10 gal +salt=salt water tank

[Siamese Fighter 1]

i have a empty 10 gal is this big enought to become salt water tank.if it is can u tell me what i need to set it up. and can u tell me what sort of salt water fish can i put in it. can u give me other info because im new to salt water fish and tanks

[cocoa_pleco]

a basic 10g would be-

10g tank
50w heater
HOB filter
argonite or live sand
15w regular fluorescent light
10lbs LR
sea salt mix
hydrometer
saltwater test kit

for stock, smaller clownfish, damsels (which sometimes beat up other fish), and firefish work. you could get a pair of clownfish, or a clownfish and firefish, or one damsel.

for corals, its a different story. some low-light ones like mushrooms can live with basic lights but theyre not the prettiest like medium light corals. The minimum lighting i recommend for a coral tank is 5w/g, anything less leaves you with too little options. if you can go 10w/g you can get lots of corals, since thats the high-light level. you need blue actinic lights too to give the corals food.

dont know if you can get it in the UK, but on my 55g i have 2 150w MH, and something that may work for you is the HAGEN HO fixtures. i have a 24" and 48" on my 55g. it comes with hanging wires so the 24" model will fit a 10g if hanging. it gives you 5w/g and its double bulb, so you could get a actnic and daylight bulb

[Siamese Fighter 1]

thanks do you how much will all this cost?:thumb: the tank is hexagon will it matter

[cocoa_pleco]

since its a hex 10g, you should be fine, but anything larger that a 10g hex you need MH lights to reach due to its height.

my 55g cost about $1500-$2000 so far and its not even close to being done. a 10g with medium light lights and LR should cost about $300. eg.

sea salt mix- $20
hydrometer- $20
argonite- $20
10lbs LR- average about $80
lighting- about $150 for 5w/g

[stunner]

I just set up a 10 gallon standard tank and I bought everything locally and brand new (except the tank), that's why it cost me an arm and a leg. But I wanted to buy local, so I had to pay for it. Here's the cost breakdown...

Seachem Master test kit - $50
10g Tank - $6
Water conditioner - Already had it...say 10$ for a bottle
50watt Jager heater- $35
50watt no-name heater - $10 (for warming new water)
Maxijet 600 (x2) - $30 x 2
AC30 HOB- $30
AC30 powerhead - probably $30...I had it lying around
Thermometer (x2)- $2 x 2, had it lying around
Coralife 50/50 20watt PC (x4) - $30 x 4
Liverock (9$/lb) - 10lb for $90
Livesand - 10lb bag for $30
Instant Ocean hydrometer - $20
Instant Ocean salt - $25
Light fixture - One free, and one $8
Hood, cover, stand - made by me
Buckets, hoses, nets, sponge for scrubbing glass, etc... - Already had most of this stuff....say $50 for all
Note: no livestock in yet!

Total ~ almost $600 :| Holy cow! I guess I shouldn't have broken down the price hahaha

I have two of the powerheads on the tank, but keep one of the maxijets to drop in the bucket of water change water so I keep it churned overnight.

In place of the hydrometer, it is recommended that you get a refractometer, but it will cost you more.

You can definitely do a 10 gallon for a whole lot less, especially if you have a lot of the stuff already and buy the rest online. Don't let the price deter you...this is just so that you're aware of how much it could cost to get everything, not how much it will or has to cost you. Also, I'm running 8w/gal of lighting on this tank. You won't need that kind of lighting if you plan on keeping a fish only tank.

I think I've listed everything...if I missed something, please point it out guys! Hope I didn't scare you out of the hobby:S

[cocoa_pleco]

i forgot the powerheads, thanks for posting it stunner.

only in reefs are powerheads needed. powerheads clean the corals and bring them food. Without a powerhead they will not thrive

[zackish]

I have a 10 gallon nano and it's doing great. There is a variety of things you can do with a 10 gallon. I don't have much time right now but if you are interested in some more information just PM me or if I think of it I will come back and post some more here tomorow.
If you want to go reef or Fish only your options will be limited.
I can say for my initial cost of setting the tank up with liverock in everything was a little under $400
However, I went with an insanely big light for my 10 gallon which would work fine on a 20 gallon. You can probably get away with a light that is half the wattage for half the price which would knock off $60 or so. However, I had all the other equipment like heaters and filters and my buddy gave me a few powerheads to try out.

[cocoa_pleco]

good point, i also forgot im free for PM's too. im always on everyday morning, afternoon, and night unless im out of town the odd weekend.

[Siamese Fighter 1]

I just set up a 10 gallon standard tank and I bought everything locally and brand new (except the tank), that's why it cost me an arm and a leg. But I wanted to buy local, so I had to pay for it. Here's the cost breakdown...

Seachem Master test kit - $50
10g Tank - $6
Water conditioner - Already had it...say 10$ for a bottle
50watt Jager heater- $35
50watt no-name heater - $10 (for warming new water)
Maxijet 600 (x2) - $30 x 2
AC30 HOB- $30
AC30 powerhead - probably $30...I had it lying around
Thermometer (x2)- $2 x 2, had it lying around
Coralife 50/50 20watt PC (x4) - $30 x 4
Liverock (9$/lb) - 10lb for $90
Livesand - 10lb bag for $30
Instant Ocean hydrometer - $20
Instant Ocean salt - $25
Light fixture - One free, and one $8
Hood, cover, stand - made by me
Buckets, hoses, nets, sponge for scrubbing glass, etc... - Already had most of this stuff....say $50 for all
Note: no livestock in yet!

Total ~ almost $600 :| Holy cow! I guess I shouldn't have broken down the price hahaha

I have two of the powerheads on the tank, but keep one of the maxijets to drop in the bucket of water change water so I keep it churned overnight.

In place of the hydrometer, it is recommended that you get a refractometer, but it will cost you more.

You can definitely do a 10 gallon for a whole lot less, especially if you have a lot of the stuff already and buy the rest online. Don't let the price deter you...this is just so that you're aware of how much it could cost to get everything, not how much it will or has to cost you. Also, I'm running 8w/gal of lighting on this tank. You won't need that kind of lighting if you plan on keeping a fish only tank.

I think I've listed everything...if I missed something, please point it out guys! Hope I didn't scare you out of the hobby:S


what are this items:confused:
hydrometer
argonite
10lbs LR

[cocoa_pleco]

hydrometer measures the salinity of the water

argonite is a high PH substrate for saltwater tanks and cichlid tanks, its like a soft white sand

Live rock is decor for saltwater tanks, its ocean rock that has life allover it, theres little worms and everything. its the only proper way to decorate a SW tank. the rule is usually 1-1.5lbs of LR/g but i usually go 2-4lbs since LR is only $8/lb.

[zackish]

Cocoa helped me a lot. I am sure he wouldn't mind answering your questions either. I don't mind answering either.

[A340]

Just to expand onto Cocoa's list:

A Hydrometer, as Cocoa said, is to measure the Salinity and Specific Gravity of the water which is the salt/water ration. You could also use a Refractor which is much more reliable and accurate but also more expensive. A Hydrometer will cost you about $5-$20 and a Refractor will run you at least $50.

Aragonite is a special type of substrate which varies in colour, size and texture. It is quite often used in Marine/SW tanks because of it's chemical properties to help achieve and maintain a stable, preferred water parameters.

Live Rock is not only for decor, this is also a primary source for the biological filteration in your tank, which is extremely important especially for smaller tanks such as a 10g. It is expensive and can run anywhere from $4-$15 per pound and you need at least 1lb per gallon, but 1.5lbs or even 2lbs would be better. Also, live rock comes available as "cured" or "uncured" which more or less means "cured" has more live stuff on it then "uncured". During any amount of time out of the water, the live organisims on the rock, die off. The longer the time out, the more die off and the longer it takes to "cure" the rock again in the water. However, "uncured" live rock is what helps cycle your tank.

I strongly suggest you pick up the book "The Nano-Reef Handbook" by Chris R. Brightwell . Well worth the money, he goes into great detail on the equipment you need and even provides you with different stocking/equipment lists geared specifically towards nano reef tanks.

[cocoa_pleco]

forgot to add, in lightly stocked saltwater tanks with more than 1lb/g of filtration, you can use no filter and just have the tank filtered by the LR. this is recommended for tanks over 33g though

[Siamese Fighter 1]

tanks for the info i might start this next year after all my tests "gcse":22:
im going to get a pair of clown fish .how do u sex them? because i want a pair so they dont get lonely. thanks for the info guys