Should I Go For It? 10 Gallon Nano Folwr

[trojannemo]

well i dont have space in this house for any more tanks unfortunately. neither can i afford a big marine setup. however, i do have a 10G tank which I think I would like to turn into a nano marine tank if possible.
i just read through your pinned posts and it seems that i can after all, but i have some questions for you guys (your sticky's all said to ask lots of questions!)

1. here's the equipment i currently have, what else would i need to buy to start?
- 10G tank
- 20G bio-wheel HOB filter
- 50W visi-therm stealth submersible heater
- 2x 20W 50/50 10,000K/Actinic bulbs (i.e. 40W total or 4 WPG)

- i also have a whisper air pump with gang valves and two airstones but i dont think these are used
in SW?

2. understanding the size limitation, i would only want to keep 2 ocellaris clownfish ("Nemo & Marlin"), can I keep them in this size tank?

3. i ultimately would be interested in making it have some corals, but dont want to start with anything other than live rock and live sand...i understand clownfish like anemones, will they be ok with just LR and LS?

thanks for your answers...you will probably decide whether i should do this or not!
i feel like i have plenty of experience in the FW area, and having other fish tanks and currently working at redoing my FW tank to be a planted rainbow tank, i wont have the "urge" to speed through the process

 

[xxBarneyxx]

You can do it in a 10g but it will be more work and your stocking options are going to be limited.

10g for two clowns is probably a bit too small. Some will say its ok and others wont. For a 10g in terms of fish stocking you are better off looking at the smaller gobys.

If you want to turn it into a marine tank though you could always go for an invert tank. Get some liverock in there, some soft corals (which will probably do ok under that lighting) and then hermit crabs and shrimp.

in terms of what you will need (for a tank with corals, inverts and maybe a small goby).
Live rock (use the calculator linked at the top of the forum to work out how much).
RO Water (for a 10g you can probably just buy this from your LFS rather then getting an RO unit).
Powerheads (30gph at least, a korillia nano would get the job done).
Salt. You might be able to get premixed water from your LFS. If not you will need to buy salt and a hydrometer or refractometer (I would recommend a refractometer as they are easier to use).

Then I would stock it with something like 2 or 3 hermits, a fire shrimp, a small goby, a couple of peppermint shrimp and then zoa's and mushrooms.

 

[trojannemo]

You can do it in a 10g but it will be more work and your stocking options are going to be limited.

10g for two clowns is probably a bit too small. Some will say its ok and others wont. For a 10g in terms of fish stocking you are better off looking at the smaller gobys.

If you want to turn it into a marine tank though you could always go for an invert tank. Get some liverock in there, some soft corals (which will probably do ok under that lighting) and then hermit crabs and shrimp.

in terms of what you will need (for a tank with corals, inverts and maybe a small goby).
Live rock (use the calculator linked at the top of the forum to work out how much).
RO Water (for a 10g you can probably just buy this from your LFS rather then getting an RO unit).
Powerheads (30gph at least, a korillia nano would get the job done).
Salt. You might be able to get premixed water from your LFS. If not you will need to buy salt and a hydrometer or refractometer (I would recommend a refractometer as they are easier to use).

Then I would stock it with something like 2 or 3 hermits, a fire shrimp, a small goby, a couple of peppermint shrimp and then zoa's and mushrooms.

thanks for the help...i agree regarding the water, i'd be more inclined to just buy it off the LFS for such a small amount rather than spend the money on a RO unit!
can I have at least ONE clown in there? point being, if i do a saltwater, it's because i love clown fish! i dont mind reducing it to one clown fish only, or one clown fish and a goby or something...but no clownfish at all? then i'd probably not do it

 

[xxBarneyxx]

Some people will say it is ok. Personally I wouldnt. I did have clowns in a 15g which is about as small as I personally would go but I also had a 10g fuge attached to it and was ready to move them to a bigger tank when they got bigger.

Its your call but I really wouldnt. If you move the 10g do you have enough space to put a 20g in? You can normally pick up 20g tanks for fairly cheap out the local newspapers or places like ebay and then you could have a pair of clowns and a couple of other fish as well. Would be a lot easier to keep stable as well.