HELP deciding tank size. 10g?

[JennaSimpson]

Okay I really want a saltwater tank . Something small not more than 10 g . Suggestions ? Experiences ? Level of difficultly ? Price range ?

 

[dskidmore]

10 g is not much for saltwater. You could have one small fish, some snails, and a shrimp. You could have a much nicer setup in freshwater for the same price, and be able to have more fish.

Saltwater also requires more dilligence in maintenance. You have to top off evaporation with distilled or RO/DI water daily, and when you do water changes you need to premix and preheat your saltwater, test the salinity, etc.

I would not bother with a 10g saltwater tank unless I had a bigger one, and was using the old tank water for the water changes in my little one, to buffer any mistakes I made, which can be much larger in scale on a small tank.

 

[JennaSimpson]

What about one of those nano tanks ?

 

[dskidmore]

10 gallons is nano in the saltwater world.

 

[Dylan5359]

Up to 20 gallons is considered a nano. Yes, in a ten gallon your limited to maybe one fish, and inverts. Anything smaller, you can only keep inverts.

 

[JennaSimpson]

All I would want is a goby , live rock with creatures maybe a hermit

 

[JennaSimpson]

How do people with no experience learn how to do a sw tank?

 

[Dylan5359]

Depending on the type of goby, a ten gallon is probably suitable.

RESEARCH! AA, and of course your own experience.

 

[dskidmore]

How do people with no experience learn how to do a sw tank?

Read. There are lots of articles on this site, and your local large bookstore may have a good reference to read through. Most freshwater skills transfer over to saltwater, there is just less room for error because salt/evaporation matters, and the water holds less oxygen than fresh.

 

[iDream]

You could set up a reef 10G for around $200

This is the tank I have, came with everything for a reef besides a heater and test kits (the 14G model): Oceanic BioCube Aquariums - BioCube Aquarium Systems and Fish Tanks from PETCO.com

 

[reefed]

The first saltwater tank I setup was a 10 gallon nano. It's still running and a great setup. Water changes are quick and easy, sure you have to premix the water and use ro filter or the tap treatment but the xoanthids kept in there are really cool along with my false perc clown Cartman.

You need tank, light, bio wheel filter, live sand, live rock, some salt and water treatment. You can find the whole load for $200ish. Can often find some stuff cheaper on craigslist but don't cut corners, learn what is involved in running it and setting it up etc. Good luck and keep us posted.

 

[JennaSimpson]

Thanks so much for the info ! I'm really getting excited because I feel like it's something I can accomplish . I'm gonna pick up a book on sw setups and I'll post questions as I read . Thanks again guys !

 

[JennaSimpson]

Can any turn any tank into a sw tank ?

 

[JennaSimpson]

I have an empty 45 hex that needs some cosmetic work but it's a solid

 

[dskidmore]

In a nano tank you will be keeping mostly invertibrates, which are senstive to copper. As long as no copper treatments were used in the freshwater tank, you can reuse it for saltwater. You can probably use the same filter and heater too, but might consider changing lights depending on what you will be keeping.

Start your stock wishlist in advance, as it may affect your selection of lighting and substrate.

 

[JennaSimpson]

So you can choose the same filter ? I didn't know that I thought salt w had a special kind . The tanks very clean and sturdy I just don't like the look of the wood :/

 

[JennaSimpson]

I thought about the empty hex because I read somewhere that the larger the easier to keep in sw world . Is this true ? And is a hex an ok shape of a tank for sw fish ? I know tall isn't always better

 

[atte]

Hex aquariums aren't very common in sw but technically you can use anything. You read correctly - having a large tank is easier because slight changes and small mistakes do not have as large of an effect. If you have a HOB power filter you can use that for sw.

 

[Mr. Crabs]

Not sure if this was mentioned but you might want to check your local Petco.....most of them are running a $1 a gallon tank sale. A good size for a good price is a 29 gallon tank. You can do a lot with it. The smaller the tank, the less forgiveness you have in error. It really is a common thought to buy small as a beginner, but turns out to bring discouragment if/when things don't go as planned.

 

[GsxrD]

I was at petsmart today and they had the 29g biocube for 249. Which is pretty good cause it comes with everything minus the stand