brand new ten gallon?

[kcowles040491]

I heard that ten gallons were the hardest tank to keep. the temp is ok and the salicity is almost perfect. umm i have like nothing for it yet but i would eventually like to get a angelfish. I would just like to know what i should start out with ya know. I was told to get 1 or 2 damsels and go from there. Basicly i just want a list of stuff you would get if you had a ten gallon. I have no price range whatsoever. But i dont want to go crazy with it.

 

[reefforbrains]

is there a particular reason for the 10g in the first place? Often the tank is the cheapest part of the set up, why not go witha 20 long or even a 29 tall. they are nice and small tanks bu give much more room to play with.JMO

 

[mopar9012]

Im gonna say no angelfish in a 10. Maybe a 29.

 

[kcowles040491]

I bought it for cheap 70 bucks for stand tank hood pump heater crushed coral. im probably gonna go out and buy the new penguin biowhel but i should be able to keep some fish in it right it wasnt like a complete waste of money was it
i kept a freshwater angelfish in a 10 gallon but ive had at least a 2 hundred freshwater fish over the years but ive never had a saltwater so im kinda new to this

 

[buffett]

nope not imo, you can do several things with it, dont overload it by anymeans but have fun with it but i would get rid of the crushed coral and go with live sand i hope this helps some, take care

 

[kcowles040491]

yeah thanks ill take your advice the coral came with it so i just threw it in there but if anyone has some past experiences with a ten, and it was sucsessful then give me some tips

 

[jba6511]

well still kinda new to this as well but most people have LR at about a pound per gallon, Live sand, power heads, skimmer (although not necessary), lighting if you want to do corals, etc. It really depends on what you plan to keep in the tank. A fish only setup with live rock should be a good intro and is less expensive to do than a coral, but after spending some time with saltwater you will probably get into corals as well. Hope this helps.
Right now I have a 10 with LR, Live sand, 2 whisper filters, 36 watts of power compacts, 2 small clowns, a bunch of snails, hermit crabs and a coral banded shrimp. Good luck with your tank.

 

[kcowles040491]

as you know tommorow is easter so im not gonna run out tommorow and get naything but umm what size power head are do you reccomend and also what do you recommend for a skimmer. should i buy any special chemicals to get the tank going before i put fish in it or did the last poster pretty much cover it all

 

[lbaskball]

Originally Posted by kcowles040491
as you know tommorow is easter so im not gonna run out tommorow and get naything but umm what size power head are do you reccomend and also what do you recommend for a skimmer. should i buy any special chemicals to get the tank going before i put fish in it or did the last poster pretty much cover it all
You dont need a skimmer. Your tank is small, keep up with 10% water changes everyweek. That is one of the major differences between saltwater and freshwater, you sort of have to be religious about water changes if you want to keep everything very healthy.
Go buy some test kits to test for ammonia, nitrate, nitrite, ph, calcium and alkalinity. You need all of those test kits.
You cannot put any fish in it, until you let your tank cycle.
Put sand,live rock, let the tank cycle (usually takes anywhere from 2weeks to a month) then start adding fish very slowly. There is a product called biozyme which is bacteria, which will help speed up the cycle process.

 

[poop_head]

Ya I currently have a 10 up and running. I have just a AquaClear filter that I converted into a mini fuge. Lots of people do it. You add chaeto and LR into it and it helps filtering. Let me see if I can find the link to it. Don't get a damsel unless thats what you want in it. I added a yellow tail damsel just to make sure things were ok before I got my clown, but when the time came to get the damsel out I nearly had to take all my corals out and LR to catch the bugger! The problem with a 10 is space. Only get what you like/want and not what catches your eye cause space will run out.

 

[poop_head]

I found it. In his picks he has sand in it but I suggest not doing that. Here is the link to the message thread.

 

[zanoshanox]

i have a ten set up at the front desk at my work, i'm using an aquaclear 70. I've got a 96w PC over it. Its an attractive lil display, and everything's healthy, but its very hard to keep clean.