First Time Ever

[Questions?]

Alright this is the first time i am going to do a saltwater tank, and i literally have no idea what to do. i want to use live rock as the filtration. it is a 10 gallon tank. i plan on having 1 yellow clown goby.

1. is 4kilos of live rock good for the whole tank?
2. is there anything cheap that i could put in with the besides one clown goby?
3. how much does live rock cost per kg?
4. can anyone kind of sand be used?
5. could i feed it marine fish flakes?
6. how much salt do i need?
7. whenever i do a water change do i put more salt in?
8. how do i measure the salinity?
9. how do i get the ph to 8.2?
10. what kind of plants could i put in there?
11. what kind of corals could i put in there, that are under $10 (us)?i
12. is 1.8 wpg enough for coral?
13. would any kind of heater work?
14. anything else i need to know?
sorry about all the questions. thank you for taking the time to read this

 

[techen]

First thing you will get is, Research, Research and Research. Marine is not a cheap hobby and requires more time for it than tropical or cold water demands. Please make sure you have the time to spend with it.

1. Yes, 4KG is more than euff for 10 gallons.
2. I suggest not going for fish until at least a good few months after having the tank, Nanos are insanely hard to control water stats wise.
3. There's no set price on live rock, it can cost anything depending on the LFS.
4. No, You need marine coral gravel, live sand etc.
5. You can feed it marine fish flakes, It's weather or not he accepts them is your issue.
6. That's a rather blunt question, All salt makes require different amount of salts needed. I suggest you read up on this with the brand you go for.
7. Yes, You must mixed RO water and salt then add it after doing a water change, Top ups only need RO water.
8. You can measure sanity using a refactometer or Hydrometer
9. Live rock, Live Sand etc will puffer the PH to 8.2 So long as you use RO water.
10. You do not add plants to marine tanks....
11. Not a lot, Depends on the lighting you have. Most likely soft corals only.
12. Yes, I'd start with soft corals. Some easy things like Xenia or Mushrooms.
13. Yes, So low as it supports the tanks volume.
14. A lot, Do your research before buying into this. It will not be cheap.

 

[Questions?]

yeah, i don't plan on adding anything fish until the tank has been running for maybe 4 months
would a 20 gallon open up my otpions fish wise and be easier to manage? but then the light would be about .9 wpg. what is RO water? (sorry if thats a stupid question)
i only asked about plants because my LFS has some kind of green seaweed looking plant that they have in a 30 gallon long with some damsel fish. are corals necessary? and if so, which ones are the cheapest? i know it will be expensive but i am only 14 so, i can't do something very expensive

 

[techen]

If your 14 with no large income I suggest you stay away from marine. Fish can cost anywhere between 50-100 alone.

RO water is tap water treated 4-5 times to make sure any nasty stuff has been filtered. You can't use tap water due to having nasty stuff in it and everys tap waters PH is different where is RO is 7.5.

 

[DrRob]

Sadly Techen is being realistic here. I've been looking at marine for a long time and am still waiting until both my finances and time opportunities are reliable enough to take the plunge. I have a nano tank I could afford to convert, but not the time to look after one, and even then you're well into the hundreds of pounds to get started. If you can afford to do it for the initial outlay then have a good read of the marine sections and add up the ongoing prices of kit and salt and water before you commit to spending all of your available income on keeping the tank going.

I'd say, if you're thinking of having to compromise on anything because of cost, then there are some freshwater set ups that you could put together that will be far more spectacular than the marine you could manage. Breeding some of the rarer fish in freshwater can take a small initial outlay and a time commitment, rather than struggling to get a suitable tank up and running for marine.

 

[Questions?]

i really wanted a yellow clown goby
but i am making a list of things i need and thier cost, i guess i could start a marine tank after college
could the yellow clown goby live in a brackish water? and would brackish tanks be easier?

 

[techen]

I highly doubt it, I'd need to see your list of stuff as theres a fair bit needed to even remotely start a safe marine tank.

 

[Questions?]

lol here my list so far
2 lbs live rock $12
8 lbs base rock $32
Marine coral gravel or live sand
Yellow Clown Goby $6.99
Refactometer
Xenia or Mushroom corals
Heater (have)
can anyone add anything else?

 

[DrRob]

RO unit, or RO water supply.
Salt, and mixing containers, unless you're buying mixed water.
Water storage containers.
Enough pumps to get 20+ times flow.
A lot of lighting, unless you're dropping the coral.
Skimmer.
Marine compatible test kits.
I'm bound to be forgetting many things, those are off the top of my head.

 

[Questions?]

i have API test kits that tests marine and freshwaterm, is that good? i have a 18 watt light so it would be 1.8 watts per gallon, and if i get corals i would get mushroom corals. also what is the benefit of real corals to fake corals? What kind of pumps and skimmer

 

[Questions?]

when i get this (probaly a year or two) i was wondering if i could have 2 peppermint shrimp, 1 yellow clown goby, and 2 mushroom corals in my 10 gallon tank. 4 kils of live rock. i don't know what kind of skiimer or pump yet (can anyone help with that?), hydrometer, heater, and 20 lbs of live sand (or should i get less?)