New guy lookin for tips

[Aquaman29]

About a month and a half ago I started a 10gal saltwater tank. I have little over 5lbs of live rock. I also have a turbo snail and a nassarius snail. Any tips or things to look out for?

Thanks

 

[fort384]

Tips regarding coral, or fish, or testing, or equipment, or what?

 

[Aquaman29]

Fish I'm trying to put together a decent list I know it will be short due to my tank size and testing what's the best testing equipment and what parameters need to be watched with most precaution?

 

[fort384]

I really like the Red Sea Pro test kits. They are a great balance of quality and cost.

Firstly, you need to ensure your tank is cycled. This involves testing NH4, NO2 and NO3. Depending on how good your live rock was when you added it, you may need to add a source of NH4 to get a cycle started. A cycle is complete when you have 0 NH4, 0 NO2, and detectable NO3.

Once you have the tank cycled, what you need to test depends on what you plan to keep. Are you planning to keep any coral or just FOWLR?

 

[Aquaman29]

Alright and yea I'm just planning on a FOWLR.


Here's a look at my set up as of now

 

[fort384]

Testing salinity, temp, pH, Nitrate, and phosphate ought to be more than adequate to keep a FOWLR happy. Interesting rock work. I like it.

 

[Aquaman29]

The guy at my LFS told me the that more surface area out of the substrate the better and I figured that setup would be best for that and water flow

My temp is at 74f and I have those two mini heaters is that acceptable or should I invest in a bigger heater with a temp control

 

[fort384]

You may want to get that up a bit, but it depends greatly on the fish you choose. I am by no means a fish expert when it comes to marine tanks of that size, and fish appropriate for it.

 

[Aquaman29]

Yea I understand that. I have always read that it's harder to do anything with a small saltwater tank so I figured learn what I'm doing with a small one and it'll make it easier later on when I take on a big tank and have to put a ton of money in it. Thank you for your help