10g Saltwater Tank Set Up

[Aquatic_Adam]

I'll look into the high light bulbs, but specifically cardinals, I want one or two and then some shrimp, stars, and the such, would that work?

That royal gramma fish is very pretty but the banghai cardinals would be my first choice

I'm sure there are low light corals that can be found for your tank. Are you using stack lighting but just replacing the bulbs? I just done know if Anemones will be able to survive in your tank though.

Usually people do at least two T5-HOs with one being Acintic Blue and the being 6500K like what you have.

I've never kept Bengali Cardinalfish so I may not be the best reference for them. As far as I've read it says 30g minimum. That's not saying it can't be done in a 10g. I'm not sure how active a singular one would be.

 

[msmonikatou]

If you are going to to have a fish only tank with live rock and some shrimp and snails then the light bulbs that they sell at Petco will be fine. If you want corals or anemones then you will need a stronger lighting system, much stronger than the ones that Petco carries. A good website visit is www.liveaquaria.com.
Check out their nano fish section for a list of compatible fish for your 10 gallon(there really aren't that many). You can also do a search on this site with 10 gallon nano as the subject to find a ton of information on how to go about setting up a successful tank. That is how I got started with mine back in May and everything has been going well so far. Good luck!

 

[alia258]

Oh wow thank you!!! That'll be useful ^^

 

[alia258]

If I just had those three to pick from I'd want the left and right ones but not the middle ones. Do you think I can get them cheaper at a local store? I am still considering the cardinal though, because only one may or may not work. Now that I have my ideas of fish down to four (fourth being that royal purple and yellow sucker) I'll start my homework now on to shrimp, stars, hermits, and snails. Maybe I'll consider a regular crab but it depends on comparability.


Is it possible to catch a wild crab and take it home to live in my tank? From rocky point in Mexico to be exact, one of the little red ones or the mellow black ones with giant claws would be fun

 

[Beengirl]

I wouldn't get a royal gramma or a cardinal in a 10g. That cardinal will get about 3 inches full grown that's pretty bug for a 10g. Both of those fish need a 30g minimum. The fish that you posted pictures of at start of this thread will be fine in a 10g. You could do 2 Firefish or 2 dart fish. You could get maybe a sexy shrimp or 2? Those things are cute and funny!! There's several fish to choose from in nano section of liveaquaria.com.

 

[Convict2161]

I have 2 cardinals in my BC29 and they can get big.






They are pretty to look at and they ALWAYS stay together and out in the open which I like.

My 6 line just darts in and out of all the tiny caves and crevices I made in my tank.

 

[paul87]

Yea he's right. That's what I wad getting at bit he explained it alot better. Good bulbs none the less just not for corals and anemones. As far as those bangai cardinals if you choose to get 2 make sure its a pair. Male and female. If not they will fight.

 

[alia258]

Alrighty, cardinals seem a little out of the question, but how about that purple-ish long one in the pic at the beginning of my thread and then some small groups of the left and right pics of those fish in the more recently put up pic? In my mind that sounds safe, you guys approve? Yes? I hope you guys think that's good I want a cleaner shrimp and one of those blue shrimp too, anything else colorful that isn't a fish that I can bring into the tank? I'll grab some higher lights but I want a nemone and live rocks and live sand so ideas on that too?

 

[Convict2161]

Your talking about the purple fire fish?

In a 10 gallon tank. I would look at nano fish. You can do a pair of yasha gobies with a pistol shrimp. Snails,emerald crabs, cleaner shrimp hermit crabs. Your pretty limited to fish BUT not to corals if you get the right light!

Corals will make the tank IMO.

 

[alia258]

Your talking about the purple fire fish?

In a 10 gallon tank. I would look at nano fish. You can do a pair of yasha gobies with a pistol shrimp. Snails,emerald crabs, cleaner shrimp hermit crabs. Your pretty limited to fish BUT not to corals if you get the right light!

Corals will make the tank IMO.

Corals sound fun and my friend is gonna split two nems for me, so I'll need brighter lights. My lid sits on the tank itself and has a hole for the filter, so I'm not sure if I can really add more lights or just get brighter ones. It has sockets means for two incandescent bulbs and I've got those two fluorescents in there now

 

[Convict2161]

Corals sound fun and my friend is gonna split two nems for me, so I'll need brighter lights. My lid sits on the tank itself and has a hole for the filter, so I'm not sure if I can really add more lights or just get brighter ones. It has sockets means for two incandescent bulbs and I've got those two fluorescents in there now

IMO your better off getting a new fixture. Your also gonna want some actinic in the mix. If you want a nem or two your gonna need better lights. If you don't your nem will not thrive, probably get sick and die.

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+3733+23590&pcatid=23590

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+3733+23753&pcatid=23753

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=3578+3733+21460&pcatid=21460

These are some examples. Also check eBay and craigslist.

 

[alia258]

I'll do some research and see which would work better, for the lights I think there's a saltwater fish store I can get some great info and help, and cheaper prices than petco or petsmart. It's too bad that those two are my only resources for freshwater though —.—"" I have a healthy 40g freshwater though I was considering once these fish have all lived their lives out I might switch it to a saltwater, but then again I have lots of fish in there (don't worry they're all small like guppies and neons) sorry I got off subject.



On to another issue, I'd like to work on converting my freshwater filter to a saltwater one and I have no idea where to start. It's big enough to work on a 60g tank, and it's on the freshwater one right now (I'm switching to a canister today) so the HOB filter seems like it'd be a good idea on the salt tank if it'd work. Can you guys point me in the right direction of converting it over? And is it simple or like terribly hard?


As for the fish I was hoping maybe one of these guys:




And a small group of these guys:




Then a cleaner shrimp (the red and white one) and maybe a few other shrimp, then some of those green crabs mentioned before, and finally some starfish (brittle stars and a few regular stars)


Is it possible to take home hermit crabs or starfish from rocky point? That sounds fun

 

[alia258]

Alrighty guys, I just did some shrimp research, and so here's a few of my ideas for grouping the shrimp:
1.) one of these



And a group of these



2.) one of these



And a group of these



3.) or just a group of these






Cost will definitely be an issue, but I'd still like some input on the shrimp



As for snails I was thinking a group of these guys would be cool I've never seen them before!!!

 

[msmonikatou]

I would suggest 2 fish max for your tank. Firefish are fine(I have a pair). I also have a peppermint shrimp and hermit crabs. That is a good starting point. After my tank had cycled for a month, I added my CUC's(the peppermint shrimp and the hermit). I added the fish 2 weeks later. I did the add slowly to allow the system to build up the proper amount of bacteria to be able to handle the additional bioload that each living thing produces. Remember, everything you do to your tank is amplified because of the small size of your tank. So you will need to move slowly and test often.

 

[Beengirl]

I've heard from many people that their coral banded shrimp can be mean and kill things. In a small tank like this, I wouldn't risk a coral banded shrimp, no where for anyone to hide if he goes ballistic. The cleaner shrimp is so great, friendly, but can get a little big, mine has at least doubled in size in last 2 months and they have long antennae. The peppermint an fire shrimp are smaller, might be a better choice. Check out sexy shrimp, they are small and kinda wiggle their butts around (hence the name), and its cut to watch. But check compatibility if you get sexy shrimp cuz they are very small and some things will eat them. The snails look fine.
As for the fish, you're going to get different opinions from people on which fish will work in a 10g. Go to nano section of liveaquaria.com-all of those are appropriate for a 10g. I'm pretty sure the Firefish and dart fish that you wanted are in that section. You really should only get 2 fish though in a 10g. The Catalina goby is very pretty (the red one you showed pic of), but they do come from colder water and do best in water that's 60-70*. SW fish usually need 72-78*. Ive read that the Catalina have been kept in warmer tanks, but not ideal for them and I'm sure it shortens their life.

 

[alia258]

Okay so fish would be just one firefish goby and then possibly one Catalina (need to do some extra HW on that part) I think I might get that blood red shrimp and 3 or 4 peppermint shrimp then a few snails or so, of the spiny ones I showed you all. I really want the peppermints, and as for the blood red one, I want a shrimp that will help get rid of ich and diseases that could hurt my fish. And do they eat algae off the glass? I saw something like that but I don't know wether to believe it or not. Something to clean algae off the glass would be really great though

 

[Beengirl]

The Astraea snails will clean algae off the glass

 

[paul87]

Those Catalina gobies need lower temperature than most other fish. That's the reason I never got one. Definitely need to check that out. Cold water fish

 

[alia258]

If I got just 2 Catalina's, or two firefish, would that work? And then add the rest of the critters later? Which pair would be better, hardier, and the such? Google doesn't specify about that :/

 

[Beengirl]

If I got just 2 Catalina's, or two firefish, would that work? And then add the rest of the critters later? Which pair would be better, hardier, and the such? Google doesn't specify about that :/

I believe the Firefish will be hardier than the Catalina gobies. Firefish are also a lot easier to find in the store. 2 Firefish in there would be okay, I would get them out of the same tank so that you know they'll get along together.