went to create a 10 gallon salt water tank plz help

[rcdude1990]

hello all i made a post about this about 10 days ago but cant find it anymore
i wanna start a 10-20 gallon salt water fish tank.
i currently have a 10 gallon freshwater tank but i dont like the fish for freshwater
i have a aquaclear filter (hanges over the edge of the tank), a heater, gravel, an air pump, a bubble wall, and an air ornament(its a shark and the bubbles makes the mouth move up and down)
i know that i need to get live sand and thats pretty much it
i wanna no if my current filter is good enough for a saltwater tank (its good for the freshwater tank but on the box it doesnt say if it can work wit salt water) if u dont think this can work, do they have salt water filters like mine because ive seen huge filters but they were for like 100 gallon tanks i jus want a small one thats quiet for a 10 gallon tank. also os there a way i can put a certian amount of table salt into the water to make saltwater or do i have to get salt water form the petstore because its very expesnive.
also i read about lighting, i have lighting for the freshwater tank but i dont no wat kind do u think it will be good enough for the salt water tank. and finally do i need a protien skimmer or somthing like that for a 10 gallon tank?
thanks in advance and if u can tell me everythign about starting a salt water fish tank

 

[jam1e]

Originally Posted by rcdude1990
os there a way i can put a certian amount of table salt into the water to make saltwater or do i have to get salt water form the petstore

:hilarious hahahahah
sorry about that .. no .. you can't put table salt in your fish tank .. no you don't need a protein skimmer for that small of a tank .. I don't know if your filter that you have now will work or not .. you might want to go to a local saltwaterfish store and ask them .. I'll cover more of your questions in a second when I read it again

 

[jam1e]

your light from your freshwater tank probably won't work .. it depends on what light you have .. do you know what kind of light it is and/or what the wattage is?

 

[jam1e]

and yes .. lighting is extrememly important in saltwater

 

[coderad]

Unfortounatly you will need to get some salt mix from the pet store I use instant ocean, but there are many good brands out there. The HOB filter might work, but I would suggest getting a small canister filter or even a small sump(will add more water volume Esier on bioload (amount of fish)).
Live rock might be a nother thing you would want to look it is acts a natuaral filtration, same as the live sand.
Lights should be fine unless you want to a coral. Skimmers are nice to have you wouldent belive the stuff they take out of your water, but you could probaly get away with out one if you keep up on you 10% reguale water changes.
You will have to let the tank cycle with the live rock and live sand for about a month or until level reach 0 (trate, trites and ammonia) Before you can add any fish.

 

[rcdude1990]

ok i have a 15 wat light for my freshwater fish tank
may i ask how much you guys/girls pay for salt water
also do they make filters like i have for salt water tank? if so how much do they range from.
and finally how often do i need to change the water in a 10 gallon tank
thanks agian so for the answers r really helping

 

[jam1e]

yeah you will defintely need live rock .. and in your case .. for such a small tank .. I would rather buy a couple small pieces rather than one big one .. it cleans it better .. and don't be alarmed if you wake up one morning and find a small snail sucking on the side of the glass . that's a good thing .. it means he came with the rock you bought .. a Lot of things can come with rock that you buy .. and yes .. CodeRAd was right .. when I said that your lights probably wouldn't work I had in my mind you putting coral in .. as CodeRad said .. your fish would be fine without expensive lights but your corals would be doomed to failure .. good luck .. and don't hesitate to ask any questions to anybody .. I know you probably have a million right now .. ask away!

 

[jam1e]

yeah that light definetly won't work if you want coral .. and yes they have filters like your for saltwater but I don't know how much they cost for that small of a tank .. I've only ever bought one for a 65 gallon and a 90 gallon .. but when CodeRad said that it would be good to get a protein skimmer I would 90% disagree with him ... a sump I wouldn't though .. I wouldn't get a skimmer first of all becuase they cost $200-$300 and for that small of a tank you don't need one .. but a sump would help your bioload and help you keep things clean

 

[rcdude1990]

#5 Today, 04:17 PM
CodeRad
Yellow Tang Join Date: Feb 2006
Posts: 121
Unfortounatly you will need to get some salt mix from the pet store I use instant ocean, but there are many good brands out there. The HOB filter might work, but I would suggest getting a small canister filter or even a small sump(will add more water volume Esier on bioload (amount of fish)).
Live rock might be a nother thing you would want to look it is acts a natuaral filtration, same as the live sand.
Lights should be fine unless you want to a coral. Skimmers are nice to have you wouldent belive the stuff they take out of your water, but you could probaly get away with out one if you keep up on you 10% reguale water changes.
You will have to let the tank cycle with the live rock and live sand for about a month or until level reach 0 (trate, trites and ammonia) Before you can add any fish.
Code may i ask how the salt mix works? is it like i get freshwater and then put this stuff in it to make the salt water for my fishtank? how long is a 10% reguale water change? also to answer ur questions i would love to have live rocks or corals,(were clownfish can live in) and fish i dont want to have just a coral tank
thanks again

 

[coderad]

Water changes I do 10% a week so for a 10gal 1 gal.

 

[jam1e]

if you want anemone's (where clownfish live in) you're going to need much stronger lights than just the bare minimum (what I was thinking for your corals) and yeah .. all you have to do is pour the salt mix into fresh water

 

[rcdude1990]

one question
i really want to get like a fmily of clownfish
my cousin has a 200 galoon tank and he has a family of clowns
but wat i really liked to c was that the cloans stayed inside this beautiful like coral thing (srry remember im a noob lol), it was round it it swayed wit the clowns
now i dont no the difference of live rock and coral it would really help me if someone gave me a picture of the two and tell me the difference
thanks in advanced

 

[coderad]

Sorry I meant to say 10% a week.
Yea the salt is like a brine you mix with fresh water I would suggest useing RO, RODI, or Distilled water to mix with. You can buy the jugs a wallmart for now, if you don't have a machine.Tap water can cause alge blooms. Or most salt water fish stores do sell premixed saltwater.

 

[coderad]

This is my tank I have only live rock. Soon to add corals once I upgrade my lights.

 

[jam1e]

the round coral thing you're talking about that the clownfish were in is called an anemone .. clownfish live in it .. you can buy clowns buy the pair (I think that's what you mean by family) if you want an anemone you're going to need really strong lights .. they need alot of light to live

 

[rcdude1990]

i forgot to say that i have this fishtank inside my bedroom so i dont leave the light on all night cause i wont b able to sleep
do i need the light on all day for the tank??
also that plant thing i talked about wit the clowns, does that need 24/7 light?

 

[coderad]

Nope all you need is a 9-12 hour light cycle. For fish only or coral.

 

[jam1e]

can you see my replies? yes you need lights all day .. but only for about 12 hours .. not 24/7 .. but if you get a new light you might consider getting one with "Moon" lights on it .. it's this itty bitty "night-light" sort of thing for the fish .. it's only like 1 watt or something so it won't bother your sleeping

 

[rcdude1990]

srry Jamie i jus wanted to make sure
also wat kind orf light do i need meaning wats and stuff

 

[coderad]

Depends on what kinds of coral you would like to keep. I don't know much about the lighting requirements for coral. But metal Halides you can do pretty well most of them.