How to Set up a Saltwater Aquarium!

Building a saltwater fish tank is easy. Today, Matthew shows you how to setup your first saltwater reef tank, using his TINY Eshopps Deskmate all in one aquarium. Check it out right here to learn more!
#BRStv
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[@sonicsbigtoe]

i'm an expert in freshwater and never touched saltwater BUT i know damn well there's no way you can do a saltwater tank in a day

[@Agressivefishlovers]

why not?

[@reefrookies]

@@Agressivefishlovers You have to get the tank through the Nitrogen cycle first. This takes minimum of one week, usually more like a month or two, depending on the method. Ammonia is extremely toxic to fish. It should never be advised to setup a new tank and put fish in it the same day.

[@reefrookies]

You're absolutely right.

[@Agressivefishlovers]

@@reefrookies maybe not reccomend but can be done having established media with a large bio load established. Water mixed and ready to go has been done many times with no harm caused. The water colum holds little to know beneficial bacteria so as long as you take all appropriate steps can be done.

[@Agressivefishlovers]

@@reefrookies I should also elaborate. If you purchase live rock from and established tank. Live sand and get media that has and established bio load already. No reason that you can start a new tank.as the established media will be able to take care of any excess ammonia. And won't got thru a nitrite cycle

[@jonmilan6359]

I have three tanks in my house and my little pico Deskmate is my favorite hahaha. A few upgrades I do recommend are ditch the filter sock and get a Kraken Reef cup so you can just add poly-floss and chuck it every few days and add more. The return nozzle isn't bad but a random flow generator helps. The final upgrade I made was ditching the stock light for a Kessil a80 and it will grow softies, lps, and even some sps corals. I REALLY liked the idea of regular, smaller water changes because right now I'm doing a massive water change (about 75%) once a week but the color and growth in my tank is amazing. I bought mine the day they launched them and it has been bullet proof!!!

[@choumain1603]

How about the pump? Is it good enough? Or need to upgrade to Sicce Nano Syncro

[@VisualBeatLab]

Wow looks really good.

[@RogueAquariums]

A great aio desk top tank with easy maintenance Nice job Matthew 👌

[@marksfishtank]

I enjoy all the videos I don't say anything in any of them but I will on this one you are sounding like a robot instead of a person

[@Dave_Andre]

Yeah, agree. This what happens when you partner on a company based channel. Videos sound more like an ad rather than a guide to set up an aquarium.

[@limitlessluis]

Looks great and fun for a tabletop setup! I had to comment because it seems I am one of the FEW who doesn’t do water changes. Now, I have done 5-10% changes here and there maybe 3-4 times per year for fluctuation corrections and at first to address a few mystery issues to no avail. How do I do this (and yes I have thriving acros)? All-for-Reef powder mix solution on a dosing pump adding everything needed in increment doses throughout the day. My tank’s nitrates disappear from present natural bacteria and coral consumption and phosphates kept in check with Rowaphos in reactor. What’s the need to swap out perfectly fine, at least from what I see, saltwater at that point? Cheers, looking good! 😎👍🏼

[@woute5490]

I’ve been watching this this guy non stop over the weekend, to figure out if I wanna convert my fresh water tank to a reef tank… almost everything he says here goes against what he tought me this weekend. -take it slow, cycle your tank before livestock -small tanks are not easy if you want good water quality -clown fish are not for nano tanks Kinda confused now, or was this just a commercial for the tank?

[@BRStv]

Great question, and you are not wrong. Small tanks, like this, aren't best for beginners. But the reality is, beginners seem to buy nano tanks a lot! This is a video just showing what is possible, trying to inspire people who are outside of the hobby. This is actually video 1/8, where we are going to do the same thing, but with bigger tanks as we go along.

[@Brentwood_aquatics]

Definitely felt like a commercial. No longer subscribed to this nonsense.

[@NinjaSushi2]

If I had a tank like that it would be my favorite tank too.

[@volteface69]

Merci pour cette vidéo 🙏 🙏🙏

[@user-lf3hy7wl3t]

Is this an ad? Because the screen shots on their webpage for the product are from the same exact room you're filming in?

[@FishDocGrl]

I usually enjoy this content but this is too close to a naked ad/informercial than actual fish keeping content.

[@DanofEarth]

literally every single one of their vids is geared to buying a product they sell, even the informative ones

[@DirtSailor5]

I don't have a problem with sponsored content from independent creators. The occasional ad mixed in with the love of the hobby isn't necessarily a bad thing. However, I do feel some kind of way about a company that buys a bunch of creators and directs and manipulates content so that all roads point to the company. The love may not be gone but it's all one big ad. I would also be willing to bet that the company is willing to drop a creator for reasons and has a thirsty lawyer on speed dial ready to pounce if necessary. I don't know what it is, I don't know anybody at the company but it's just some things feel off to me.

[@DanofEarth]

@@DirtSailor5 theyve been doing this forever. literally every single video or product spotlight is something expensive and generally uneccesary that they sell. they also push THEIR products over others when they can. Their 2 part, their reactors etc. not necessarily a bad thing as the quality of content hasn't dimished and they put a lot of effort into their experiments and tests

[@vishnunarayan1363]

good looking

[@johnb5231]

When is this Deskmate pkg going to be back in stack at BRS? Thanks.

[@NinjaSushi2]

Change the ceramic balls out to a 30 PPI sponge for beneficial bacteria growth.

[@karolpaszkowski5882]

What kind of light did you used?

[@nsb_reefs9472]

Sounds like chat GPT is on BRS pay roll now.

[@joehebert789]

Why not share the actual final cost instead of a nebulous, nonspecific reference to "a few hundred dollars"?

[@clintparsons3989]

$999.99

[@protodad1]

There is a link in the description. It’s $299 for everything except livestock.

[@joehebert789]

@@protodad1 Thanks and I appreciate everything you've done with Coldplay. 😃

[@bubblebaath7840]

Because reefkeeping is a money pit and a few hundred dollars is next to nothing if it’s still only in the hundreds, price is dependant on the socioeconomic environment and varies depending on what’s available for what price to each person

[@jauxed]

The rock itself is easy $300 😢

[@photoexplore6175]

Can i run a 15 inch cube saltwater aquarium with HOB filter??

[@thefurious69]

Isn't this a repost video from your other channel?

[@davidbright5915]

Does it not need a skimmer

[@Arnavunfiltered]

Can we add blue tang to this fish tank ??

[@jennifermcfadden8713]

We should do a live chat

[@Dave_Andre]

I live in tropical country and my house is near the beach and Ive seen a ton of clownfish on it's natural habitat. I've only seen them swim more than a feet far from its host anemone when: (1) the large female is defending its home from me, and (2) when I'm far away and they are feeding on the open column. With that being said, I dont think the tank size is a problem here (for a professional and well experienced hobbyist). What I see bad here is beginner hobbyists thinking that this would be an easy setup and be able to maintain the proper water parameter for this size of a tank especially that this video is titled "How to Set-up a Saltwater Aquarium". Plus, I've never seen a lone clownfish in the wild. She needs a partner on a slightly bigger tank of course.

[@drewlong77]

I've had multiple tanks with clownfish in them.. a 55, a 90, a 2.5 and a 14 gallon, the 90 was the only one with 2 clownfish i got as juveniles from the same clutch. They were the least happy of all the my clowns, they never paired, ended up each having their own anemone but the dominant one would still go visit just to bully. The single clowns all lived happily & healthy hosting a dinner plate sized toadstool in the 55, a xenia in the 2.5 and a nem in the 14. So, i don't think the single clown is an issue. And I'm sure the reefing advocates, experts and all around good people at BRS that work with him, would inform Mathew if it was. I am jealous though, as I've never had the pleasure of seeing clowns while swimming through reefs as you have. Although we need to keep in mind in this hobby of sustaining successful artificial environments, that the only thing we are trying to exactly replicate from the ocean, is the visual beauty and health of the animals. 😊

[@purnimasunderbabu6291]

Where have you got this

[@pierrefernandes9358]

How did he create the saltwater?

[@walkaway0440]

Wheres the protein skimmer ? And whats the ratio of salt how can we calculate it

[@Arborpress]

Protein skimmer aren't necessary in saltwater tanks, but they do help. With a tank that small, weekly water changes will suffice. You mix your salt with RO water until it's salinity (using a refracometer) reaches your desired salinity level. Most reefers shoot for 1.024 - 1.026 salinity.

[@DmSujaEntrepren]

need a update

[@drewlong77]

Good video Mathew. People just like to be critical of everything, but i asure you none of them would put themselves, content, or their tanks out there to be compared or critized. But, I think ..alot of people watch this with all brs content and don't realize who the target audience is in a video like this, and that your goal is appeal to non-reefers in a broad sense and encourage them into the hobby which bennefits everone. Having said that, I still can't help but laugh, when & how you say "..WhAT a GODsend!" In reference to the bag of bio magnet clarifier. 😂 ...seems silly to us, BUT, if it was your first ever tank,.. excited to see your reef in a box and now see a scene from the mummy & the wrath of Rah instead😮..thats how you would look at that bag.😊

[@BRStv]

Haha, love this Drew! You hit the nail on the head! -Matthew

[@gailnosbaum4980]

As much as I like the idea of this. I find it hard to think it is that easy. Especial when All the information that I have been told was you can not add corals until the tank is mature.

[@Courtney-Jai]

Think that comes down to experience I've seen reefers do it fine but if your new it's better to work through all the beginning stages

[@klazienaveen779]

Yeah this has so many problems for newbys starting this hobby. It all looks great and all, but a salt water aquarium just doesn’t start in a day with a fish and a hermit crab and like 10 pieces of coral. It takes weeks to get just to the stage of adding one fish. Shame on you Brs tv

[@reviewithme9913]

Takes a week if you use fritzyme turbo start. Relax.

[@WWJDxONxSHROOMS]

2am

[@sgboon]

WTF are you spouting?

[@juliaanderson3481]

There’s a way to say it, but she is in fact right in order for your quarrel to stay alive and be healthy for your fish. It Hass to build up the right amount of bacteria in the tank for at least a month before you add an expensive fish if you want to see if the coral is ready or not then you add may be a cheap fish so that if it dies you don’t waste a lot of money at natural coral aquarium does not just take a week or days to set up

[@pilotavery]

Or you just go to in the aquarium store that has All of the substrate, filter material, media, corals, live rocks, and everything already in a huge gigantic cycled tank being dosed with ammonia. In that case it's literally ready day one...

[@Bucksy101]

2:40 It's a JaZZ rap

[@Phaios95]

I‘m sorry for that lonely clownfish in a tank that is too small.

[@CoralReef69]

I think snails crabs and shrimp should be the only occupants for less than 10 gallons

[@thomasdirocco]

It's fine. My clowns haven't left a 8" by 8" area in my tank in over 16 years.

[@NinjaSushi2]

You must not know anything about clownfish because made you not swim at all. My two Clownfish live in a 40-gallon breeder and they never leave the safety of their anemone. That's like getting upset because somebody put a mandarin goby in a 5 gallon tank even though mandarin goby fish don't swim they just kind of threw it on the ground. There are plenty of fish that don't swim and just hang out in one spot.

[@NinjaSushi2]

@@thomasdirocco lol exactly.

[@captainwin6333]

@@NinjaSushi2 True but it's also true that the parameters shifting in a tiny tank will have a bigger effect sooner than in a larger tank.

[@edwinaabdulbaki6441]

I wish i could pay somebody to set up the saltwater aquarium for me in my house😂

[@dapoodogh]

I’m my area all those small coral prices to like 600$😂

[@sgboon]

Do we need a Protein Skimmer for this setup?

[@jauxed]

I have a 5 gallon Fluval salt water kit and I still bought a nano skimmer. Don't need but essential 😊

[@WTBMrGrey]

No you dont need, the one cup water change daily does the job of a protein skimmer 👍

[@reefrookies]

Protein skimmers are never a requirement, they are nice to have, but not required. There are very few, if any, that would work properly for a tank this size. Water changes after a good stirring would be better.

[@samhaines7644]

nano reef tanks are by NO means easy. Matter of fact, the smaller it is, the harder to keep stable water parameters. also the video did not mention to WAIT! before adding corals and fish

[@sagrath1982]

A magnetic algae scraper!? On acrylic? yeah right 😂

[@13gallonreefinging55]

Nice

[@hungrymagikarp1736]

4 gallons for a clown fish not to mention you have it on its own?

[@treyhudson73]

If you are doing a water change every day, why add freshwater as well? Surely there's "an amount" of evap, but I can't imagine that making a difference.

[@tryagain3618]

Basic science. If fresh water evaporates, the salt concentration goes up in the tank. So taking out some of that water and replacing it with premixed salt water will take out more salt than is being put back in. Within just a couple of days of this happening, the tank parameters will crash. Enjoy the science lesson.

[@squidarcherb9707]

That does add up and eventually you end up with 1.030 water which kills most animals.

[@treyhudson73]

@@squidarcherb9707 But how do you know how much to add each day?

[@RichardHodgson-wb9lk]

@@treyhudson73 I guess you only water change like for like, so for example 1ltr out, 1ltr in, each day. Top up at a different time of day so it mixes properly and always top up to a very specific line…. But still keep on testing SG intermittently too.

[@belle369]

I feel like that’s a small tank though. I don’t even keep my betta in a tank that small. 10 gallons is fine for a clownfish

[@marineecolife2781]

Is 5 gallons big enough for a clownfish. I don’t know the better but I feel like that is too small just thinking of space, not waste water dissipation

[@relled]

It's way 2 small. Clown fish actually get quite large lol

[@nickgiberson6709]

Is Matthew OK?

[@reefrookies]

This does NOT, infact, come with everything you need. This is a fun little tank for someone who is already into the hobby and has the support equipment. Also 3 gallons is not suitable space for a clownfish. Im also suspicious of the par values of the LED light being sufficient for corals. Let me list the things it does not have. What it DOES come with are quality components however and I like the product selection. Theyve upgraded the salt now to AF REEF salt due to the SEA salt not being sufficient for coral as well. >> more below. The price on the website is $299.99. You'll spend at least an additional $200-300 getting the equipment needed to actually set this tank up and run it properly and safely for your animals. 1. 4 stage RODI filtration unit for making clean 0 TDS water. 2. Test kits (ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, ph, phosphates, calcium, magnesium, and alkalinity) 3. Salinity meter/gauge/refractometer/digital pen. You must test salinity some how, it doesnt have that. 4. Any filter media at all besides the bio balls. You'll need filter media, floss, pads, or some other media to capture and remove suspended detritus. 5. An Automatic Top Off, which while not an absolute requirement, will save your bacon if you forget to top off for 2 or 3 days. Without one this is a daily hands on tank.

[@DeadTreeDropOff]

i wonder how many dislike this video has....

[@danielzhang7311]

only 3 actually

[@Lilmilshow]

WARNING: this is not for beginners!

[@rhombifer566]

🤔

[@itsyaboytrag]

where did you get the salt water?

[@reefrookies]

It comes with salt for mixing with RODI water, but does not include said RODI filter.

[@escatofago]

now he have to spend 40hrs per week filling the aquarium every day xD

[@sammielou]

i feel disappointed that this video is from brs. the tank is tiny and clownfish like to live in pairs

[@Chillfam]

Youll never get it close to ocean parameters thats why we buy captive breed fish 😅

[@DanofEarth]

was this made for children?

[@su8z3r03]

Why do I get the feeling that the superglue in the tank is not a good idea?

[@tapwaterreefguy829]

You should never put anything against a heater 😢

[@joegallagher5311]

Sounds like a robot

[@crimzton]

Four gallons is NOT big enough for one clownfish. Many people recommend 10+ gallons, 6 being the minimum. Do not get a 4.5 gallon tank for your clownfish if you want to get it. It will just end up being harder to maintain than the correct size for a clownfish. Do your research.

[@volcanoherogc6057]

This seems cruelly small for fish

[@iainaquariumagic]

I'm going to be uploading a promotion video today. Your channel will be featured on it. Hope this helps 👍🐠🐟💦

[@slayeroffakenews2432]

tell d newbies that its not dat easy. u made it sound dat its just plug & play

[@recchia1138]

I like Matt's videos (I like Thomas' product reviews as well), but this one is not very good. And isn't actually a good way to setup a tank. I wish BRS would let Matt make more content like he used to when he had his own channel or was still working for Marine Depot. Quality of videos over quantity. But I think BRS cares more for attracting new hobbyists than attracting veteran hobbyists these days, and doesn't care how long they actually stay in the hobby. And I agree, the voice sounds very stilted and unnatural.

[@martijnbeumer01]

Honestly, love your voice generally, but when you talk this way i feel like im five years old. Please use your own voice

[@anamariabechara]

It looks awesome... however this is a bit misleading... having a new tank like that it won't take a couple of hours to set up... nor a couple of 100 dollars... It is irresponsible to let people think they can keep all these animals like that...

[@mothmos]

so cheesy and so advertise-y lolz XDDD

[@patterdalezipsuzilil]

Wow are they beginners coral 🤣

[@CGKFPV]

haha sounds like AI you lol

[@DeWah]

I see you don't even like the AI helping with your sentencing

[@CGKFPV]

Wut

[@czaczaja]

Dude you're a spoof if I ever saw one..

[@miggys7]

This video had 2 different tanks smh

[@mathews2088]

Set up? More like dink $1000 into it and watch it fill with algae

[@donpatton1246]

coral are living organisms....and you're gluing them down permanently?????

[@bentley979]

First of that’s way to small for any ocean fish second of $300! Complete scam you can start a 20 gallon reef for $200!!!

[@Armaan2092]

Bro is that a fake fish come on now

[@canadianP.M.]

it’s not fake 💀💀💀

[@UnMinutoViajando]

Please. If you appreciate animal life do not add any fish to this small tank. Most people would end up making mistakes in water quality and killing their livestock.

[@BreakerInc]

This is just a giant ad.. Thanks for getting in the way of me finding actual information. Rude.

[@robing8705]

Holy cringe..

[@johnboy298]

This is BS

[@rhombifer566]

That sand will kill your fish 🐠 don’t use it!!!!!

[@-Tholos-]

Can you back this claim up with facts?