# What is Necessary



## hotwingz (Mar 3, 2013)

I have been wanting to start a salt tank for a very long time! One of the reasons I haven't is because I have had a hard time gathering enough money to gather all of the live rock. I have full set ups that are empty, 10g. I do have brackish and loads of FW experience, so I'm confident that I can handle a smaller new tank. 

My real question is what is the bare minimum I need to do this? I'm talking can I do gravel, fake decorations, that sort of thing. I do have aragonite to use for substrate. But can I set it up with basic FW stuff and add live rock slowly?


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

You don't need "salt water" specific gravel,BUT do want to use one that will buff your ph like for african cichlids.argonite is pretty basic,in the old days used dolomite,which was cheap.
The smaller the tank the harder it is to manage the water parameters.
You don't really need to add any live rock and many choose not touse any to avoid some of the nasty hitch hikers that can sneek in.You certainly can add live rock slowly as you go without issue as long as it is cured(you wouldn't want to add a bunch of uncured live rock to an established system as it may cause some spikes with die off).
I guess if you weren't goingto stock more than a couple "nano" fish you could make a 10g work and "get your feet wet".Still the same learning for the water and testing,just like I said a little harder to balance in small volume tanks.
I figure you have seen this but here's good info and links;
http://www.aquariumforum.com/f67/what-you-might-need-start-your-41978.html


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## hotwingz (Mar 3, 2013)

Wow nice write up! I'll have to make a bookmark for that page to referrance. How much different is the test kit for SW? If I'm not doing corals or anything especially to start do I need anything more than I have?


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

The API liquid test are the same but the color cards are different.If you purchased the test individually then they come with both cards usaully.I use same reagents for all my common test.
And RM really hooked us up with all the links and info!


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## hotwingz (Mar 3, 2013)

Ok perfect that will get me going. Then I will slowly add live rock. And so on. Do you have any suggestions on fish ?


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

This is a pretty good list;
Nano Fish
This one seemed a little questionable but list some good fish;
lgreen's Ultimate Guide To Nano Fish - Beginners Discussion - Nano-Reef.com Forums
It list fish by tank size in section 7.
The clownfish are really a sore subject to many.Although they are not the most active fish many still feel they deserve bigger than a 10.For what it is worth even my #1 LFS sells a 10g "kit" with all you need and a pair of clowns?


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## hotwingz (Mar 3, 2013)

Ok well I am no stranger to the tank size for a fish debate. It will never end. But I do have small tanks. Anyways thanks for the nice list of fish! I will have to go through it more and pick a couple fish to research a bit. Now is there any negative effects on getting a fish when it's a juvenile with knowing I'll have a bigger tank for it when it gets bigger. I've done this plenty with FW fish.


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

No problem with juvi fish.Some of the marine fish just look different as juvis.
I have 2 lion fish,a moray eel and a minautus grouper in my 120g FOWLR that I know will outgrow my tank(seemingly soon),so I made my LFS say they would take them back in trade before I purchased them.There is no bigger tank comming for these beast!It is a shame that the most active of them (the mini grouper) is the most beautiful and my favorite.all red with bright blue spots!AOL SearchWHAT A BEAUTY!


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## hotwingz (Mar 3, 2013)

Ok, that makes me feel better. There's a few fish I love that will be big enough to stay in my 29th when they are full grown. I might get this and move them as soon as I can find the fish a new home.


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