Starting a ten gallon saltwater tank

fishyfriend101

fishyfriend101

Member
Hey im really new to salt water, i have done plenty of freshwater tanks but want to jump to the next step, right now i have a ten gallon tank full of the agro sand salt a 20 gallon filter and a heater i set it up at 6 pm last night, i would like help going through the steps of when i should put in the live rock, i already know i wnt to put clowns in there i just want to know wht i need to do to make and keep a healthy tank thanks!
 
btldreef

btldreef

Moderator
Put the live rock in now. Live rock really should go in before the sand, but since you already have the sand, really make sure those rocks get set in well so they don't shift.
In the new hobbyist section, there are recommended threads for cycling a tank, etc.
 
snakeblitz33

snakeblitz33

Well-Known Member
Welcome to the forums. I hope you enjoy your stay and can learn and share a lot!

A ten gallon can be pretty exciting. I would start by reading some of the wonderful guides here on the forums and start reading as much as you can about the hobby.

I would start by reading "how to cycle a saltwater aquarium."

Then, I would get the following tools and equipment: They are cheap and easy and are great steps towards being successful in this hobby:

Hydrometer (if your on a budget.)
Refractometer (If your not on a budget.)
Instant Ocean Sea Salt mix
Maxijet 1200 powerhead
5g Rubbermaid or similar food grade plastic container
1g distilled water jug
5g utility container for freshwater
Turkey Baster
Digital Aquarium Thermometer


pH should be right around 8.2 at the end of the day before lights out and about 7.8 or greater just before lights on in an average reef tank.

Good luck and I wish you much success!
 
snakeblitz33

snakeblitz33

Well-Known Member
A lot of aquarists think that you shouldn't consider your filtration system or return plumbing gph in with your internal flow rate. I personally don't. That being said, a ten gallon tank might need a powerhead of at least 100gph to give a 10x turnover rate to meet minimum standards. There are cheap powerheads made by Koralia (like the Koralia Nano 240) that would be well suited for a 10g tank.


Tank cycling can last anywhere from 14 days to 30 days, depending on the amount of bacteria already present. I would also test for ammonia to make sure it doesn't spike past 2.0ppm since you want to keep what is on your live rock alive... if that happens, do a 3g to 5g water change.

I have a ten gallon tank and when I do a 5g water change it seems like it's more than 5g when I look at it. I think I'm fixing to go with just a 3g water change - which is 30% total volume weekly.
 
fishyfriend101

fishyfriend101

Member
I checked my amonia and salinity and its perfect and ph is good i put the power head on and my nitrate is at 5 according to my testers my water is still severly cloudy like a white milky kind of cloudy
 
snakeblitz33

snakeblitz33

Well-Known Member
How long did you mix your salt before adding sand? How did you mix your saltwater?

Generally, it takes on average 24 to 72 hours for sand to settle or get filtered out before clearing up. I usually wash my sand before adding it to a tank... I wash it in a pillow case... I run a water hose into the pillow case and let it run until the water coming out is clear. Works for me every time.

Bacteria are fed simply by pretending to feed one small fish.
 
fishyfriend101

fishyfriend101

Member
Whoa i wish id have thought of that -.- i dont think i cleaned it very well i tried cutting the corners trick but the water didnt even get a quarter of the way down into the sand to wash
 
fishyfriend101

fishyfriend101

Member

Alright now heres my tank cloudy free and coming up on day three how do i get the algae going and gettin some bacteria to grow?
 
snakeblitz33

snakeblitz33

Well-Known Member
Add a very small piece of raw shrimp.
Buy some api test kits
Test your water daily.
Start an aquarium log either on the computer or in a paper journal.
 
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