new to salt water

Honestly, I have only frequented one forum (fish or otherwise) in my life and this is this one. I have been very happy with it. The people are cool and the information is dependable.

A 10g tank is a good start. You will need very little in equipement. I don't know if you can get a small T5 array, but if you can get one that fits, I would go with that. Otherwise a small PC set up. Just know, that with PCs, you will be limited somewhat. Not so much in a tank that small because it is not that deep. PCs just don't have good penetration.

ITO skimming....you really don't need it. You can get away with a small filtration system like an AquaClear-30. If you want to get a small, inexpensive skimmer, the Rio Nanoskimmer will do for 10g.....barely. I have one on my 10g tank, and while I am still not sold on it, it is adequate for my needs at this point (a FO system).

You will want about 15lbs of live rock to start and about an inch to inch and a half of aragonite sand. A ten pound bag will do you fine.

Then just let it sit. You will only have room for two very small fish. Three inches total in a tank that small. Keep that in mind. It is not like FW. O2 saturation levels plummet with the addition of salt mix.

So good luck and have fun.

Peace.......John.

 

thanks for the info, ive actually found a 20 gallon tank, that im thinking bout going with instead of the 10g tank, which is would be better for a newb!

 

20 gallon Deffinitly
The smaller the tank... The more chance for unbalanced water parameters.
Its always better to go bigger than smaller.
I see alot of people on this forum with small 10gallon nano's and i dont see how they keep it all inline.
I myself would rather go with the bigger tank if it was me.
You can add alot more(10 gallons worth)

 

yea so im going with the 20 gallon, will start my project next week wen i get paid! ill keep you guys posted

 

welcome to 3reef!!

 

ok so i just pickd up my 30 gal tank! can someone help me with a list of items i will need to get started! and around how much everything will cost! (dont have anything right now except for the tank!)

 

Hello everyone. I am also new to saltwater and this site. I have been reading alot of posts of the last few days and there is alot of good info hear.

So far I have a 40g glass breeder tank 36"x15"x16", Fluval 305 canister filtration system, Tetra Whisper 60 gallon air pump, Penguin 1140 submersible power head measured at 300gph, and 50 lbs of live sand. Now I am in the market for a protein skimmer and lighting. I found these, what do you think?

Lighting- I would like to do Live rock, soft coral, inverts, and a few fish. I would also like to stay under $200
USA Satellite Dual Compact Fluorescent, 2X96 Watt, 36 inch
Satellite Dual 96W Compact Fluorescent Lighting Current USA Satellite 36 inch Power Compact Light
USA Orbit Compact Fluorescent Fixture, 2X96 Watt, 36 inch
Current USA Orbit Compact Fluorescent Fixture, 2X96 Watt, 36 inch

Protein Skimmer- Again, I would like to stay under $200, the cheeper the better. But I want something that will keep my tank clean and the water safe.
Aquarium Systems SeaClone 100 Protein Skimmer
Aquarium Systems SeaClone 100 Protein Skimmer Sea Clone 100 Protein Skimmer
Any info on these products or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

hi jack

i see that your new and i recommend you read the fourm rules, what you did was a "high jack" start your own thread you'll get pleanty of help there and happy reefing to all. =]

 

I would beg to differ on both the difficulty and the equipment take. It's not as difficult as many think. The reason is simple: A 10% water change is only one gallon. No carrying buckets, or spending tons on salt and you can easily do it daily. And what tank wouldn't be healthy with a 10% water change every day? The difficulty in a small system comes in vigilance. You can't let it sit. Because while the small amount of water makes maintaining cleanliness easier, it does make maintaining salinity and other ions like Calcium and Carbonate fluctuate rapidly. But again, just make sure you're topping off before you change water, and do a small change everyday, and your chemistry shouldn't vary too much... But you'll still need to test every so often to be sure.

You don't NEED a protein skimmer (Even on a large system a protein is an option not a necessity) but in my opinion a waste of money on a small tank due to the ease in which you can chage water. One thing you absolutely must invest in if your water quality is debatable, or if you're going to attempt to keep more delicate coral is a reverse osmosis or Deionizing water treatment set up. Then you'll know that the water you're changing is going to be tip top clean. Also use a good carbon in your tank to adsorb the chemicals given off by the coral, and other organics...

 

i conquer...

But a bigger tank is just so much cooler..