My First Saltwater Tank

[tnhowery]

I want to turn one of my tanks a ten gallon into saltwater. This will be my first saltwater tank, and i need to know what i will need from the basics...any help will be greatly appreciated.

Is it a good idea to start with a smaller tank for saltwater?

What kind of substrate should i use?

Live Rock?

How do i mix and test the water?

Can i use my freshwater filter?

Lighting?

Thanks for any help that you may be able to give me!

 

[rhysiboy]

well im going straight into the marine environment with a nano tank its gonna be a huge learnign curve me thinks

 

[robbhp]

yea i think you will find it hard to work with such a small tank. most of the time i hear that you should not do it this way as you will only have bad luck. bigger is allways better . anyway if you want to do it you should. first off i am no expert, both chac and ski will happy give you far more help than i can but i will do my best . in the other thread you have been thinking of going with the PC for lights, these are good lights and give out loads of light for the $.(also lots of heat). Then you will need some power heads in there you will need a turn over of about 20 times+. Next up will be to go out and buy some salt (or the cheaper way for you to start will be to get the water pre mixed for you, by the LFS). next step i would say go and get yourself some live rock, a few nice small bits to start off with . you will also need to pick up some crushed coral or some nice live sand, make sure you put the live rock in first and then the sand around rock this way if you have any fish that like to dig they will not be able to make a rock slide. And then let the tank do its thing. will take up to two week to cycle or even a bit longer. After it has done this and every thing is back to 0 , go get a small clean up crew. let them do there job of algy cleaning. once you are then happy that the algy is under control you could then add your firt soft coral. it is better to mature the tank with coral as they do not need food as such thus lowering the bio load. if it was my tank i would not put any more than 1 fish in it, any more and it will be so hard to keep up and running. if i was you a would try to get a bigger tank as it will be very very hard to try to keep it all working.

hope this helps but like you i am still learning abut this great hobby. some one will be along soon to help you out more than i can

 

[Tommy Gunnz]

First, are you planning on making this 10 gallon SW tank a fish only tank or a reef tank? The reason that most people say that smaller saltwater tanks are more for experts is because with such a small amount of water, things can go bad pretty fast. That being said, saltwater fish and inverts are also more sensitive than freshwater fish and cannot tolerate too much in the way of water quality fluctuations. This is especially true when trying to keep corals.

I wouldnt say that it is a bad idea to start out small just as long as you know what you are getting yourself into and the work involved.

 

[rhysiboy]

yerp i hear ya alls my advice is (and what im currently doing) is get your head in the books , around froums and get every piece of information possible. also make youself a little price guide. and cheklist majig

 

[sollerc69]

i have hav a 10 gallon tank now for about a month the hardest part that i have found is getting the tank to cycle completely i have learned that a good thing to do is get a few damsels maybe one or two cause they are cheap fish and will help in getting the tank set

 

[PaPeRo]

1. Start with fish only then when you think you've got the hang of it you can add other things like live rock, invertebrates etc.

2. SW setups will cost a lot more money to do right than freshwater.

3. You will likely need a protein skimmer

4. You will need a RO system

5. You may need a chiller

 

[rhysiboy]

i have hav a 10 gallon tank now for about a month the hardest part that i have found is getting the tank to cycle completely i have learned that a good thing to do is get a few damsels maybe one or two cause they are cheap fish and will help in getting the tank set

noooo not the dreaded damsel satans spawn (or at least mr september says)

 

[Mr.September15]

i have hav a 10 gallon tank now for about a month the hardest part that i have found is getting the tank to cycle completely i have learned that a good thing to do is get a few damsels maybe one or two cause they are cheap fish and will help in getting the tank set

noooo not the dreaded damsel satans spawn (or at least mr september says)

Heh ...

Yeah Damsels are the spawn of satan! I think I got that from SkiFletch . But anyways don't do a fish cycle! Fishless is much more ethical and more healthier for your soon to be marine enviorment. Using fish as a tool isn't right .Plus fishless is much more easier IMO.

 

[rhysiboy]

yers and also if you dont like them anymore then some LFS wont let you return them for cash so thats a few squid youve donated to your LFS