Help please new to saltwater

[GeneralGoldeneye]

After having freshwater fish for some time now I have decided to take on the task of learning how to setup and maintain a saltwater tank...

1st I'm going to start with a 10 gal tank... Starting small
2nd I'm only going to have this be a fish only tank
3rd I DON'T KNOW WHAT I'M DOING
4th any help would be greatly appreciated
5th What I have 10 gal tank, filter that is attached to my freshwater collecting good bacteria, heater...
6th What chem do I need to add to a saltwater tank.. What salt is the best???

"""PLEASE HELP""""

[MonkeyPox]

Smaller tanks, especially salt water, are much harder to maintain then larger ones.
Have you considered adding some live rock?

I've always used Instant Ocean salt.

You won't need to add any additional chemicals to a basic salt water tank (aside from salt obviously) then you would for a fw tank. De-cholorinator if needed, etc...

[GeneralGoldeneye]

This may sound like a stuped question but what would live rock do for the tank

[GeneralGoldeneye]

well I just had a 10 gal setting around so that why I chose

[unleashed]

First question, how much research have you done?

Diving into the wonderful world of marine aquariums is by no means an easy feat. It requires a lot of patience, deep pockets and countless hours of research. By research, I don't just mean asking questions on a forum, but reading specialist books, googling your questions, looking at various marine aquarium related websites such as Wet Web Media. Also have a good read of all of the stickies at the top of each of the saltwater forums. There are some which I believe are extremely important.


My answers in BOLD

After having freshwater fish for some time now I have decided to take on the task of learning how to setup and maintain a saltwater tank...

1st I'm going to start with a 10 gal tank... Starting smallYou should really aim for a 30g-50g tank. These will be much easier to maintain than a smaller one. I personally would lean towards to 50+g tank
2nd I'm only going to have this be a fish only tankYou WILL need live rock
3rd I DON'T KNOW WHAT I'M DOING [no wanting to sound arrogant, but it's evident. The more research you do, the more likely that you will know what you are doing[/B]
4th any help would be greatly appreciated That's what we're here for. However, your own research is an absolute must
5th What I have 10 gal tank, filter that is attached to my freshwater collecting good bacteria, heater...This is no good, the bacteria will die in saltwater. You do not need a filter as your live rock is the filter as the rock contains all of the necessary bacteria. A heater explains itself.
6th What chem do I need to add to a saltwater tank.. What salt is the best???None. I prefer to use Red Sea salt myself

"""PLEASE HELP""""

[MonkeyPox]

Buy a 55g tank and use the 10g for a sump :)

[GeneralGoldeneye]

First question, how much research have you done?

Diving into the wonderful world of marine aquariums is by no means an easy feat. It requires a lot of patience, deep pockets and countless hours of research. By research, I don't just mean asking questions on a forum, but reading specialist books, googling your questions, looking at various marine aquarium related websites such as Wet Web Media. Also have a good read of all of the stickies at the top of each of the saltwater forums. There are some which I believe are extremely important.


My answers in BOLD

Yes your right and I know I need to do a lot of reserch.... I have read and watch videos about saltwater tanks... I know saltwater it a lot biger task than freshwater but im ready to learn

[GeneralGoldeneye]

I have not found any good sites on saltwater tank any suggestions??
just looking for fish only

[unleashed]

just looking for fish only

It is still good to read about reef keeping concepts as all of the basic concepts still apply.

These are some important links:

The Economic Environmentally Sound Reef ([Only Registered Users Can See Links.])

Live Rock ([Only Registered Users Can See Links.])

Species to Avoid ([Only Registered Users Can See Links.])

Reality Check ([Only Registered Users Can See Links.]) - Very important that you read this one

I also suggest you read any articles or books written by Robert (Bob) Fenner, Scott Michael, Michael Paletta, John Goodman, Jay Hemdal and Matthew Wittenrich

Setup 1 ([Only Registered Users Can See Links.])

Setup 2 ([Only Registered Users Can See Links.])

Marine Fish 1 ([Only Registered Users Can See Links.])

Marine Fish 2 ([Only Registered Users Can See Links.])

Marine Fish 3 ([Only Registered Users Can See Links.])

More Live Rock Stuff ([Only Registered Users Can See Links.])

Live Sand ([Only Registered Users Can See Links.])

Pretty much all the info you should research is contained in the links above. Also, all of the authors I have mentioned are all held in high regard across the marine aquarium industry and/or hobby

[ILuvMyGoldBarb]

Unleashed has covered it very well. You would do quite well to heed his advice here.

Just a thought for you. Running a marine tank without live rock, is somewhat akin to running a filter on a FW tank with no biomedia.

[GeneralGoldeneye]

Yes I will take his advice and so everyone know I don't have anything set up and don't plan to just jump into it... thats why I came back here to ask questions and learn befor i do anything

[GeneralGoldeneye]

thank you everyone for your help and insite I'm going to go to the library to find some books to help

[tim k]

thank you everyone for your help and insite I'm going to go to the library to find some books to help


Now that is a great idea thumbs2: .
There something about having the info right in front of you in print that really helps you understand things a lot easier.

Good luck
Tim