thinkin of starting in a 10g

[sin]

right now ive got an african cichilid in a 10 with some fake plants.well once this one has gone i want to try my hand at saltwater.i was always told that i couldent have saltwater in small tanks but ive seen lots of pics of saltwater stuff surviing just fine in a 10g.thats what i want to do.well ultimatly i want to have my 75g full of saltwater and corals and fish ant all that good stuff but untill ive had a dose of saltwater i dont want to try anyhting that big.

first thjis is is there anyhting i need to know about setting up a saltwater 10g aquarium?

what kind of stuff can live in it? fish and coral wise.ive always loved the way corals look so i want that to be the main attraction of my tank.i really want an anenome (sp) because those are the most beautiful things in my opinion.i want at least 2 fish to live in it too though.i was thinking maybe a clown fish an engineer goby and maybe somehting else?


i need to know though...right now i have the filter and hte light it came with though.i dont mind buying new ones but i would need to know what i need to get where and how muhc its gonna cost.also what other stuff would i need to buy?rocks?sand?heater? any of that stuff?

sorry it was so long ive never ran a saltwater aquarium and im quite excited XD

[erikharrison]

http://www.nvreefers.org/community/a...d9e4a1239fba43

[Janus]

First off welcome to maast!!!!

I love that article eric linked it has alot of great points to ponder.

We have a 10 in our bedroom that we have been running for about a year now with great success. To be quite honest bigger is always better, but you can do a lot of great things with smaller systems. Smaller tanks allow you to get much more up close and personal with the life you have inside. Something to keep in mind as well is water quality is always a concern with a smaller tank just due to there being less volume to try to balance.

For filtration you can really use any method you would like, I have thought about doing a smalle drilled 10 with a sump in the future. On our 10 gallon we have a single Emperor 280 Hang on back filter that works just fine. When picking a filter for a nano size tank a good rule of thumb is to buy a filter made for a larger tank(ours is rated for a 30 gallon).

Stocking: Now here is where smaller tanks do have a bit of a problem
Being that there is very little water volume you are a little limited in what you can stock in your tank. Our 10 gallon right now has 3 fish in it, a clownfish,a damsel, and an engineer goby. Honestly this is WAAAAY too much for our little system and we are in the process of setting up a 20 to move some of the livestock into. Engineer gobies are great fish, I love them alot, but they grow FAST. Our little guy has grown almost an inch in just the 2 months we have had him. I would say keep a single smaller fish at first just to get used to the maintanince a saltwater tank needs, possibly a smaller goby or clown. There are ways that you can stock a tank a little more than its "limit"...larger filter,protein skimmers, and my own personal choice frequent small water changes.

As far as corals most 10 gallons are considerably shorter than the "average" reef tank, so you will not need nearly as much light to keep most soft corals alive. We use 65 watts of power compact lighting over our 10 and have loads of mushrooms and zoas thriving in it. Anemones are going to need a little more light than most soft corals. I have been sucessful at keeping our anemone alive and well under power compact lighting but, they are much happier with more intense lightin like t5's or metal halides .

There is really alot that you can do with a smaller tank you just need to have a little patience and planning.

[sin]

thanks really infromative!both of you!

about the filter i was talking to my dad the other day and he works at a fish store (not sure of the name)somewhere up in lubbock and hes going to mail me a filter i think he said it was for a 55g tank

[mathias]

people with 10 gallons have had good luck with bio wheels but in canister filters after time will make your nitrates go through the roof.....


with setting up a saltwater tank PATIENCE is the toughest thing to deal with....

I would put a single piece of live rock in the tank with a bio wheel also some pc lights or t5s for about 6 hours a day and then let it sit for about a month.....


you will get your first algea bloom then I would get a small clean up crew then 2 months later Is when I would add fish and coral....

depending on fish you get you can get them a lot earlier but for me better results come with waiting till your first big algea problem is taken care of....


also if money might be a issue personally I would do a fish only with live rock tank.... no need to worry about expensive lights... and then you could do a eel and some trigger fish once you get a bigger tank...

if you love chiclid tanks these type of fish are so much cooler....

[sin]

yea i really like the corals and whatnot though money wont really be an issue byt he time im ready to start the tank