# Saltwater Start up questions!



## peacocks (Aug 7, 2011)

would i be able to start a saltwater setup with a 10 gallon tank?
what fish can i house in a 10 gallon?
what equipment as far as filtration would i need for a 10 gallon salt set up?
how much water changes are recommended for a 10 gallon salt?
type of fixture or t5 bulbs for the tank? for example actinic 10000k etc.
what are BEAUTIFUL corals to add to a 10 gallon?


i might upgrade the 10 gallon aquarium to 20 as i got one sitting but i figure smaller the better filled up with live rock i can get it and make it look lively. 


im experienced in freshwater and im thinking of switching to salt for fun and c how it works out. im in it more for the corals and clowns. but the hobby of mine might grow for salt  i got a fish room full of freshwater aulonocara which are amazing fish.


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## BettaBeats (Jan 14, 2010)

you can easily start a 10 gal reef. the biggest problem will be keeping up on water clarity, so water changes once a week and top ups every other day usually.
i have a tailspot blenny and a small orange skunk clownfish in mine. 
i did about a 2-3 gal water change once a week or once every other week.

2x24W T5HO would be sufficient for softy corals. Zoas, mushrooms, xenia, etc. 
A nice 4x24W fixture would be sufficient, but might be over kill. 

My mistake was starting small, and then I filled my tank up over the year.. to where the water clarity was hard to maintain.

A Hang On Back refugium made from an Aquaclear 70 or 110 is a good start for filtration.


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## peacocks (Aug 7, 2011)

hmm some good info here! thanks so much for response. looking to hear back from more ppl.

u think i can put a lot of good corals in a 10 gallons? cuz i love corals and there colour.



BettaBeats said:


> you can easily start a 10 gal reef. the biggest problem will be keeping up on water clarity, so water changes once a week and top ups every other day usually.
> i have a tailspot blenny and a small orange skunk clownfish in mine.
> i did about a 2-3 gal water change once a week or once every other week.
> 
> ...


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## altcharacter (Jan 10, 2011)

alot of people use 10g for saltwater setups. As with any other size tank the only thing that matters is consistency. You'll only need to change a gallon of water a week and you could also do smaller water changes twice a week but consistency is the key. Make yourself a small automatic top off so the salinity is the same all the time.

Although my opinion would be to make the 20g your tank and make the 10g your sump. A sump adds more volume to the system and helps a great deal with filtration. 

a 4xT5HO might be overkill for a 10g tank since the tank is very shallow. With a 10g you might be better off getting a DIY LED system since you would only need 10-12 LED's for a system that small.

If you're ever interested to see what a setup would look like you can swing by my place and take a look.

Good luck!!


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## Dax (Sep 29, 2010)

I agree with Alt on everything but might seem like a lot at startup if you are in the experimenting stage; I mean auto top off, sump, DIY LED .. yikes. Don't get me wrong, these are not hard to do, but they can easily be added along the way. I'd go check out his setup because it's the best way to get a good idea where you want to end up.

As he said, consistency is the key and this is easier to maintain with a larger volume of water. This hobby requires you to go slow for the same reason. I'd go with the 20 gallon display because by the time you add rocks, you'll only have about 10-15 gallons of water (assuming no sump, YET). Also, if you start with a 10 and want to add more stuff, which will happen very quickly, switching tanks is not going to be fun.

My 2 cents (almost the same for a 10 or 20 gallon):

what fish can i house in a 10 gallon? 
-With corals and a couple of clowns you may get one more choice but that's about it.

what equipment as far as filtration would i need for a 10 gallon salt set up?
- A HOB is fine to start and then decide on sump route

how much water changes are recommended for a 10 gallon salt?
-it's a pretty small volume of water so you can see how it goes for maintaning consistent parameters. As the others said, probably top off daily and change one gallon about once a week.

type of fixture or t5 bulbs for the tank? for example actinic 10000k etc.
-Get a 14000k look using a T5HO fixture. As Betta said, 2x24W T5HO should be fine. As Alt said, for a small tank a DIY LED would be a great project but that depends on how handy you are. Maybe if you bought the stuff he could put it together for you 

what are BEAUTIFUL corals to add to a 10 gallon?
-Look through here and see what you like. http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/aquarium-fish-supplies.cfm?c=597

Have fun!!


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## sig (Dec 13, 2010)

peacocks said:


> would i be able to start a saltwater setup with a 10 gallon tank?


you can even start SW with 1G (for a few days), but it will be waste of money, since very soon you will go to 20G and so on, until you will reach at least 30-40G and every time you will need bigger equipment.
the smaller the tank, the more difficult to keep it stable. The changes occurs very fast in the smaller tanks

I would recommend to start with 20G long. very nice size for small SW

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## altcharacter (Jan 10, 2011)

C'mon over anytime to check out my little system. I like the size that I have in my living room...even though greg says I should go with a 90g =P

I would be glad to help you put together a DIY LED system. They're fairly straight forward these days with the evolution of the hobby. RapidLED has the DIY's now where they plug into eachother with no soldering so really it's just plug and play.

Alex is the prime example of the saltwater enthusiast. He started with a small nano tank then went to a 20g, then to his 110g, and now he's going for 260g. We all do it eventually but it's a good idea to start with something smaller like a 20g so you find out the mistakes of the hobby.

Good luck!


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## peacocks (Aug 7, 2011)

where abouts do u live.

i understand everyone upgrades. i had a 10 gallon freshwater when i began. now i have a 125 gallon tank main, and over 8 breeder tanks in my small fish room. breeding aulonocara peacocks etc. but for saltwater im gunna stick to one size only and not upgrade cuz it cost a lot of money in the sw hobby.



altcharacter said:


> C'mon over anytime to check out my little system. I like the size that I have in my living room...even though greg says I should go with a 90g =P
> 
> I would be glad to help you put together a DIY LED system. They're fairly straight forward these days with the evolution of the hobby. RapidLED has the DIY's now where they plug into eachother with no soldering so really it's just plug and play.
> 
> ...


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## altcharacter (Jan 10, 2011)

I'm at Warden and St. Claire just behind the Warden subway station.


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## peacocks (Aug 7, 2011)

altcharacter said:


> I'm at Warden and St. Claire just behind the Warden subway station.


im at mccowan and denisan. warden isnt to far from me.


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## altcharacter (Jan 10, 2011)

Well c'mon down!!! I'm about a 12 minute drive from you and i'm always home since I'm unemployed right now.


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## sig (Dec 13, 2010)

peacocks said:


> where abouts do u live.
> 
> i understand everyone upgrades. i had a 10 gallon freshwater when i began. now i have a 125 gallon tank main, and over 8 breeder tanks in my small fish room. breeding aulonocara peacocks etc. but for saltwater im gunna stick to one size only and not upgrade cuz it cost a lot of money in the sw hobby.


Agree, that everyone upgrades, but with SW it will cost much much more to upgrade

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## peacocks (Aug 7, 2011)

sig said:


> Agree, that everyone upgrades, but with SW it will cost much much more to upgrade


yup c cuz of all the extra chemicals and maintenance needed. i do water changes every 3 days anyways so thats hassle free.


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## Tim (Dec 11, 2011)

A gallon a week water change will be cheap. A bag of salt a year. I wish LOL.


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## peacocks (Aug 7, 2011)

Tim said:


> A gallon a week water change will be cheap. A bag of salt a year. I wish LOL.


is there a cheap salt mixture i can buy or is it only the ones in the big bins. forgot the brand.


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## Tim (Dec 11, 2011)

Instant ocean bag good for 50 gallons is 18-ish I think? Reef crystals is a bit more. Since you want corals may as well go for the reef crystals since it has more of the trace elements in the water for the corals. I use the instant ocean and pick it up at big als.


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## sig (Dec 13, 2010)

peacocks said:


> yup c cuz of all the extra chemicals and maintenance needed. i do water changes every 3 days anyways so thats hassle free.


you made me laugh now

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## Dax (Sep 29, 2010)

sig said:


> you made me laugh now http://www.gtaaquaria.com/forum/showthread.php?t=7482


 +1


Tim said:


> A gallon a week water change will be cheap. A bag of salt a year. I wish LOL.


 +1 For a small setup, a bag of salt will last you a long time so don't worry about the cost. Get one with all the trace elements and this will make your job easier.


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## altcharacter (Jan 10, 2011)

When you come over I'll sell you a bag of Kent 50g for 10 bucks. Can't beat that price!! That'll last you all year


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## peacocks (Aug 7, 2011)

altcharacter said:


> When you come over I'll sell you a bag of Kent 50g for 10 bucks. Can't beat that price!! That'll last you all year


appreciate it brother. will definitely consider. cuz im still 50/50 on the fish tank  but i can store salt no problem right? even for 5 years?


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## damsel_den (Oct 31, 2011)

Only 50/50? You just told me on bbm you were starting one!who are you kidding? You know your going to start one!


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## peacocks (Aug 7, 2011)

damsel_den said:


> Only 50/50? You just told me on bbm you were starting one!who are you kidding? You know your going to start one!


who is this? lol

i most likely will like i said. but i gotta consider what im doing over the summer to. i still got my hand full with my freshwater breeding etc. would i be able to keep coral without live rock? like just place them on the sand bed or no?


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## damsel_den (Oct 31, 2011)

Its Mel


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## sig (Dec 13, 2010)

damsel_den said:


> Its Mel


Hi Mel,

How are you and your tank? We did not hear updates lately 

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## damsel_den (Oct 31, 2011)

Its good, ill post new pics soon been super busy looking foir a job, i Lost euphyllia to brown jelly after the move but re building, now I'm crazy full lol!!
Don't worry your tanks still in good hands


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