SW Noobie... looking for ideas and suggestions

[JDogg]

ok i have been keeping freshwater tanks for a while, though i do not consider myself an "expert" i have had decent success (knock on wood).

i find myself with an empty 10 gal, i have been asking for suggestions in the freshwater section and have got some interesting ones. this morning however my wife suggested trying instead to do a small SW setup in this tank...

i have never tried SW before, but have always said some day i would like to try...

the tank in my classroom at school, so "school friendly" inhabitants are a must.
it is a 10 gal, i have a heater (of course) a hob filter and a 15 watt t-8 fluorescent hood. i would of cource take out the gravel and replace it with a crush coral or similar carbonate substrate...
what other equipment would i need? (i have read a little on sw but still do not completely know what i need) for this small tank i assume my HOB would act as a refuge of sorts (is this correct) would i also need a skimmer?

as far as stocking i would like some LR (of cource) just 2-3 fish and maybe some cool inverts i.e. snails, shrimp... suggestions are greatly encouraged

i am by no means rich, but i see the benefits of a small SW tank in the classroom so i want to do it right the first time. (i already have a 20 long african clawed frog tank and a 45 gal african cichlid tank in the room)

thanks in advance
JDogg

 

[Hara]

The bigger issue is stability..the smaller tanks are very sensitive to water chemistry changes. The general rule of thumb is the bigger the better for the first go round with saltwater. That being said...what you propose to do, can be done. Just with alot of care to detail. The lighting would not be sufficient for much in the way of corals, but the tank itself would be interesting as an invert tank and then light would not be an issue. maybe one small fish or so could be added.

 

[roka64]

The bigger issue is stability..the smaller tanks are very sensitive to water chemistry changes. The general rule of thumb is the bigger the better for the first go round with saltwater. That being said...what you propose to do, can be done. Just with alot of care to detail. The lighting would not be sufficient for much in the way of corals, but the tank itself would be interesting as an invert tank and then light would not be an issue. maybe one small fish or so could be added.

Very sound advice. Check out liveaquaria.com for the nano fish, to get some ideas....

 

[JDogg]

The bigger issue is stability..the smaller tanks are very sensitive to water chemistry changes. The general rule of thumb is the bigger the better for the first go round with saltwater. That being said...what you propose to do, can be done. Just with allot of care to detail. The lighting would not be sufficient for much in the way of corals, but the tank itself would be interesting as an invert tank and then light would not be an issue. Maybe one small fish or so could be added.

I understand the water chem issue, and I am not afraid of testing and pwc.
What would you suggest for lighting to keep (average) coral happy?
Or
If I do not worry about coral and just do inverts with a fish or so what might be good inhabitants?

LR (correct me if I’m wrong) is just carbonate rock that is full of bacteria and sometime inverts, not coral right. if so i would be happy with that. I realize I might get hitchhikers... :?

Fish I like from liveaquaria.com
-Amphiprion ocellaris would they need or do better with some kind of anemone?
-Nemateleotris helfrichi
-Cryptocentrus cinctus

Some inverts that caught my eye…
-Peppermint Shrimp
- Banded Coral Shrimp
- Hawaiian Feather Duster
- Zebra Turbo Snail

I suppose I would not be able to get away with just using tap water ( PH is 8.0, KH and GH are VERY high, ammonia/nitrite/nitrate are zero and phosphates are 0.5) I do not know if at this point I can justify a RO/DI unit for a 10 gal (so would I be ok using bottled distilled water?) I would of course add salt to whatever water I use.

 

[roka64]

LR (correct me if I’m wrong) is just carbonate rock that is full of bacteria and sometime inverts, not coral right. if so i would be happy with that. I realize I might get hitchhikers...

Fully cured LR, yes.
I think a 10G might be too small for an anemone. They need a well established tank anywhere fro 6-12 months. No, clowns will/can host lots of stuff, from phs to sand to other corals. Plus that clown would be happy in a 20G tank minimum.
I like these, from live aquaria.com
http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/scateg.cfm?pCatId=1852
team them up with a pistol shrimp.
There are folks the premix their water with distilled and have had success.

 

[JDogg]

LR (correct me if I’m wrong) is just carbonate rock that is full of bacteria and sometime inverts, not coral right. if so i would be happy with that. I realize I might get hitchhikers...

Fully cured LR, yes.
I think a 10G might be too small for an anemone. They need a well established tank anywhere fro 6-12 months. No, clowns will/can host lots of stuff, from phs to sand to other corals. Plus that clown would be happy in a 20G tank minimum.
I like these, from live aquaria.com
http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/scateg.cfm?pCatId=1852
team them up with a pistol shrimp.

i do think gobies are cool

There are folks the premix their water with distilled and have had success.

premix their tap water with distilled?

 

[Devilishturtles]

I think roka means to use distilled water to premix their saltwater. Ideally, you'll probably have less issues with algae using distilled water. I use tap water and skim, with no problems. I think if you wish to go with tap water, I'd get a nano skimmer. If you use distilled, a skimmer would still be ideal, but not as badly needed.

Peppermint shrimp are really cool, get two of them if you get any. I would not get the coral banded shrimp for a 10 gallon, and defnitely not with the peppermint shrimp. They are sort of agressive.

About equipment, HOB filters usually collect lots of gunk, and therefore create nitrate. The ideal situation in my opinion, would be a skimmer and two powerheads for flow. No filters at all.

About your lighting, if you wanted to keep any I would upgrade. You can have a pretty cool tank though with just inverts.

HTH

 

[Devilishturtles]

Did you happen to look at the price for the Helfrichi Firefish? Hehe. They are a rare one...may not be suited for your school tank.

 

[JDogg]

I think roka means to use distilled water to premix their saltwater.

that is what i thought, but wanted to check

Peppermint shrimp are really cool, get two of them if you get any. I would not get the coral banded shrimp for a 10 gallon, and defnitely not with the peppermint shrimp. They are sort of agressive.

good to know, 2 peppemints it will be

About equipment, HOB filters usually collect lots of gunk, and therefore create nitrate. The ideal situation in my opinion, would be a skimmer and two powerheads for flow. No filters at all.

good to know will look at nano skimmers next time i am at the lfs

About your lighting, if you wanted to keep any I would upgrade. You can have a pretty cool tank though with just inverts.

ok i think i will just go inverts...that should be cool. would i still need to upgrade lights? if so what kind of light, type/wattage? K ratting? would be good?

HTH

yes it does

EDIT:

Did you happen to look at the price for the Helfrichi Firefish? Hehe. They are a rare one...may not be suited for your school tank.

no i am just looking at the pretty pics at this point i will worry about $$ and availability later 8)
THANKS!

 

[Hara]

If you take your own containers, most walmarts and some grocery stores have ro water for sale very cheap by the gallon.

 

[JDogg]

If you take your own containers, most walmarts and some grocery stores have ro water for sale very cheap by the gallon.

yeap i knew that but thanks for the heads up just the same

 

[afishyonados]

An incandescent hood can be fitted with screw mogul power compacts that are designed for this purpose. You would have the quivalent of five watts worth of lumens or more per gallon. Most corals require three to five. Cheap and functional for lots of softies and large polyp stonies.

Temperature will be the biggest issue for the fish. Insulate the tank bottom and any sides you will not be viewing from.

 

[JDogg]

Temperature will be the biggest issue for the fish. Insulate the tank bottom and any sides you will not be viewing from.

really? what kind of temp should i be aiming for?

 

[afishyonados]

Stable.
76-80 is acceptable, but no more than a degree or two a day fluctuation.

 

[JDogg]

Stable.
76-80 is acceptable, but no more than a degree or two a day fluctuation.

the heater i have in it now has always been a good one, but i could derinatly try and insulate the back and sides, how would you suggest doing that? would a layer of the pink styrofoam stuff be good?

 

[afishyonados]

I think not. Pink. How about the blue R-5 board they put under vinyl siding, it comes in blue!

 

[JDogg]

I think not. Pink. How about the blue R-5 board they put under vinyl siding, it comes in blue!

yea ok, maybe i like pink hahahaha i just know i have some of the pink stuff laying around 8) reduce re-use and recycle

 

[Sadielynn]

yea ok, maybe i like pink hahahaha i just know i have some of the pink stuff laying around reduce re-use and recycle

and it matches the coraline growth

 

[JDogg]

yea ok, maybe i like pink hahahaha i just know i have some of the pink stuff laying around reduce re-use and recycle

and it matches the coraline growth

8)

 

[JDogg]

well i have two lfs i frequent one in the town i which i live, and one in the town in which i work....

i stoped by the lfs in my town tonight on my way home. i wanted to ask the owner her opinion on my nano idea... 75% of her tanks are FW, but of the 10 or so SW tank she has most of them are 10 gal, with live rock and inverts (she really does not have many SW fish...) we she knows me rather well, as like most of you (i'm sure) i spend allot of time there, and i usually spend allot of time talking to her.

we talked about what kind of tank i am thinking of setting up and all that.

she thinks i can do it, so i think i will try...

her big suggestions were to get plenty of LR and not to overstock (which should not be a problem, i do not like my tanks to be crowded in general...

so friday i will stop by the other lfs (since the tank is at school, the other store is more convenient) i will use bottled distilled water, and instant ocean (unless someone can suggest a better product)

is it ok to add LR at the same time or should i let the water regulate over the weekend?