10 Gallon Marine Tank?

[loveforfhishies]

my brother just got a 10 gallon tank for freshwater. its set up with water and its begining to cycle. we went to the fish store today and he saw a few marine fish he really liked. i was just wondering how hard it would be to convert from freshwater to saltwater.

do you need specific filters, heaters, ect?

how much harder is salt water aquariums to deal with then fresh?

also how much more of an investment is getting into marine tanks?

 

[SkiFletch]

For a 10g you're prolly talkin $400 bare minimum by the time all the equipment and livestock are in the tank. Its quite expensive comparatively. What did you see that you liked in the marine section?

 

[Lyle]

i would definitly invest in a protien skimmer, dunno how much a small one would cost for a 10 gallon but mine was $100 and good for 100 gallons. other than that, u can use the same kinds of regular filters

its not drastically harder, well worth it for more exotic fish, and much more expensive. my brackish tank right now requires the same maintenance as my old freshwater, just that i have to put salt in it, empty the protien skimmer and a bit more algea grows in it (but algea is good!)

about cost some things to keep in mind are the fish obviously (most saltwater fish range from 20-60 bucks where even the most exotic freshwater fish are around 10), live rock and corals. live rock helps drastically with the filtration. its very expensive though. i just made my own to save money (its not 'live' right now, but will be once the algea and stuff starts growin on it in about 6 months. research live rock for more info, i'm not an expert on it). and corals are just another option, don't need em by any means but they're also very expensive (bout 15-30 bucks a piece).

if your tank is freshwater now, once you turn it salt water you will have to cycle it all over again. the nitrifying bacteria that grow and control your ammonia/nitrites/nitrates in freshwater will die in the salt, and you'll have to wait till the salt water bacteria start to grow. so once you turn it salt water, you start the cycle all over again.

hope this helps! as always the best way to make sure you do it right is just to buy a book about it. but the fish are WAY cooler than freshwater fish!!!

.

 

[loveforfhishies]

Blackcap Basslet, Royal Gramma, Jewel Damsel, Achilles Tang/

thos are the ones we liked.

i just got into freshwater aquariums about 6 months ago so im still somewhat a begginer.

would it be to much on my plate if i got another tank goin that was a marine tank at the same time as im trying to take care of my 55 gallon freshwater. or should i just stick to freshwater for a while and then slowly move to marine?

 

[Mr Miagi]

Too much on your plate? That entirely depends on how keen you are, and how willing you are to look after it. We cant really make a decision for you, you have to do that. We can only give you advice on the how to successfully enjoy/keep your reefs/marine!

Just to start off, the fish you mentioned are nice fish, I can see why they caught your eye! The Blackcap Basslet, Royal Gramma, and Jewel Damsel will be cramped in a 10g. The Achilles is out too im afraid, but not entirely out of the equation! Because you havnt started yet, it will benefit you.

Id go to a few websites like liveaquaria.com and look at the fish you like. Not all fish are compatable, but we can help you there. Just get an idea as to how many gallons they need etc. The choices for fish in a 10g isnt that great im afraid!


As Lyle said, the extra work isnt all that much more, and IMO the benefits are that far greater. Once you go marine, not many go back!

I think Lyle makes cycling a marine tank a little bit of a chore, but its not. If you buy Live rock, which is highly recomended, that basically cycles your tank for you, it harbours beneficial bacteria, so when you place it in your tank, its like introducing large quantites of good bacteria. You do have to wait for whats called "die-off", which are organisms that didnt make the trip. The pollute water, and you basically have to wait out the pollution caused.

To see if you want to go marine, pinned topics at the top of each forum can help give you a gist of what its like, and so can many interesting journals, found in the Nano section, and theirs a pinned topics about individuals tanks here at TFF.