# first salwater tank???



## jrodriguez (Jul 20, 2009)

ok...i have an empty 10 gallon right now and i am not happy with that...

i was thinking of making it a nano reef and if not then maybe a fw aquarium

i have been looking around and is it true that i dont need a filter for sw if i have live rock???

what fish would be ok for a 10 gallon???

what special equipment do i need for it???(besides a refractometer)

what is the difference between refractometer and hydrometer???

oh...and how much would it cost for everything???

any feedback or comments are more than welcome...


i have enetered the DARK SIDE of aquarium keeping...hahahahahahaha
*r2


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## drhank (Aug 3, 2009)

jrodriguez said:


> ok...i have an empty 10 gallon right now and i am not happy with that...
> 
> i was thinking of making it a nano reef and if not then maybe a fw aquarium
> 
> ...


Hope that helps answer a few questions.


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## jrodriguez (Jul 20, 2009)

ok thank you for everything


what fish would be good for it???
and coral /invertebrates???


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## drhank (Aug 3, 2009)

As far as corals, zoanthids, palythoa, and soft corals if you are using PC lighting, LPS corals like hammer, frogspawh and easy SPS like pocilliporia and some montipora caps with T5 lighting. Just about anything with MH lighting.

You commonly see fish like clown gobies, royal gramma and small basslets. Normally only one in a 10 gallon tank.


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## ladyonyx (Apr 20, 2009)

Here's a link to "nano" fish: Nano Fish. A clownfish would be good, royal gramma, all sorts of gobies, etc. A great thing for nano-reefs are pistol shrimp/goby pairs. They are lots of fun to watch and there are some beautiful shrimp gobies. Just be careful not to overstock the tank. WQ parameters can be hard to control in only 10g of water.

Soft corals and LPS work well for nanoreefs. Look into xenia, star polyps, mushrooms corals, leather corals, zoanthids and palythoas. They all do well in a small reef environment. 

Small hermit crabs would be good. Another great little nano-critter is the sexy shrimp: Saltwater Invertebrates for Marine Reef Aquariums: Sexy Anemone Shrimp. Very pretty and scavenges up little leftover bits of meaty foods. A consideration if you're looking to do something a little bit different, you might want to look into mantis shrimp. They're not really a shrimp but are closely related to them. There are two kinds: smashers and spearers that eat shelled animals and fish, respectively. They tend to knock over corals when they burrow (in several inches of substrate) and eat other tankmates, so they make for a good species, not community, tank. If you'd like to learn more about them, here's a mantis shimp article I wrote: Coral Science - The science behind stomatopods. And if you'd like to check out some common aquarium species of mantis shrimp and their tank requirements, check this out: Roy's List of Stomatopods for the Aquarium

You should still have a filter. Having some marcoalgae in your tank is never a bad idea either. Halimeda is a really pretty macro. Don't skimp on the amount of LR either. 

While these are not the cheapest tanks to put together, they are absolutely beautiful and very rewarding. An important thing to never forget in small volume systems is water changes, water changes, water changes! And don't rush the cycling. I love my 12g nanocube, but do 25% water changes at least once a week. It's worth it though. Let us know what you're thinking of doing once you get it figured out.


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## jrodriguez (Jul 20, 2009)

im thinking of not putting corals in thisa tank after all...and as far as fish go i might get a ocalirus clownfish with plenty of live rock(15#)

and i am not going to rush this one...and probably some shrimp in there as well

as far as a filter i am going to get a bio-wheel 

thank you all

plz comment


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## petlover516 (Nov 12, 2008)

some1 else just set-up a 10gal reff and did real good with it his name was opy01 i think, and u could try pming him or look for the thread "new SW set-up"


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## Imaexpat2 (Jun 17, 2009)

You can have a fairly decent set up for some easy to keep corals for under 200 fun dollars(minus the cost of corals and CuC. I out lined such a tank in a article I wrote titled "10 Gallon Budget Nano" for another forum. Its a pretty detailed set up step by step, blow by blow complete with pictures and was written with an eye towards keeping cost minimal, and showing just how easy it was to get into this hobby without taking a second moragage out on the house or pulling your hair out stressing about setting it up and running it.


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## phil_pl (Apr 10, 2009)

im just going to throw this out there, clown fish are recommended to have at least 30gal


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## jrodriguez (Jul 20, 2009)

im thinking now to get a 29-30 gallon and save up for all the other stuff...i just read a couple of threads on nanos and it nakes sense to just get a bigger tank

thank you all for everything


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## Imaexpat2 (Jun 17, 2009)

Yes it does, good choice on your part, especially if you want fish. I dont think you will regrest such a course of action. You will have a lot more options available to you.

I myself am looking to retire my 20H and move to a 40 gallon RR tank possibly. More space to play with.


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## petlover516 (Nov 12, 2008)

phil_pl said:


> im just going to throw this out there, clown fish are recommended to have at least 30gal


that is if u keep them in community. when u have a pair by themselves, u can do a as little as a 10gallon

but if your doing a 29gallon, u can do a pair of clowns, a gramma, and a goby.


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## drhank (Aug 3, 2009)

Excellent plan. You can save that 10 gallon tank for a QT.


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## kris_leonardi (Jun 28, 2009)

I have a 10 gallon nano and my clown is doing great! If you did add an Ocellaris clown you could possibly get a small goby such as a green clown goby or a yellow watchmen goby because they really don't produce much waste.(but remember to give at least one week until adding the 2nd and final fish.) For Shrimps I would recommend a peppermint shrimp. Mine seems to be very happy and actually does really well with a clown. You should also throw in like 2 snails or so and that will keep the waste down. I hope this helped! =]

-Kris


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## phil_pl (Apr 10, 2009)

jrodriguez said:


> im thinking now to get a 29-30 gallon and save up for all the other stuff...i just read a couple of threads on nanos and it nakes sense to just get a bigger tank
> 
> thank you all for everything


my first SW tank was/is a 29gal, great tanks


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