First time 10g

[blueramboy87]

So I have a ten gallon that was going to brackish. After seeing how there really isn't much to go in it I thought why not just saltwater. For a tank that size do I really only need a power head in addition to the normal hardware? Would I be able to keep a clownfish and some kind of goby? So my question is is it really worth it to try this out? I don't want to spend hours researching only to find it would be a horrible first saltwater experience. I have experience in freshwater and if I was to do this, it would be limited to ten gallons. Thanks for the input!

 

[CCXGT]

I'm doing exactly what you're talking about.

Had a spare 10G, wanted a Clownfish, got one, wanted corals, got some...

It's REALLY not as hard as people make it out to be.

It REALLY is as expensive though...


I think I spent around £250 on just the initial setup.

If you've got the time and money, I say go for it.


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[blueramboy87]

What cost the most money? For a small tank it sounds like there really isn't much different from freshwater except for salt I guess.

 

[BigRedsReefs10]

Lighting and ro/di water are the biggest expenses compared to fw


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[blueramboy87]

I don't plan on doing corals and would just keep it FOWLR. Would the costs be too bad for that?

 

[Sniperhank]

FOWLR tanks basically are just like freshwater. The only difference is like was already said, wanting to use ro/di water to keep nitrates down. There isn't really a ball of moss that will help control them like in freshwater tanks and the algae growth can easily get out of control.

 

[blueramboy87]

How is maintenance on FOWLR? Would the majority just be like fw?

 

[Sniperhank]

10% weekly water changes. It's exactly like freshwater.

 

[blueramboy87]

I'd always thought a ten gallon would be a ton of work but as I research more and more it is identical to fw like you said. Is there some sort of catch to a nano fowlr?

 

[Sniperhank]

Long as weekly water changes are kept going it should be fine as long as you stock appropriately. There aren't too many nano fish to choose from. Everyone wants a huge tang or something else that just won't be able to survive in a small tank. People tend to forget that some of these fish get huge or travel huge distances in the oceans and seas...compared to freshwater sources which can be much smaller.

 

[bribo12]

Yes like hank said you can really only have 1-2 small fish in that size tank. IMO the inverts are the star of the show in small tanks like a 10. Look into some interesting shrimp, urchins, crabs etc


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[CCXGT]

As already said, for a FOWLR, you're basically just running a FW tank that you add salt to.

My biggest costs were the Lights and Powerhead.

Both of which don't need to be fancy on a FOWLR.


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[blueramboy87]

Well as long as I can convince my parents, I plan on making this happen. Any articles you recommend reading up on first?

 

[CCXGT]

Well as long as I can convince my parents, I plan on making this happen. Any articles you recommend reading up on first?

I pretty much read the entirety of MrSaltwaterTank.com when I got started.

I know Mark also has a range of books for pretty much anything you'd need to know.


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