10 gallon setup (saltwater newbie)

[T-Rexx]

I want a saltwater tank. Depending on what response you offer will vary when exactly though.. My biggest concern is, are nano tanks (in my case a 10 gallon tank) more difficult to have rather than a larger tank? and why?

 

[sam24]

Well it all depeneds. Are you looking to set up a Reef or Just a FOWLR (Fish Only with Live Rock) tank? If you are looking to do a FOWLR set up, it will be lest challenging and less money. A reef would require a light that can grow corals while a FOWLR set-up would not. And as of the clownfish, you might not want to get one. They prefer a larger aquarium (20 gal) but many people keep them and when they get too big exchange them at their LFS.
So, where to begin. If you want to do a reef, I would recomend visiting this web site http://www.nano-reef.com/ it has a lot of great articles on keeping nano-reefs.
Also, make sure you do plenty of research. Starting off you will make mistakes and knowing how to fix them is where your reaserch will really come in handy. The internet is a great tool.
Any other questions, dont hesitate to ask.
There is a lot of great info here

 

[Pufferlove]

Yes nano tanks are generally harder to keep then larger tanks because of the changes that can happen so rapidly in a 10 gallon you just need to be dedicated and keep up with your water changes it is definitly Possible here are some pics of my 10 gallon tank

 

[T-Rexx]

Well it all depeneds. Are you looking to set up a Reef or Just a FOWLR (Fish Only with Live Rock) tank? If you are looking to do a FOWLR set up, it will be lest challenging and less money. A reef would require a light that can grow corals while a FOWLR set-up would not. And as of the clownfish, you might not want to get one. They prefer a larger aquarium (20 gal) but many people keep them and when they get too big exchange them at their LFS.
So, where to begin. If you want to do a reef, I would recomend visiting this web site http://www.nano-reef.com/ it has a lot of great articles on keeping nano-reefs.
Also, make sure you do plenty of research. Starting off you will make mistakes and knowing how to fix them is where your reaserch will really come in handy. The internet is a great tool.
Any other questions, dont hesitate to ask.
There is a lot of great info here

Thanks! I will go check out that website when I get a chance! I've already been looking at different light fixtures! I was hoping to have a reef set up! They're SO BEAUTIFUL!!!!!! So, if you don't suggest a clown fish which fish would be suitable for a 10 gallon? I wouldn't like to cram a fish in a small tank if it wouldn't be happy.

 

[sam24]

Yes a good fish would be a firefish. they are very nice fish. Also maybe a goby or some sort of Cardinal. I would say you could get away with a clown but i would recommend getting more experience in the hobby before or at least do a lot of research

 

[T-Rexx]

Yes nano tanks are generally harder to keep then larger tanks because of the changes that can happen so rapidly in a 10 gallon you just need to be dedicated and keep up with your water changes it is definitly Possible here are some pics of my 10 gallon tank

oh okay. Im usually really good about water changes with my 60 gallon tank. so thats good i suppose! how often do you change the water? weekly right? i dont know if its different with a salt water tank. & i hear you have to change the water with distilled and RO? idk what that means but you dont use tap? What do you have to do when you change a 10 gallon tank?

 

[Pryzz]

Weekly is fine. Most people make their own salt water using ro-di ( reverse ozmoses de ironizer ) because tap water can have things like chlorine and dissolved solids which can lead to algae blooms.

 

[Beengirl]

I wouldn't do a cardinal in a 10g. They can get like 3", a little big for that size tank. Firefish would be good, there's some small gobies, dart fish, some jawfish. You really could only have 2 fish in a 10g and some snails and maybe couple small shrimp. Go to the nano SW fish section on liveaquaria.com and there's a list of fish that would be ok in a 10g.

 

[sam24]

I would strongly reccomend using an RO unit as your water supply. It doesnt even have to be "dedicated" to your tank. You can get one installed near your sink and use it as a drinking water too. They make models that do that.

 

[Huffers]

Others may get on to me about this but it's what I've always done in my 10 gallon reef and it's worked great for me...... I just by natural seawater to use for water changes and use distilled water (bought in regular Walmart gallon jugs) for my top-offs.

I also wouldn't necessarily rule out being able to keep a clownfish. If your able to find a mis-bar percula, they stay smaller than 3 inches and mine has done extremely well in my 10 gallon reef tank.

 

[Bearchumjs]

Firefish are known jumpers. So make sure if you get one you have a lid.

I am cycling a 5 gal pico reef. The fish I'm getting is a citrine goby (aka clown goby). They like to perch on things. Of course that's all the fish I can get. I will be getting some hermit crabs, a Pom pom crab, and some shrimp. Then the rest is going to be corals. I've attached a pic of my cycling tank, and one of the citrine goby I have been looking at getting. Neon gobies would work well in a 10 gal too. Live aquaria has a section called nano fish that you could look at.