :/
I wouldn't recommend that though

 

Public service announcement????