Trying A SW Tank? Maybe?

[Rxblade123]

What should be the smallest tank for a SW tank? I don't think I can get another since I got a 46 Bow Front already. And I only have 1 10 gallon left to use since the other 10 gallon is planted.

 

[MarkLehr]

You can do a 10 gallon no problem. Just be very very gentle with your stocking levels. I would suggest using a Penguin BioWheel filter with a weekly 2 gallon water change. You will need to replace evaporation almost daily. This can just be straight tap water, as the amount will be very small. You will want to monitor Nitrates on a weekly basis, best to test immediately BEFORE your water change. If Nitraes climb above 40ppm you will want to do a 50% water change for that week. This will probably only occur a couple of times per year if you do your weekly 2 gallon water changes.

A protein skimmer is not needed on such a small tank. The main use of a skimmer is to keep Nitrate levels from climbing. But your water changes are so small in quantity that it just isn't cost effective to buy a skimmer.

Possible fish selections:
1 Coral Beauty Angel & 1 Perc Clown (Nemo) or
2 Perc Clowns or
1 Sharpnose Puffer & 1 Perc Clown or Six Line Wrasse.
3 possible options. Don't mix & match!

You just can't do anything from the Large Angels family ( Holocanthus ), no Tangs, no Triggers, no Puffers (other than listed), no Wrasse. Basically no fish other than what i listed above. There are a few which may work by size, but they are more difficult to keep and are best to avoid for now. (i.e Royal Gramma, Manderine Goby, Damsels, Chromis, Blenny's.) I understand there are possibly other options, but I am trying to give fool proof advice for a 10 gallon newby tank!

 

[Rxblade123]

Oooh Nemo's lol. Only 2 Nemo's though? That sucks lol. So where can I find the info I need to start everything? Btw think a small coral or something would fit or something?

 

[Rxblade123]

or whatever it is. I don't know anything bout SW Tanks

 

[loganj]

I would suggest picking up a copy of "The Conscientious Marine Aquarist" by Robert Fenner before you go any further. I've had a 10 nano and they aren't the easiest tanks to keep up. Once you get it established though, it's not too bad. You'll have to top off water every day, because if you have enough flow, evap will be significant. You'll also need to change water every week. I would not use tap water though. With a tank this size, you can buy RO or distilled water without breaking the bank. I would use LR instead of an HOB filter unless you are looking to have a FO tank. You could have a couple of corals in the tank depending on what kind of lighting you installed...regular fluorescents won't get it. I'm pretty conservative on stocking levels and I'd say a 10g with one clown is fully stocked. JMHO.

 

[RocketSeason]

I would not suggest a 10 gallon for your first SW tank. extreamly difficult to keep stable. And I dont thing that you could really put more than 2 very small fish in there. ( 2 perc clowns, or 2 chromis, or 2 damsels.) So your overall satisfaction will be quite low.

If you do however decide that a 10 gallon is right for you, a good sized HOB filter is a must. along with a nice skimmer. You could try the LR method, but IMO a small tank needs more filtration than large ones because they are more likely to get overstocked and more likely to have problems.

I would suggest at the very least a 29 gallon, but a 55 gallon would be much much better. If you can't afford the 55 gallon with its stand and hood (approx. 300 bucks) then I would wait off on SW. The cost can quickly turn this from a fun hobby to a heavy finacial burden. Most systems will run between 1000 to 2000 dollars to get off of the ground. (I am at 1500 bucks right now for my 37 gallon and I still have a long way to go.)

if your really in a pinch finacially, I would say that waiting off on buying a SW tank is your best bet. In the mean time you could buy books, hang out here, and just research everything you can. by the time your ready to start, you will know exactally what you want.

 

[lando]

I would not suggest starting with a small tank for the reasons above. Stocking has to be very light. I d disagree with the coral beauty suggested by Mark. This fish requires at least a 30 gal. tank with lots of LR for grazing. A 10 gal. is way too small for any darf angel. Buy as big as you can afford right now. You will not be sorry. In a few months you will be wishing you had a bigger tank.

 

[Rxblade123]

If I am even sucessful with the tank then I will be very satisfied. Btw what is LR? Live rock I know, but im not really sure about this stuff. 55 gall with stand and hood would cost about 500. Lol 1000 bucks on a tank would drive my mom crazy. Btw if the fish wouldn't work could I have inverts.?

 

[MarkLehr]

Every comment above is worth taking to heart. (Except the small disagreement Lando had with my Coral Beauty suggestion, which is of course just silly to disagree with me )

Obviously you understand that a 10 gallon is more difficult, has very limited capacity for stocking levels, and requires almost daily maintainance. However, they can be done and can be enjoyable and are definately a way to get your feet wet inexpensively. If you have no other options, I say go for it.

You need to decide upfront what your interest is in SW. If you are a fish-only person, then the cost is much much cheaper than mentioned in posts above. If you are an invert or reef guy, then be prepared to fork out some serious cash!

 

[Jchillin]

If finances won't allow a larger tank...just go with FW for now. You just won't be able to stock the tank with any significant numbers with that size.

 

[lando]

Mark, not to hijack this thread, but Many here will agree with me in that a 10 or 12 gal. tank is far to small for any dwarf angel. The fact that you have done this successfully makes you the exception, not the rule. I by no means am discounting your experience in this hobby. Someone 20 years into it surely knows the difference between providing a habbitate for a fish to survive in vs. one for them to thrive in.

 

[Rxblade123]

I personally like the whole natural look, but I can go any way. Invert, Reef, Fish only, Wouldn't really matter except that I am sucessful with a SW tank. I've always wanted to take a try at them, but looking at the prices of the fish I dared not to try because I thought they would just die. Right now I'm undecided about the SW tank. I have one side telling me I can try it, but it will be hard work. And the other side says I should go with a bigger tank. What I think is, the more effort you put in, the happier you'll be when you finally see you have succeeded just my opinion. I'm going to see what other posts are given before I make the decision, have to take in every comment so I don't fail XD

 

[RocketSeason]

How much Fresh water experence do you have???

 

[MarkLehr]

A final dwarft angel comment, and I will let this go. I want to be certain that my comment was not perceived to suggest than any Centropyge angel can live in a small tank. I would only consider the C. bispinosis (Coral Beauty) for this option, only because I consider this to be the Zebra Danio of saltwater tanks. Meaning that this species is unbelievably hardy and mild mannered. Most of your Centropyge genus have some serious dietary issues which can be difficult to meet unless there is adequate algae to graze on. Ok, end of this debate, not trying to steal the thread. Lando's side of this debate is obviously the safest choice anyhow.

Rxblade, don't get discouraged by our debate and opinions! There are many many ways to approach this hobby. The fact that you have so many options should be encouraging, because clearly we have several hobbyists whom have had success using many different techniques!

 

[Rxblade123]

I want to hear all the techniques then find me out a way that works for me . RocketSeason I have read lots of info on many fishes in FW, but I don't have experience with more than half of them since, my tank wouldn't be able to hold them, or I couldn't find any at the LFS. I have fish for over 4-5 years. The main tank I have now has been running for 3 years and maybe a little bit more.

 

[Wolf]

:? Dwarf angels CAN live in a small tank but it doesn't mean they'll live long or thrive in it. If you do go with a nano tank small damsels, clowns, chromis, blennies, shrimp gobies, and neon gobies are nice. Royal Gramma are nice hardy fish but I'm pretty sure they would need more room. SW is fun!

 

[Rxblade123]

Can anybody name some sites I can look at to find info for a SW tank?

 

[Wolf]

Aquarimadvice.com

 

[Wolf]

Saltwater aquariums for dummies

 

[melissa1977]

[edit] I found the info that I was looking for ...