Wanting to set up a saltwater tank???

Bre

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Dec 24, 2007
804
0
0
Denver, CO
I have never attempted saltwater and have a 10 gallon freshwater I would like to convert to saltwater. I know it's not very big but my 90 has my monster freshwater fish in it.:) Can you please tell me how to go about this? I have read the sticky to get some ideas. Some questions I have are...

Can I use my HOB filter/do I need to do anything to it?

Can I use gravel or should I put sand in?

What kind of fish/snails/shrimp and how many can I put? An example of a fully stocked tank would be great. I realize choices and number of fish are limited.

Anything else you can tell me?

Thanks all!!!
 

Bre

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Dec 24, 2007
804
0
0
Denver, CO
Anyone have any info?:confused:
 

sweeTang21

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Mar 10, 2007
2,009
0
0
Wisconsin
the 10 would make an okay nano tank. A nano skimmer would be a good idea. What marlboroman did was get a skilter Skimmer/filter combo. The work great on smaller systems and this may be a great idea for you. the material to use in the filter would be your basic floss. No need for any bio media because im assuming your getting some LR. If not, get some LR lol.

As far as gravel or sand, i would do sand. Gravel is large and makes it easier for detritus to get stuck and never get taken out of the tank. only thing to remember with sand is to not distrub it much after the tank is up. Doing so will release a lot of toxins into the tank.

I preach this all the time, but i feel as RO water is a must. Either buy water or buy and RO unit lol. as i said i feel this is much better then tap water no matter how pure it is. RO water is about as pure as your going to get and really limits whats being added into the tank. Pure water as a source will also help keep your algae down to a minimum and keeps toxins down to a minimum as well. all IMO
 

BIGgourami

Polypterus
MFK Member
Jan 31, 2007
6,181
12
92
34
Chicago, IL
in a ten gallon al you could really do is like one crysteria (spelling?) damsel, yellow tail damsoiselle for example and maybe like a sand goby. or a clown or few neon gobies. that's fully stocked.
you could leave out a fish and do a shrimp and like an arrow crab or other 'display' invert. some corals are ok, depending on your lighting.
i would suggest t5 instead of full halides if you wanted high lighting. the halides WILL over heat that tank.
a few pounds of LR/LS will help and a HOB can be used.
i converted my 2 aquaclears into fuges recently.
 

sweeTang21

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Mar 10, 2007
2,009
0
0
Wisconsin
heres what i would do:

Find an 18" T-5 HO unit with mounts, this would fit on a 20" tank just great. Purchase the Skilter and get that going.Buying 10 lbs of LS and LR (sand and rock). I would get the rock uncured though and hold off on adding sand for about 2-3 weeks. After the rock has cured and you have done your water changes like you should the tank should be cycled with the rock. Add the sand and let the tank run for a while longer and then add a very hardy fish that your like. I would avoid damsels as your first fish because then your kinda screwed for adding anything else.

My ten Nano has 2 purple Dartfish and a Clown with the clowns hosted anemone. For lighting I'm running a very small compact fluorescent which somehow is still working for the anemone. I don't know how it happened but its been going for a while.
 

Bre

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Dec 24, 2007
804
0
0
Denver, CO
sweeTang21;1656054; said:
heres what i would do:

Find an 18" T-5 HO unit with mounts, this would fit on a 20" tank just great. Purchase the Skilter and get that going.Buying 10 lbs of LS and LR (sand and rock). I would get the rock uncured though and hold off on adding sand for about 2-3 weeks. After the rock has cured and you have done your water changes like you should the tank should be cycled with the rock. Add the sand and let the tank run for a while longer and then add a very hardy fish that your like. I would avoid damsels as your first fish because then your kinda screwed for adding anything else.

My ten Nano has 2 purple Dartfish and a Clown with the clowns hosted anemone. For lighting I'm running a very small compact fluorescent which somehow is still working for the anemone. I don't know how it happened but its been going for a while.
Excuse my stupidity but what is a T-5 HO unit? Also, to have a clown fish do you have to have an anemone? For fish I was thinking maybe 1 clown, 1 firefish or goby of some sort and a shrimp...Would something like that work? Keep the ideas and help coming...like I said I know absolutley nothing about saltwater so I am wanting to learn as much as possible before starting this.
 

BIGgourami

Polypterus
MFK Member
Jan 31, 2007
6,181
12
92
34
Chicago, IL
well that's good to know...
the t5s are a lighting type, they are like regular florescent lights, but the bulbs are way skinnier, the smallest I'VE seen are 24'' that's what i have over my 10 and it looks badazz, just a little goofy cause the lights are too long.

that stocking would be OK, but you really don't want to push it... i'd stick to one or the other.

for a goby and shrimp, did you mean a symbiotic pair or just any old shrimp and goby?
 

Bre

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Dec 24, 2007
804
0
0
Denver, CO
BIGgourami;1657239; said:
well that's good to know...
the t5s are a lighting type, they are like regular florescent lights, but the bulbs are way skinnier, the smallest I'VE seen are 24'' that's what i have over my 10 and it looks badazz, just a little goofy cause the lights are too long.

that stocking would be OK, but you really don't want to push it... i'd stick to one or the other.

for a goby and shrimp, did you mean a symbiotic pair or just any old shrimp and goby?
I don't know??? Is a symbiotic pair better? What are the names of the ones that go together?
 

sweeTang21

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Mar 10, 2007
2,009
0
0
Wisconsin
A glass top would be sufficient for a 10 gallon. Watch your heat though because glass tops help insulate and may cause heating increase.

T-5 HO are 2/8 inch bulbs, or 1/4 inch diameter bulbs with greater intensity then its brothers T-12 and T-8 etc... Dont worry about numbers just make sure there T-5 HO. HO stands for High Output. These bulbs are usually running a higher output ballast and getting more wattage with the same amount of degrees kelvin.

Sounds like a lot of technical business but getting these lights are the best bang for you buck on smaller tanks.

The stocking list is fine IMO, but only after the tank has been established for a while. No anemone needed for the clown but with the T-5 HO one could be kept if you wanted. 1 skunk cleaner shrimp would be fine. I would start with the goby being hes the hardiest fish of your list, and then after he has established for a while, then get the cleaner. Only after the tank has stabalized for about 3 months, then you may think about finishing up the tank. Corals are great and i would start with some of the easiest corals to keep with the lights. Button polyps, mushroom corals,

Some fish to look at for that tank would be:

false percula
purple firefish
maroon firefish
watchman goby
court jesters goby
green, yellow or citrinis goby's
red banded goby

just to name a few.

The symbiotic pair would be a watchman goby and a pistol shrimp. The only goby that forms the relationship. They stay very small, only about 1.5 inches at the largest. Mine is about 1".
 
zoomed.com
hikariusa.com
aqaimports.com
Store