Help me help my friend!!! Please!!!

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H

hotwingz

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Mar 3, 2012
33
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sw florida
Ok so i was given the task of figuring out what how, how much and what i needed to teach them. They have a 4yr old they want to give a clown fish "nemo" for her birthday next month. Smart kid not worried about her with the fish...anyways...i fairly versed in fw but know very little about salt. So this is what i need and please be detailed and dont spare being frank! I need a clown fish in a 10g tank....and GO!

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Are your friends capable of maintaining an aquarium? Will they keep up with the water changes and such? Do they have a decent-sized budget? If the answer to all of those is "yes," then I see no reason to not help them. If the answer to any of those is "no," then you need to explain to them that saltwater takes more effort & money to get started properly than freshwater does.
 
Provided that the preliminary requirements are met, here's what you'll need them to buy:
  • 10 gallon aquarium
  • Aragonite sand-- enough to form a 0.5" to 1" layer (unless burrowing fishes are being kept); 30 lbs. should be more than enough
  • High quality dry rock-- one pound per gallon or so
  • High quality live rock-- just used for seeding the dry rock; check for parasites and other nuisances
  • Protein skimmer-- not sure on brands for small ones; be sure to oversize it since it's your most important piece of equipment
  • HOB Filter-- Use this for mechanical and chemical filtration only; a filter sponge and/or pad + Purigen combo will work nicely; have them get the AC20 or AC30
  • Powerheads-- circulation is very important and helps to prevent dead spots & detritus build-up; probably will only need one small one
  • Lighting-- go for a 50/50 split of high K rated white lights and actinic (blue) lights in order to have the fish look the best and to promote coralline algae growth; get a two bulb fixture and have one of each bulb (high intensity white & actinic)
  • Heater-- shoot for one that will keep the water at 78°F
  • Salt mix-- I've used the original Instant Ocean and Coralife salt with good results; get enough to get a specific gravity of 1.023 to 1.026
  • Mixing container-- Mix and aerate your saltwater for a few days before using it for water changes; a large Rubbermaid garbage can works nicely
  • Saltwater test kit-- Very important; get one that does at least pH, ammonia, nitrate, nitrite, and phosphate
  • Hydrometer-- Used for testing salt levels (specific gravity); refractometer is way more accurate than a hydrometer but costs much more
  • Prime-- Used for treating the freshwater before mixing saltwater and adding water
 
After all of that is purchased (minus the live rock), have them do this:
  1. Mix up 10 gallons of saltwater; be sure to add mix in Prime before mixing in the salt, and also make sure that it's at the proper SG & temperature
  2. Clean all equipment, dry rock, and sand with "Prime"-ed freshwater in order to remove any dust and such; do not wash the live rock
  3. Add the sand and dry rock; try to keep the rock from touching the glass on the sides of the aquarium but have it resting firmly on the bottom
  4. Add the saltwater in a fashion that doesn't stir up the sand; using a plate or bowl to deflect it works well
  5. Attach the powerhead (attach at top corner on a side), heater, and filter; do not add the carbon and Purigen to the filter yet
  6. Get the powerhead(s), heater, and filter turned on & properly adjusted; try to have the powerhead(s) pointed towards the surface in such a way that it causes a slight ripple on the surface
  7. Once the temperature and SG are definitely at the correct levels, add the small piece of live rock
  8. Add the lights
  9. Initial set-up is complete
 
Now then, on to the cycle:
  1. Turn on just the actinic (blue light); it will help promote coralline algae growth (good colorful algae) while preventing bad algae
  2. The small piece of live rock will provide the biological material needed get the cycle started
  3. Test the water at least daily; watch for an ammonia spike, nitrite spike, and finally a nitrate spike
  4. Do a water change once the ammonia & nitrate are at 0 and the nitrate is around 40.
  5. The carbon & Purigen may be added to the filter once the cycle is complete; the protein skimmer may be turned on at this point as well
  6. Both lights can be turned on at this point

The cycle may takes a few days to a few weeks, so I suggest getting this started ASAP.
 
Other useful tips include (but are not limited to):

Example Lighting Schedule:
  • 8:00 A.M.-- Actinic light turns on
  • 11:00 A.M.-- White light turns on
  • 7:00 P.M.-- White light turns off
  • 10:00 P.M.-- Actinic light turns off

The goal is to keep the white light on for around eight hours while having the actinic light on for a few hours extra on either side of that time frame in order to simulate a sunrise and sunset as well as to give the coralline algae a boost.

Maintenance:
  • Perform 10% water changes weekly; more frequent/in-frequent water changes may be needed/allowable as per testing
  • Only add saltwater when doing a water change, e.g. if saltwater is removed then add the same volume of saltwater back in
  • Only add "Prime"-ed freshwater when doing a top-off, e.g. add freshwater when the water level drops due to evaporation
  • Clean & change the filter media as per the instructions
  • Test the SG daily and the other parameters (nitrate, etc.) weekly, at minimum

Sure, some of this stuff is pretty simple for you & I, but some people who are new at aquariums in general might forget something important.
 
I'm not sure if wiggles said this or not, but be sure to get a Ocellaris Clownfish, idealy a "tank bred" as the other "nemo" like clown fish will not do nearly as well in a 10 gallon tank.
 
Kevin8888 said:
I'm not sure if wiggles said this or not, but be sure to get a Ocellaris Clownfish, idealy a "tank bred" as the other "nemo" like clown fish will not do nearly as well in a 10 gallon tank.
Click to expand...

Haha, I was just getting to that part.

Now for the fun part (the livestock):

Have them add the crabs & snails as soon as the cycle is done, and have them add the clownfish a week or more later.

aquarium is much too small to add too many more fishes, so it's best to wait a few weeks after adding the clownfish before even considering adding another fish; they might be able to add a smaller species of goby, but that's going to be about it. Remind them that they can discuss adding another fish if they're successful with the first one; it's a bad idea to just start adding fish left & right.

I can say that this aquarium is going to be much too small for a pair of adult clownfish, though, so stick to just one.
 
Someone should sticky Wiggles posts here under 'Your First Salt Aquarium'
 
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