Getting Into Saltwater

[james41683]

i have an empty 10 gallon tank i would like to make into a saltwater tank. i need to buy all of the other things like lights and a heater, but im not sure which one ill need. what type of lighting would be needed? im guessing a normal freshwater heater would work? how much filtration turn over will be good. i was thinking of maybe using an aquaclear filter. would there be any other things i need to buy? i plan on keeping live rock, a clown fish, and possibly a few inverts. i havent really look at stocking yet, i want to get the tank up first.

 

[andywg]

Best advice re filters and flow rate is to read all the pinned topics. All the information you need to get a good grounding is in them.

 

[nanocubeking]

First off welcome the the Marine side of the hobby!


When your starting off marine tanks its best to know what you would like to keep. If you are after keeping hardy softies and a few Lps then for lights a few power compact lights will do just fine. But if you want to get sps ( small poylp stony) or hard corals then Metal halide lights will be the best option.
Here is a set of power compacts.
http/www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod...mp;pcatid=13637
Here are two sets of Metal Halide.
http/www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod...mp;pcatid=15489
http/www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod...mp;pcatid=13975

Then you've got other equipment like skimmers, Hang on back filters, sumps, powerheads,etc.

If you dont't already know what a skimmer is

"A a protein skimmer, also known as a "foam fractionator," can help you maintain water quality in marine aquariums and reduce the need for water changes. Unlike a mechanical filter, a skimmer removes proteins and other contaminants from the water column before they have a chance to break down into more harmful elements such as ammonia and nitrite. A protein skimmer also increases the amount of oxygen in the water, reduces phosphate to help prevent algae buildup, and is particularly effective at removing toxins released from corals or invertebrates."
Courtesy of Drsfostersmith.
http/www.drsfostersmith.com/product/pet_...cfm?c=3578+4392

Hang on back filters are what people think of when you say a freshwater filter. They usually contain a sponge and active carbon.
A sump is what people call a wet/dry system.
This link contains both wet/dry and hob filters in it.
http/www.drsfostersmith.com/product/pet_...cfm?c=3578+3579

Power heads make a better circulation flow to clean out areas that don't receive enough flow or not at all. Or just to move more water around.
http/www.drsfostersmith.com/product/pet_...=3578+4585+4586

Hope this is helpful.

-M!L35

 

[Revision17]

This post is coming from someone with about 2 months of marine experience.. so beware! Booooo!

If you're planning on keeping photosynthetic invertebrates in the future at all, I would definitely overbuy on lighting. I kinda wish I got some more powerful lights than my current 28 watt CF setup for my 10 gallon.

Skimmers aren't required for nanos, however you'll need to be more regular with water changes if you don't have one. Good thing is that water changes are easy and cheap with nano tanks (yay for small water volume)

You need a minimum of a power head, live rock, and a heater (if room temperature isn't up to snuff) to run any kind of nice marine system (FOWLR) with inverts and stuff.

 

[james41683]

i just went to the store and looked at everything i would need and asked lots of questions. they are going to order the light for me and it'll be here next week, i cant remember the wattage but it was some crazy amount, it is one of the fixtures that have the legs that attach it to the ends of the tank. i was told that an aquaclear hob would work for filtration. i also looked at their fish and coral selection and saw that the coral was more than the fish, is that normal? as for fish, they pretty much had everything that ive been looking at online. how many fish should i go for in such a small tank? what about inverts? i really like the red and white shrimp, i think they're peppermint shrimp.

 

[bobross]

i just went to the store and looked at everything i would need and asked lots of questions. they are going to order the light for me and it'll be here next week, i cant remember the wattage but it was some crazy amount, it is one of the fixtures that have the legs that attach it to the ends of the tank. i was told that an aquaclear hob would work for filtration. i also looked at their fish and coral selection and saw that the coral was more than the fish, is that normal? as for fish, they pretty much had everything that ive been looking at online. how many fish should i go for in such a small tank? what about inverts? i really like the red and white shrimp, i think they're peppermint shrimp.

Right on with going to SW!!


I've been looking into starting a nano (10g) and I'm happy to see topics like this pop up on this forum. Good luck with everything.


BobRoss

P.S. You should make a journal out of this

 

[james41683]

P.S. You should make a journal out of this

i may do a journal, the only thing i have right now is a bare 10 gallon tank and everyone knows what that looks like once i start getting equipment i'll take lots of pictures and start a journal.

 

[timpetty]

Journals are always good. Especially seeing progress from beginner to beautiful tank. Also, Its a good place to ask the endless questions you're bound to have (as i do). Good luck!!

 

[steelhealr]

James...welcome aboard. Starting on a nano tank is, well, a lot of fun. It is not cheap, so, before you buy everything, I would recommend that you read a bit more so that you get off to a good start. Rushing into it can lead to errors, but, trust me, I understand the excitement. Slow down and take the simple step of deciding what you might like to keep, then, spend the time designing your setup. We have great people here and what I do is tell some of the newcomers to design a setup: lighting, powerheads, filtration, etc.....post what you want to keep then post it here and let the more seasoned nano keepers sail in and help you out.

Start here James

WTG!!!

SH

 

[james41683]

James...welcome aboard. Starting on a nano tank is, well, a lot of fun. It is not cheap, so, before you buy everything, I would recommend that you read a bit more so that you get off to a good start. Rushing into it can lead to errors, but, trust me, I understand the excitement. Slow down and take the simple step of deciding what you might like to keep, then, spend the time designing your setup. We have great people here and what I do is tell some of the newcomers to design a setup: lighting, powerheads, filtration, etc.....post what you want to keep then post it here and let the more seasoned nano keepers sail in and help you out.

Start here James

WTG!!!

SH

ive pretty much read that link about 5 times all the way through, along with looking over a nano reef forum, i believe it was nano-reef.com, but ill have to double check. ive also read of parker313's nano diary and noticed that ill be using the same store that was used to set up that tank, since im also in savannah,ga. as for buying stuff, i havent bought anything yet, the tank was free, and the light from the store is the same one linked above, but cheaper since i dont have to pay shipping. it was recommended by a guy that works at the store and also helped me choose most of my cichlids in my 60 gallon. i know it can get expensive, ive paid a pretty high price for most of my peacock cichlids, most people think im crazy when i say i spent $40+ on a fish once i get a general idea of what i want to use i'll definitely ask for the opinions of people here.

 

[steelhealr]

Sounds like a plan.

 

[james41683]

for filtration/circulation i would like to go with an aquaclear filter, due to the fact that i've used the 110 on my african tank for awhile and really like it. would 20x turnover be good or should i go bigger? if i go with a large hob, would a powerhead be needed? if so could someone recommend a smaller, more compact one. i dont want to clutter up the tank too much.

 

[nanocubeking]

Twenty times turnover for a HOB filter is actually pretty good.

 

[andywg]

There's more to turnover than just numbers. A single laminar (high pressure, low spread) flow will just shred anything placed near its origin, but leave a number of deadspots where the flow does not reach.

I would recommend getting the turnover from beter flow models (and lower power) small propellor powerheads. The best candidates for these are the Hydor Koralia and the Tunze Nanostreams. The equivalent Tunzes are smaller, cheaper to run and come with the Tunze build quality, but the Hydors are cheaper and seem to be very well made thus far.