# Starting a saltwater tank tips



## blazeshift (Jan 17, 2011)

Hello everyone! I've had a small freshwater tank for a little under a year and it's done fairly well. Now I want to start a saltwater tank because I like the colors and my four year old son wants to see at least one of the Disney characters in there. I told him it would be *Marlin* (Clownfish). *Dory* (Blue Tang) is out of my planned tank size and maintenance. That said, this is what I'm looking for, I'd like some ideas:

as small as possible, we don't have a lot of room, 10 gal or less.
two clownfish.
algae clean up crew.
seahorse?? ( I may need a reality check on this as I know nothing about them but they seem beautiful )
some coral?? (combo reef tank/fish tank and I may need a reality check on this as I know nothing about them but they seem beautiful )
I may need a reality check on all of this. Things I can't negotiate are on size--it has to be small. Maybe Clowns and Gobys??
).

I'm interested in ReefOne's biUbe because it seems like a beautiful tank. The clerk at our local fish shop discouraged me from that tank and offered me a nano cube--it's a cube and it's ugly compared to a beautiful crystal cylinder. Anway--I'm looking for ideas at the moment. I'm still reasearching.

Thanks.


----------



## Reefing Madness (Aug 12, 2011)

Your LFS would be right to discourage you from getting a cylinder tank, as they kind of shorten the swim room up quite a bit. If you were to get one, I would recommend against fish, as 10g is already going to limit you. 
I would limit your clown fish to only one, as they require a slightly longer tank, but you could get by with only one in a 10g.
Saltwater Aquarium Fish for Marine Aquariums: Ocellaris Clownfish
As for the Goby, absolutely, you have quite a few to choose from there.
Gobies for Sale: Goby Fish Species Including Shrimp Gobies

As for Seahorses, yes. Dwarf Seahorse, in a 10g tank, by themselves, not with fish.
Dwarf Seahorse

Corals:
Saltwater Aquarium Corals for Marine Reef Aquariums: Nano Corals

Inverts:
Saltwater Crabs: Hermit Crab Species for Saltwater Tanks
Aquarium Snails: Sea Snail Species and Aquatic Saltwater Snails


----------



## Aquatic Castle (Jan 11, 2012)

You can do a lot with a 10 gallon tank. Yes you can put fish and coral in there. Two clownfish would fit. On the shape of the tank, it's nice to have bottom space in a reef tank to set rocks on. That said, I've seen people build a tower of rocks in a cylinder. Clownfish don't need a lot of room to swim but other fish may want more room than a cylinder can offer. For a clean up crew, you can get some hermits and reef safe snails. 

I'm just going to say no on the seahorse straight off. It would probably die. That's the simple answer. If you are determined to have one, do some research. 

For information on cycling the new tank check out this article. It talks about when to add what to your tank.


----------



## beaslbob (May 29, 2009)

Whatever you do I recommend you start the tank with macro algaes. Probably protected in some kind of refugium which can be a simple partition.

With the macro or other algaes you balance out and stabilize operation of the tank. Which makes operation much more forgiving and easier.


my .02


----------



## Reefing Madness (Aug 12, 2011)

beaslbob said:


> Whatever you do I recommend you start the tank with macro algaes. Probably protected in some kind of refugium which can be a simple partition.
> 
> With the macro or other algaes you balance out and stabilize operation of the tank. Which makes operation much more forgiving and easier.
> 
> ...


none4none4none4none4
Yea sure why not. Its already only 10 gallons, go ahead and rob more space from your tank by throwing in a partition> NOT!!!
WARNING>>>>WARNING 
This guy will have you believe that Macro Algae is the cure all for any tank out there!!!
WARNING>>>>WARNING.
if you follow this guy, he'll have you owning a 55g tank full of TANGS!!!! Which is cruelty to animals!!!!


----------



## Aquatic Castle (Jan 11, 2012)

If you want to do the macro algae thing, you could do it with an aquaclear hang on filter that you put the macro algae in or a hang on refugium. You just have to be careful to trim that algae before it gets too overpopulated. Algae can release toxic chemicals into the tank or it can rot and release everything it cleaned from your tank in one fell swoop. It can be beneficial but it's not a panacea.


----------



## Reefing Madness (Aug 12, 2011)

Aquatic Castle said:


> If you want to do the macro algae thing, you could do it with an aquaclear hang on filter that you put the macro algae in or a hang on refugium. You just have to be careful to trim that algae before it gets too overpopulated. Algae can release toxic chemicals into the tank or it can rot and release everything it cleaned from your tank in one fell swoop. It can be beneficial but it's not a panacea.


*i/a*


----------



## Fish042099 (Jan 28, 2012)

Forget about the tang..150 g. Plus......another finding nemo character would be a royal dotty back,but your tank size is gonna limit most options....maybe try to squeeze in a bigger tank? My suggestion is if you are limited lengthwise, get a really tall tank, for example if you only have room for a standard 10 gallon tank, go for a tank that is taller than a 10 gallon tank but the same length.


----------



## Arayba (Feb 8, 2012)

I would suggest you would NOT get a tang for a 10 gal more then likely it will stress out and die from lack of space but a gramma would be a good one Just make sure you have a lot of patience so your tank can cycle through Good luck and welcome this is a very fun Hobby


----------



## whitetiger61 (Aug 2, 2011)

i would go with 1 clown fish in a 10 gallon..and definitely not seahorses..i have 2 and they can be pretty delicate to keep depending on the species.. and no matter how big of a tank you get seahorses should go in a tank by themselves.other fish will rob their food as they are slow eaters and they will starve and die..i thought you had a 55 setup for saltwater already..

Rick


----------



## xunknownx (Sep 4, 2012)

sorry for bumping up an old thread but i was searching and i wanna do something similar to the OP. i want 1 nemo, 1 dora, and maybe 1 or 2 sea horses. possible?


----------



## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

No! Seahorses in general should not be with larger or agressive /fast fish.Clowns are not good with horses,and I didn't pay enough attention to movie but black / yellow/white (dora?) is a moorish idol , not even really reef safe, out of the question as compatible with horse.Sea horses require special attention and a running(6 months-1 year old ) tank.They will not tolerate bad water even breifly.Small gobies/blennies are good tank mates and where to start a tank ,if you really want horses.I have mandarin,blennies and pipe fish with my horse (9 months now).


----------



## Reefing Madness (Aug 12, 2011)

Sea Horses should be in their own tank, without others to mess with em. They are somewhat difficult, and need far less flow in their species own tank than a Reef or with other fish. Do'nt get me wrong, it can be done, but its very difficult.


----------



## xunknownx (Sep 4, 2012)

so if i get a small tank with just 2 sea horses by itself. what is needed?


----------



## Reefing Madness (Aug 12, 2011)

I'll get our resident Sea Horse Specialist in here to help you out.


----------



## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

absolutely should not start out salt water with horses.


----------



## Reefing Madness (Aug 12, 2011)

This is who you should PM. I already gave him a shout for you.
Aquarium Forum - View Profile: whitetiger61


----------



## whitetiger61 (Aug 2, 2011)

no fish with seahorses..i wouldnt even try seahorses until you have about 5 years of saltwater experience..thats just my opinion. but no fish with the seahorses. thats my final answer...lol (doing jeff foxworthy impression)

Rick


----------



## roafamily (Jul 30, 2012)

my son wanted a seahorse but was told they were high maintenance. they need to be hand fed, shrimp and a place to tie themselves onto?


----------



## Reefing Madness (Aug 12, 2011)

Hand fed, no. Posts, sea grass to latch onto, yes.


----------

