Are corals possible?

[pharmfish]

I decided to make the leap (perhaps naively) to salt water after watching a few you tubers. The videos said I could do a simple salt water fish only tank using my existing freshwater tank and tap water sea chem prime and stability and salt mix.

I am running a 25 gallon tank with a hang on back filter (carbon filter). I have a few small dry rocks, live sand power head heater, basic fresh water led light in a hood.

It’s been running with 2 small fish (1 clown and 1 damsel) for about a month and my water parameters are good so far
SG 1.025
Ammonia and nitrite undetected
Nitrate between 0 and 2.5 ppm
Ph 7.8

Weekly water changes of 2 gallons or so
My fish seem very healthy but my questions are:

Is this setup sustainable for 4 small fish (adding 1 clown and 1 damsel)?
Is adding corals out of the question?

If addition of corals is unreasonable what additional equipment would I need to make it work

 

[Dread Pirate Dave]

Welcome to R2R!

The tank is on the small side for multiple damsels. Most are rather aggressive, especially as they grow.

Your light is probably not strong enough for corals but that can depend on the corral too.

 

[Dburr1014]

I decided to make the leap (perhaps naively) to salt water after watching a few you tubers. The videos said I could do a simple salt water fish only tank using my existing freshwater tank and tap water sea chem prime and stability and salt mix.

I am running a 25 gallon tank with a hang on back filter (carbon filter). I have a few small dry rocks, live sand power head heater, basic fresh water led light in a hood.

It’s been running with 2 small fish (1 clown and 1 damsel) for about a month and my water parameters are good so far
SG 1.025
Ammonia and nitrite undetected
Nitrate between 0 and 2.5 ppm
Ph 7.8

Weekly water changes of 2 gallons or so
My fish seem very healthy but my questions are:

Is this setup sustainable for 4 small fish (adding 1 clown and 1 damsel)?
Is adding corals out of the question?

If addition of corals is unreasonable what additional equipment would I need to make it work

I would say without knowing the TDS (total dissolved solids) of the tap water your using, no.
Could be very high and unfavorable for coral.

 

[Jekyl]

Tap water will be no good for corals and I wouldn't recommend using prime at all. Can we have a pic of the tank? As already mentioned your light will not be sufficient either.

 

[corosato]

you would likely at least need to replace the light and start using RODI water first before corals. flow would be a question as well, but if you just wanted soft corals that would work and you wouldn't need an expensive light just one that fits to the right spectrum of light. If we could see a pic we could tell you if the rock you have would be sufficient

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

What kind of rock is it? Marine rock or rocks from the backyard? Keep in mind that rock is the biofilter in a salt water tank, and your tank should have approx 15-25 lbs of rock (a pound per gallon). A hob filter alone is not sufficient filtration.

Tap water won’t work long term for corals you should get rodi water. We also frown on bottled chemicals.

There is room in the tank for one or two more fish, but I doubt that damsel will allow it. Damsels are very territorial and aggressive. Rock work is important to allow for fish to hide, and I get the feeling there is not much rock in your tank.

API test kits are not very reliable. For corals you will need alkalinity and calcium tests at least.

A picture of your tank will lead to more suggestions. For now, this is a really good introductory guide that touches on a little of everything.

The Supreme Guide To Setting Up A Saltwater Reef Aquarium

The Supreme Guide To Setting Up A Saltwater Reef Aquarium This article was sponsored by @MarineDepot at www.marinedepot.com. Introduction The marine environment is one of the most complex systems on the planet. The aquarium you are about to set up is only a tiny sliver of the vast ocean...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[PotatoPig]

Clowns plus damsels in a 25g tank will probably be a short lived experiment. Maybe not, but the odds aren’t good. You can reasonably expect to put more than a pair of clowns in there, but you’ll need to be careful with fish compatibility.

Two general pointers on saltwater vs fresh:

1. Reef fish are a lot more territorial than you might expect and can claim surprisingly large areas of the tank, albeit a lot of this aggression is focused on members of their own and similar species.

2. Reef fish really need to have bolt holes to hide in. The rock scape should include caves and other hideaways. This also plays a huge part in managing aggression

Managing territory, aggression and stress are some of the biggest challenges in a FOWLR tank.

 

[pharmfish]

Thank you everyone!