SW newbie looking for info on 10 gal FOWLR

[newfound77951]

I've kept FW tanks for a long time, and am a regular poster in the FW forums....but now kinda have the itch to do a SW tank (you gotta love MTS). This all started when I acquired a 15 watt fluorescent strip for a 10 gallon tank....and started thinking what I could put UNDER that strip (how's that for convoluted thinking).

I'm considering doing a 10 gallon fish and live rock (not reef) tank....I posted this in the nano forum too but haven't received too many responses yet. Again, I'm a relative newbie to SW but I've been doing some research. (Oh, and I'm an oceanographer so I have a pretty good handle on water chemistry). What would i need for a basic setup for some LR, some hermits, maybe a shrimp, and 1 or 2 small, hardy fish (damsel or goby maybe). How much live sand/rock? What type of filter? Do I need a skimmer? Powerhead? How big? What additives would I need to add to the water to keep everyone happy, or is that just a reef thing? (I'm a FW planted person so I'm used to adding nutrients and stuff to my tanks to prevent deficiencies).

I'd love to hear from folks who've set up a tank in this size range, what worked and what didn't. I'm also looking to keep this relatively inexpensive, but I'll get what I have to get.

Thanks!

[Devilishturtles]

How much live sand/rock?

You wanna shoot for around 1-2 lbs per gallon. So 10 to 15 pounds of each.

What type of filter? Do I need a skimmer? Powerhead? How big?

With FOWLR a simple AC HOB will work fine. You can even turn it into a DIY fuge (which I'm currently working on for my 29 gallon). If you do a google search for 'AC 500 Fuge' and you'll come up with alot of hits. No skimmer really needed, although they are always good. Finding one suitable for a 10 gallon will be hard. There are some out there, but they are reportedly not very good. A powerhead is a definite. I'd shoot for 1-2 small ones in that tank for nice flow.

What additives would I need to add to the water to keep everyone happy, or is that just a reef thing?

Even with reef you don't need many additives. With FOWLR you need none. Salt will buffer your water to all the neccesary parameters including pH and calcium, and all the neccesary traces.


As far as my exerience, I HAD a 10 gallon setup with 1 AC (I forget the number) powerhead, AC 500 fuge with surgace skimmer, and about 8 lbs liverock, 10 lbs regular play sand. I never got to stock the tank with anything but inverts. As far as fish I would go with gobies and scratch the damsels. They like buddies and get a little too large for a 10 gallon, IMO.

HTH, and don't forget the pics.