beginner to saltwater

catfishcorey

catfishcorey

New Member
Ok my question to you guys/girls is that i want to set up a saltwater aquarium 10 gallon, but i really havent done anything with saltwater so im a total newbie. My parents are completely againist it so currently im attempting to talk them into as usually once they say something thats the end of it, yet im determened. Any tips on this ^ is greatly appcieated! This reason they say this is due to them once having saltwater yet have problems with it. Ok , so back to the tank... lets start with what i have.
10 gallon aquarium kit includues
the stock hang on back filter for a 10 gallon
heater
stock lights ( can i upgrade the wattage? ) Lights strips btw not the bulbs
i do have another filter if needed? with a spray bar for current
items know needed
live sand
salt stuff
live rock
possibly some base rock if cheeper?
possibly a power head for even more current?
NOTE: Am on a stict budget because i cant work yet so of course minumum income for cutting grass $20 dollars a week so buying as i need or can afford
I am trying to acomplish a tank with 2 clownfish a shrimp some crabs snails easy to mantain coral nothing major like sps just low light coral mushrooms polyps soft coral stuff like that. I want a reef but not over the top stuff just basic and easy to mantain. And not overly EXPENSIVE!!!
Any tips please help ty
 
1guydude

1guydude

Well-Known Member
hmmm k so ur parents said yes or no and ur still doing it?
Honestly man u need more $$$ and a larger tank!
Specially if ur new to this!!!!!
Take ur $ to the book store or amazon and get a SW aquarium book about setting up and keeping one! Read it Read it Read it and by the time ur ready....ull be ready.
sry man im not tryin to be a jerk....im just being real with u!
Welcome to the site and read as much as ur mind can take!
 
catfishcorey

catfishcorey

New Member
my parents had a 55g gallon sw and i have a 29g biocube fw but wanted saltwater and by letting my parents sell the biocube which will give them mone they will have no reason but to say yes. but im determined to do a 10g saltwater so any tips to do this besides saying no id apperciate not trying to sound rude at all just that im going to do this so id like to know what all i need to do thanks
 
1guydude

1guydude

Well-Known Member
well getting a book was a serious inquiry...
also ur gonna have to mow about 8 yards to get a light!
Youll want a couple nano powerheads!
bout 10-20# of LR.
Enough LS for 1-2 in of floor bed!
Turkey baster.
Couple of 5gal buckets.
A hydrometer.
Salt ( i use oceanic).
Filter...ull want ceramic bio rings or LR rubble, carbon, and a sponge of some type in it!
net
thermometer
heater
im sure there is more i cant think of!
Good luck and keep us posted
 
catfishcorey

catfishcorey

New Member
thanks well i have 40$ atm and birthdays bout to come up so prolly 300$ there so money atm may be ok temperaly can i do stock light strip 2 lights 15w 50/50 corallife 18in in it for now? not major corals just polyps xiena just to get started with and later get the t5 lights?
 
sprieto

sprieto

Member
Why not keep your 29 gallon biocube, empty and clean really good, and use as your base. You might also consider a small protein skimmer.
 
catfishcorey

catfishcorey

New Member
because i have had a lot of probelms in the tank and as far a rock etc goes a 10 gallon is cheaper and buying letting my parents sell the biocube this is kinda like me paying them to allow me to have saltwater idea i have....talking them into this by the way
 
sprieto

sprieto

Member
You can do it, not impossible, but lots of work. Do your homework. Research, research, research...
 
catfishcorey

catfishcorey

New Member
ive been! haha alot....but those lights are just temp until t5s for birthday so a couple months of stock give me time to get cycle clean up crew fish and be ready for cycle? anything else im missing? parts wise?
 
btldreef

btldreef

Moderator
https://forums.saltwaterfish.com/forum/thread/387050/beginner-to-saltwater#post_3402820
I didn't realize that you had two threads going about the same thing. Word of caution: Do not post multiple threads on the same thing.
To add, make sure your parents know that a lot has changed, even in the past 3 years with the saltwater hobby. There are newer, more effective ways of maintaining a saltwater aquarium, and some methods are cheaper and easier.
I agree with keeping the 29G for saltwater. Honestly, it's not going to cost you much more, but it will save you some headaches and filtration issues in the future. Other than the initial extra expense of a little more live rock/live sand, it will be more cost effective. There are many, many people who use the 29G BioCube for saltwater, they really work great for it and are one of the better nano systems. What type of issues have you had with it?
 
btldreef

btldreef

Moderator
And keep the 10G as a QT setup (now your parents are really going to kill you!)
Here's what you need:
Heater
Proper Filtration (the biocube already offers you this)
Live Rock (or base rock)
Live Sand - you can do bare bottom, but in a nano, the live sand does help, at least that has been my experience
refractometer or FLOATING hydrometer (swing arms are inaccurate)
API or SeaChem test kits (initially you'll need ammonia, nitrite, high range pH and nitrate, ultimately for a reef you also need calcium, phosphate, carbonate hardness/alkalinity as well)
Proper Lighting (the biocube already offers you this)
Skimmer - optional
Filtration media - optional, but I do recommend at least running carbon on a smaller setup
salt
2 5G buckets for water change
2 powerheads - one for the water change bucket, one for the tank
thermometer (the coralife digital is cheap [$7] and works well)
Some extra tubing for water changes
Turkey Baster (for feeding and blowing debris off live rocks during water changes)
 
catfishcorey

catfishcorey

New Member
well im still definatly doing a 10 gallon because i do not like my biocube at all way to many problems with it. but as far as lighting goes for just mushrooms and polyps what lighting do i really need and since im doing the 10g and not the biocube what things do i need based on this. I have alot of things that comes with the kit but dunno if i need upgraades or can just keep what i have for now and slowly upgrade later.
 
catfishcorey

catfishcorey

New Member
well the fish always jump to the back and i dont reslly like the all in one stuff and ive asked my mom if i can mod it she wont let me because she bought it for me so with the 10g i can do w/e with since i payed for.
 
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