10 Gallon Marine Tank

[joshjames]

ok so i would like to try marine fish in a 10 gallon tank but i have no idea where to start
i would like to know
how much live rock and what does it actually do?
how much salt?
water quality?
what are power heads?
having an annenome?
basically i just want say about 2 clown fish and whatever else is recommendable?
plz help as i have no clue where to begin?

 

[SkiFletch]

Hey joshjames, to the salty section. If I may suggest, a 10g tank is considered a "Nano" tank and we have a full section for nano saltwater tanks. Your questions will be better answered there. And while you're at it, have a read through the stickies atop the nano section, they'll really help you out with these basic types of questions. Don't forget to read some journals too to see what other people go through in setting up a nano tank

 

[ben1987]

ok so i would like to try marine fish in a 10 gallon tank but i have no idea where to start
i would like to know
how much live rock and what does it actually do? Live rock is your filter. About 5k in 10 gallons or 1lb per gallon
how much salt? depends on which brand. I would buy 5kg so you can set up and then your good for a fair few water changes
water quality? main tests are ammonia nitrite and nitrate. Ready up on cycling a marine tank.
what are power heads? powerheads create flow around the tank. like water pumps. Water must flow over the live rock for it to work. you need about 20x tank volume in flow.
having an annenome? not much chance of that. only mature tanks with expensive lighting are suitable. i dont think 10g is big enough either. its usally the experienced reefers that keep them. If they die they can wipe out the tank
basically i just want say about 2 clown fish and whatever else is recommendable? i dont think that 10 gallons is big enough for 2 clowns, look at gobies or a bigger tankplz help as i have no clue where to begin?

 

[Truck]

first of all get your self a big marine fish keeping book.

live rock: live rock is a pouruos rock that has thousands of pores that hold bacteria, benficial for keeping a healthy tank they also provide a good home for small crustacians and all types of polups and anenomes.

salt is measured in sg. (specific gravity) a special peice of kit measures the density of the water and converts it into a salinity reading. a good reading would be 118 to 124 sg.

water quality is a must small but reqular water changes are key to a healthy system just as they are in fresh water.

a power head is what is used in driving water into the filter and keeping a good strong water flow. (good water flow is needed for any anemone and to keep live rock alive.

to keep an anemone you will need a pretty estblished system.

2 clown fish is good and a small goby would be ideal. but another must! are clean up crew

you will need hermit crabs about 4. some snails. and some cleaner shrimp are good and they feast on bacterium that are in the rocks. and keep your system healthy. once a good system is going it will look after itself apart from the standard, filter changes, water changes , top ups.etc

and polups have been known to be poisenous so it is advisable to wear gloves when handeling live rock and other anemones

to find how much live rock you can use an aquarium calculator

 

[seffieuk]

Welcome - you should start with reading as many journals and threads as you can on setting up a marine system

Seffie x

 

[BigC]

Welcome Josh!
Merged this topic with your previous thread, down into the Nano section and cleaned it up a little.
Regards
BigC

 

[steelhealr]

Welcome aboard Josh. The most flexible tank you can pick is a 20G long. That's my first starter tip of the day.

Reading first is the best way to start out. Write your questions down, then fire away. One great way to begin is to pick a member's starter thread and follow it thru.

The key to success here is patience. If you have a complete reef setup in 2 months, you've done something wrong. Take your time. Corals survive best in a mature tank and THAT takes patience.

Have fun with it.
SH