Newbie to SW, would like info on starting a nano tank

[Tropical]

So basically, I've never delt with saltwater. I think it would be awesome to set up a 10 gallon nano tank with a clownfish as the main piece. Is that possible? What would I need for this?

 

[thominil]

Depends on what you would want in there, sand rock, etc.... all of which is optional. The only things you really NEED to have is a source of biological filtration, heater, thermometer, source of light, source of constant water movement, and saltwater for water changes. Give us ideas on what you want to to whether it be a reef, fish only, or fish only with live rock (fowlr) so we can give you some ideas of what you will need.

 

[Tropical]

I'm not quite sure. I think reef would be beyond me (and my wallet), what about live rock? Does it take a lot of care?

 

[thominil]

Not really, you can use mostly base rock which is just dead live rock and a whole lot cheaper than live (use 9-10lbs.) and some live rock (1-2lbs.)to seed the base rock with bacteria, hitchhikers, and algae. Make sure you place some of the base rock on the glass and pour your sand around it to avoid slippage if something burrows under the rock. You can then toss some sand into the areas with visible glass under the rock. Base rock won't look pretty at first, but after a few months it will start to color up. With rock, once it goes in, you really don't need to do anything besides keep it clean which powerheads will do most of the job for you. With rock, you also lose the need for a filter since rock will house tons of bacteria on its surface. Hope this helps.

 

[Tropical]

Wow, that was helpful. If I wanted to do FOWLR, starting with dead rock, what would I need?

 

[thominil]

Well, a couple powerheads with a total flow of about 300-400gph try Maxi-Jet, a filter would work, just not as good. a 50w Heater, thermometer 10-15lbs of dry aragonite sand (skip the "live" stuff, waste of money), a bag of salt (Instant Ocean is not a bad place to start), a test kit with pH, ammonia, nitrate, and nitrite, and a few buckets to mix water in and do water changes with. I may be missing something, but this pretty much covers most of it. A single tube cheap flouescent light that comes with most tanks is fine by the way.

 

[Tropical]

Wow, thanks for the info.

 

[joy13]

Get a refractometer to measure SG.