Converting 10g ????

[Rose]

So like what do I need to do to convert my now very heavily planted 10g to a saltwater toy. I want a Tang or something easy. I may do some mollies and then graduate to Tang or something. I wan't low tech to start.

Here is what I have (not much since it's a planted 10g.) 3 Flourescent bulbs (for 4.5 watts a gallon). A heater and a 201 powerhead. No filter for 2 reasons, the one I had broke and the other is it's a very heavily planted tank.) As far as water changes go I'm pretty religious about them. (More so than going to church.) Rose

 

[Great Lakes]

Just fish Rose? This is fairly practical if you stay away from corals and the like.
And a ten gallon will let you keep precisely one fish. Overstocking happens quicly in the marine world and is disastrous.

 

[Crimson Ghost]

I don't think a 10 gallon tank will be sufficient space for a tang

 

[Great Lakes]

Crimson, I think you are right, I believe I read somewhere that a tang needs thirty gallons.

I'll try to dig up a good site for you Rose.

 

[Crimson Ghost]

I took a quick peek-see but didn’t find a good article to pass on. I can tell you though, my Naso and Yellow Tang that I had (pre the Hawaii trip) were very aggressive and utilized the entire tank. Tangs are Surgeonfish – called this because they have a sharp spine right at the base of their tails. It’s sharp as a knife and they use it to attack other fish – My yellow tang swam at my hand one day while I was arranging rock, he didn’t get me but I yanked my hand out so fast I splashed water from floor to ceiling.

They need a lot of room so not to be stressed – tangs are very susceptible to diseases such as Ich. Ich is something you don’t want in a marine tank. Without sufficient room to swim and hide the fish would stress and get sick.

 

[Rose]

I'm not thinkin of doing this any time soon. I might do it in a couple of years. Like when I get a house. Just beginning the resurch part of it now anyway. Rose

 

[Great Lakes]

It is real good to start early Rose. You almost have to envision what end result you want before you start. A $75 dollar fish is quite an investment to end up changing your mind
 One of the best ways is to visit and see as many salt tanks as possible.
 In your reading and searching, you are going to run across a few types of tanks.
 FO= Fish Only. This will be the kind of tank you will want to research. The easiest and most economical to start.

 FOWL = Fish Only With Liverock. Same as above, with the addition of liverock. You add the liverock expense, lighting will need to be more significant, but you can keep more "critters"

 Reef. This is basically the ocean reproduced to manageable home size. Did I say manageable? This is the setup that takes money, patience, and a perfect,(well, we try), combination of all the diverse sea life you would find in the ocean.
  This is the way to go when you decide your kids really don't need new shoes, the car can wait another year for tires, and who needs a TV when you have a pretty reef tank to look at..
  :laugh:

 

[Crimson Ghost]

- how do you delete a post? I had to type this in order to overright my post (which I dropped on the wrong thread)

 

[Rose]

Thanks guys. It's not going to happen this year due to the fact that I still need to tell Dusty there's another tank in the house. Rose

 

[Great Lakes]

Wait a minute. Dusty? Your husband? Dusty Rose! :laugh:
Cool!

 

[xXLeafeonXx]

Please don't put a tang in a 10 gallon I say 55 gallon min.They need space to roam around and be happy also they can get ick easily.

 

[Donya]

xXLeafeonXx: you are correct, although the topic is over 10 years old. Many people even quote higher minmums for tangs (particularly the larger speceis), such as 100gal or 4ft x 2ft x 2ft.  I'm going to go ahead and lock this since the thread is so old.