Planning A 10g Saltwater Tank

[Nu-Nu the eel]

No problem, hermits dont do a whole lot anyways haha so if you wanna make the water salty you will first need to buy pure ro water from your lfs. Then you mix it with some salt using a powerhead and you keep it warm with a thermometer. I mix my water with reef crystals (my salt)

 

[Bettafanatic]

Hey just wondering if u know a good website to buy live coral if there is one

 

[Nu-Nu the eel]

I heard mr. Coral is a good place!

 

[Bettafanatic]

Thanks! I'll be sure to check if out

 

[Nu-Nu the eel]

I would try and find a nice reef store by you, then you dont get killed by shipping! I would buy a cheap coral ar first and see how he does, then buy alot of frags online if you still decide to go that way!

 

[Jester1026]

Look for a reef club near you and join if you can. Great way to meet other reefers to get more advice and frags.

 

[Bettafanatic]

Well I would buy them from a store if there were any reef stores. Really my only option is ordering online. Ill just try that and see how it goes.

 

[Bettafanatic]

Hi just wondering about the clown. Would a black occelaris clown work? I saw one at PetCo that's really gorgeous. Thats what you meant be occ clown, right? Hope I got the name wrong it not its the black and white clown with white stripes.

Also, one more question, would live sand be like sand from the beach or something? My LFS sells aquarium sand but idk if it's live sand. How can I get some?

 

[Nu-Nu the eel]

Haha live sand is pointless IMO. Just put in regular sand and you will be fine. If you want some cheap sand go to a pool store or home depot and get pool filter sand. 50 pounds for like 10 bucks you will need to wash it though.

Sure you can get a black clown! I personally think the regular clown looks better and more traditional... But i might get a black clown to pair with my orange one in my 66 gal

 

[zarmalar]

Awesome thread, my mom was asking me about doing a 10 gal saltwater. Great info and tips

 

[Bettafanatic]

Haha live sand is pointless IMO. Just put in regular sand and you will be fine. If you want some cheap sand go to a pool store or home depot and get pool filter sand. 50 pounds for like 10 bucks you will need to wash it though.

Sure you can get a black clown! I personally think the regular clown looks better and more traditional... But i might get a black clown to pair with my orange one in my 66 gal

Oh it is? Ok then regular sane works better for me. I do want to get live rocks though. I'm just a bit confused about live rocks, so I have a couple of questions.
1. Are live rocks a source of ammonia for cycling? I heard this somewhere but it doesnt sound logical to me.
2. I was told to get 10 lb minimum of rocks. Does that mean each rock must be 10 lb or the total weight of all the rocks has to add up? Sorry it's a dumb question just want to straighten it out.

Yay for the black clown! It was so handsome, swimming so nicely around the tank that I almost bought it immediately before remembering I don't have a tank lol. Fish are so pretty they tend to put me in trances like that. That's why I have four bettas.

Thanks a bunch, Nu-Nu! You have been extremely helpful.

 

[Bettafanatic]

Awesome thread, my mom was asking me about doing a 10 gal saltwater. Great info and tips

Ikr the people here are extremely knowledgeable and helpful. Good luck with your own tank!

 

[Nu-Nu the eel]

Oh it is? Ok then regular sane works better for me. I do want to get live rocks though. I'm just a bit confused about live rocks, so I have a couple of questions.
1. Are live rocks a source of ammonia for cycling? I heard this somewhere but it doesnt sound logical to me.
2. I was told to get 10 lb minimum of rocks. Does that mean each rock must be 10 lb or the total weight of all the rocks has to add up? Sorry it's a dumb question just want to straighten it out.

Yay for the black clown! It was so handsome, swimming so nicely around the tank that I almost bought it immediately before remembering I don't have a tank lol. Fish are so pretty they tend to put me in trances like that. That's why I have four bettas.

Thanks a bunch, Nu-Nu! You have been extremely helpful.

Haha okay so the sand issue is resolved!

I used base rock on my tank because it is cheaper, but if you only buy small amounts of live rock them it is worth it! I didnt cycle my tank with live rock so i am not an expert on it, but i know that the die off will cycle your tank. (not sure if it is ammonia or waste, but it not very relevant)

And overall you will want 10-15 lb of rock total! Haha tru and buy some small pieces and one big piece as your centerpiece rock! Or you can do an arch

The black clowns are pretty awesome! Almost bought one yesterday haha here is a pic of my scape on my old 30 gallon to give you an idea! You can call me Jack!

 

[Bettafanatic]

Ok my LFS sells live rock so Ill use that.

That's a beautiful tank, by the way! The rock formation is very nice. Love the clown fish too. What type of fish is that other blue one? I thought I saw one.

My LFS gets a shipment of fish tomorrow so I'm going to go browse the full stock. I know for a fact that they sell fire fish. I hope they get clown goby too I really want one of those. My LFS seems to have everything I need, besides coral, so i think I'll set up the tank within the next two weeks.

I just haw one last question about the shrimp. Are peppermint shrimp cleaning shrimp? If not, what are some good types of cleaner shrimp? My LFS sells ghost shrimp but those are freshwater.

 

[Nu-Nu the eel]

Ok my LFS sells live rock so Ill use that.

That's a beautiful tank, by the way! The rock formation is very nice. Love the clown fish too. What type of fish is that other blue one? I thought I saw one.

My LFS gets a shipment of fish tomorrow so I'm going to go browse the full stock. I know for a fact that they sell fire fish. I hope they get clown goby too I really want one of those. My LFS seems to have everything I need, besides coral, so i think I'll set up the tank within the next two weeks.

I just haw one last question about the shrimp. Are peppermint shrimp cleaning shrimp? If not, what are some good types of cleaner shrimp? My LFS sells ghost shrimp but those are freshwater.

Haha thanks! The tank isnt finished because i am transfering it all to a bigger tank! The other fish is called a Chalk Bass. People on here are probably annoyed because i tell everyone with a 30 gallon tank or larger to get one they rule!

Thats great to hear about your lfs! Do they have good prices on fish and live rock? I hope so D:

For the shrimp there are 3 types that i reccomend. Peppermint shrimp are great because they eat apista (pest anenome) and they are great! The cleaner shrimp's name IS cleaner shrimp! They are a bit more expensive but will clean your fish and are great scavengers! The last shrimp is a fire shrimp (blood shrimp) and they dont do much but look cool

Ps: ghost shrimp can be acclimated to salt water!

 

[Bettafanatic]

My LFS prices are pretty fair. Some fish are a little expensive, like glo fish, but mostly fair. Ooh I hope they have a clown goby! I keep hearing those are fantastic fish.

Doing that tank in a 40g should be even more fun. You could probably get one or two more fish also. I wish my tank was that big. My mom might let me do a 40g freshwater tank for the living room next year so fingers crossed.

 

[Nu-Nu the eel]

Hahaha i am almost sure that once you set up your 10 gallon saltwater you will want to make the 40 gallon tank salt as well haha that happened to me.... Think about it

 

[severum mama]

I agree with most of what nu-nu says. Clownfish will be fine for this tank. I would recommend them as one of the first to go in there, as long as you let it cycle and do the 10+ pounds of live rock. I have kept a clownfish and a yellow watchman/ pistol shrimp pair in a 3 gal for 7 months now and they are happy and healthy. Firefish will be good, as long as it is covered, they WILL jump. You can have more fish than most people recommend, as long as you let the tank establish itself. You can do 2-3 fish + clean-up crew in the first 6 weeks. After 6 months you can do another 1 or 2, as long as you keep up with water changes and they are compatable. Just make sure they are small. Royal gramma, scooter blenny, hover line, clown goby or shrimp goby (1 or the other), maybe a six line wrasse, cardinal, pseudochromis, and a few other good fish would work. Along with some real cool shrimp and crabs.

Way, way, way too many fish for a 10 gallon, especially for someone that is new to the hobby.
Royal gramma- grows too large for 10 gallon.
Scooter blenny- may never eat prepared foods. No way a 10 gallon could support a pod population to sustain this fish.
Six line wrasse- much too active for 10 gallon.
Pseudochromis- depending on species, MIGHT work as a solitary fish. Probably too aggressive to mix with other fish. 10 gallons is a small territory!
Cardinal- I can't think of a species that should be in a 10 gallon.

Personally, I think that a 10 gallon would be an absolute bare minimum for an ocellaris clown. I wouldn't recommend stocking anything else with it, but since the conservative approach to stocking (sadly) seems to have fallen out of favor with many of our members, they're probably going to tell you I don't know what I'm talking about. LOL. If you must stock another fish stick to something small and relatively inactive like a clown goby or one of the smaller species of shrimp goby.

 

[carey]

Just chiming in to say I think Severum Mama made some very good points.

I'm very liberal with my stocking and I wouldn't suggest a clown, BUT if you must have one then any other fish should be small, and I mean SMALL. lol

I had 5 fish in my 20g tank and 4 of them were 2 inches or less and no clowns. There are several micro fish you can chose from, check out the nano section on liveaquria.com .

If it were my tank I would probably get a clown goby, a yellow watchman goby with a paired pistol shrimp and lots of inverts like shrimp.

Just my 2 cents! Good luck with whatever you choose!

 

[Nu-Nu the eel]

For the record the only fish i suggested were ones that would do fine in a 10 gallon. Lol i know the clown is pushing it, and i told that to her at the begining of the thread, but it could work. A clown goby would be PERFECT. Haha i love those lil guys. Shrimp are great choices as well