Small Saltwater Aquariam 101: Please post your steps to a succesful 10 g or less.

[ryan41]

My girlfriend just got us a 9 gallon wall aquariam. It hangs on the wall. It has the viewing size of a 42" plasma, yet is only 4.5" deep. I am new to this hobby and have gotten different opinions about a tank of this size. Someone with some experience in this size tank please share your best advice. Please post your get started guides and fish recomendations. Dimensions: 44.5" L x 4.5" W x 25.5" H.

 

[clown boy]

Welcome!
It absolutely depends on what you are looking for. Do you want a mini reef with lots corals and a clown gobie or two? Do you want a couple of Clowns with a hosting coral? Do you just want a sand bottom and fish?
Tell us what you would like.
Each setup requires different steps.

 

[ryan41]

Thanks!
I am thinking about including a few clown fish, and maybe an angel fish, damsel, and small puffer, probably no coral yet.

 

[clown boy]

cough, cough, cough!! WOW!! You ought to be glad that you came to this website!
Out of all the fish you listed there, the only fish that would work would be the Clownfish and Damsels.
The minimum for the Angel would be around 55 Gallons.
The same for the puffer.
Not only that, but the puffer would probably eat the clowns...
If you tried including those fish, doubtless they would die.
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news... I just am glad that I told you before and not after.

 

[clown boy]

So the tank is 4 and a half inches thick?

 

[ryan41]

Yeah I wasnt kidding when I said im new to the hobby. Ive learned alot in the past week, but not nearly enough. I am considering basically any type of fish that is good looking with alot of colors and will fit in the tank ok.
yeah..4 1/2" thick... so the fish dont have alot of space to turn around.

 

[clown boy]

Hmmm... well... I've got to go get to bed... (shouldn't you do the same? LOL)
I'll try to help you more tommorrow.
Goodnight!
~Clown Boy

 

[reefforbrains]

Those tanks are abomonations to the hobby. Sorry if I sound rude for being so blunt about it.
The flow is horrible and cleaning is nearly impossible do the the size restrictions.
Rockwork is a pain along with nagging shadow problems. Lighting to penetrate so deep for your photo critters is near impossible making this a very poor choice for trying to build a long term healthy reef.
Unless you really are set on this style please think about a different configuration and save yourself a TON of headaches. And money.
Usually everyone that has one regrets it.
Good for goldfish and some of the fancy freshwater, but dreadful fit with salt.
-RFB

 

[rbaldino]

Originally Posted by ReefForBrains
Those tanks are abomonations to the hobby. Sorry if I sound rude for being so blunt about it.
The flow is horrible and cleaning is nearly impossible do the the size restrictions.
Rockwork is a pain along with nagging shadow problems. Lighting to penetrate so deep for your photo critters is near impossible making this a very poor choice for trying to build a long term healthy reef.
Unless you really are set on this style please think about a different configuration and save yourself a TON of headaches. And money.
Usually everyone that has one regrets it.
Good for goldfish and some of the fancy freshwater, but dreadful fit with salt.
-RFB
I have to agree. You might make it work with freshwater fish, but I wouldn't try saltwater.

 

[ncacura]

With a 4.5 inch thick tank you don't have a lot of surface area. I'm sure you've heard the 1" of fish for every 1 gallon. While for saltwater its at least 1" for every 2 gallons, and usually it means surface area not overall tank volume. The reason why 4.5" thick tank is so bad is because there is really no surface area. The surface area, or area on the top of the tank, is where all the gases are exchanged and with a tank so small it's going to have poor air circulation as well as probably many other problems. Since its a 9-gallon tank too, water changes every week are a must. The problem with small tanks is they require a lot of maintenance and levels can often flucuate really rapidly. A reef tank in a tank this small is a bad idea, your maybe looking at 2-3 really small fish and thats about it. I've never had smaller than a 24 gallon, and that was a pain keeping the levels steady, I couldn't imagine having a 9. Good luck. If you need anything else, post away.

 

[clown boy]

It actually sounds like it wouldn't work too well for freshwater either. LOL
Go to your local pet store. ***** is fine. Pick up one of their ten gallon tanks. It's cheap, and the lights are bright enough to keep a clownfish or two, but you will need to upgrade to Power Compacts (PCs) if you want coral.
Get a powerhead, (Someone on here... say which one...) and a good Penguin Bio-Wheel (Someone on here... say which one...). Then you can begin livestock.
In the Saltwater Fish world, Live Rock and Live Sand is considered livestock... as well as fish, shrimp, and corals, etc.
The sand and rock are called Live Sand and Live Rock because they are full of microscopic microbes that keep the balance between the Amonnia and Nitrate levels. These are important in your cycle, which I will mention in a moment.
Get a piece of Live Rock or two to decorate your seascape. Then, get enough Live Sand to cover the bottom about an inch and a half. After that, you are ready to cycle.
Be sure to get a good Saltwater test kit. Then simply get a piece of dead Jumbo Shrimp and toss it in your tank. (Well, not literally toss...

)
Your Ammonia and Nitrate levels should Spike over the next couple of days... sometimes a week, or more. Then they should start to go down. When all of your test levels are at Zero except your pH, Calcium and Alkalinity, the cycle is is complete, and you will be ready to add fish.
The only fish that I can think of that would really work for this size tank would be Ocelleris Clownfish or Clown Gobies. Whichever you decide, just be sure to follow the acclimating procedure described here:
https://www.saltwaterfish.com/site_11_03/acclimation.php
That's all for now! If you have any other questions, post away.
If any of the experts on here disagree with anything I said, please say so!

 

[clown boy]

fer ya!

 

[clown boy]

fer ya again!

 

[clown boy]

It's happened to me twice now! I put the effort into making a really nice post for a newbie... and then... they never come back again and never see it.

 

[oceansidefish]

Skip the salty on this one and use it as a freshwater tank. It would be just fine for a little school of tiger barbs... Some people like mollys, personally I would go with tiger barbs.

 

[ryan41]

I appreciate the help! Seriously! I definitely didnt forget about this website. Sorry I didnt respond, I had a lot going on at work and was out of town for a few days.

 

[ryan41]

I see that the saltwater community for the most part is pretty against wall aquariams. I went to a co. that sells them and looked at the salt water wall aquariams that they maintain. It seems like its absolutely possible, its just gunna be a bit of work. Im gunna give saltwater my best try. So im still open to hear from anyone who knows some more about this kind of tank...

 

[lesleybird]

Originally Posted by Ryan41
Thanks!
I am thinking about including a few clown fish, and maybe an angel fish, damsel, and small puffer, probably no coral yet.

Ha ha ha ha ha ha haaaaaaa your joking right??
Get yourself a good book on saltwater fish care first. I would not even put one saltwater fish in a 9 gallon maybe freshwater fish.

 

[ryan41]

Glad you enjoy making a mockery of my first posts on the site...

... someone already responded to my first bad idea ...

 

[lsu]

Originally Posted by Ryan41
I see that the saltwater community for the most part is pretty against wall aquariams. I went to a co. that sells them and looked at the salt water wall aquariams that they maintain. It seems like its absolutely possible, its just gunna be a bit of work. Im gunna give saltwater my best try. So im still open to hear from anyone who knows some more about this kind of tank...

The reason this company has success is because they sell them. If you can afford to have a professional company maintain it for you on a weekly basis, then it will work. That will get expensive real quick and does not seem very practical for such a small tank where you could only have a couple of small fish such as a clown goby or firefish. The tank sounds like it would look great but you are really limited on livestock due to width and the amount of gas exchange that will take place. I'd ask the company how much they charge to maintain it for you. The ones that do it hear are anything but cheap.