small marine tank

[ambushman2j]

I think I am going to setup a 10 gallon marine tank to "try it out" what advice would you all have creating a good tank in a small enviornment?

[liv]

I was interested in nano reefs too before I got my tank.

For nano reefs, you will most likely need to do weekly or by-weekly water changes of ~20%.

also, you will need some aragonite and live rocks to help the filtration. also.. 10G tank.. it wont handle much fish.

my 135g tank is rated at 27" of fish .. and thats the max.. they recommend 20" tops.

so make sure not to over populate the thing.

also, get a cleaning crew.. like shrimps.. snails .. crabs..
they will help clean up the thing.

inside water circulation is crucial, and a protein skimmer.

also, what style are you going for.. this could have alot to do with the fish/marine life you intend to keep.

lighting is also very important.. your 10G is probebly not too deep. so neons should do just fine. you want the highest Kelvin possible for your corals. or a combination of day lights and altinic blues.

water weight 1.025/1.026
temp between 76 to 80.

the stabler the water.. the better. ( temp, ph and salinity )

as for evaporation of your water.. make sure you do not add salt.
as salt does not evap. so only add your water to replace it.

Oh, and if you are going to do those water changes... make it in advance and let it sit.. its better then mixing on the fly.

Its my first in saltwater too.... man am I learning!
passing from fresh to salt is a different world. :oops:

[cerickson]

I keep a nano tank actually. Its a 12 gallon tank made for a nano system.. You can get one a marinescape aquariums on carling ave near bronson.


As for filtration, all you need is the liverock nothing else. I put in a sponge for mechanical filtration, and A cleaning crew to keep down the algae and diatoms.

Like liv said, you can't keep much fish in it.. I have only 2 clownfish in it, and thats enough.


But I really encourage you to look into the nanocube system at marinescape.

[ambushman2j]

ehh I just was gonna put 1 or 2 fish max anyways..just want something different to look at other then the 7 african tanks..looking for low cost, medium maintenance (max) what type of marine fish would go well in a 10 gallon? I want something exceedingly colourful and vibrant or something exceedingly interesting to watch, I am used to african cichlids afterall heh

[cerickson]

Well my plan is to simply go for 2 clownfish and a host anemone or hard coral.   That is all I want, then i'll go from there.. but small tanks like that can't fit much...

[vpilieci]

IMHO ... Nano reefs are death traps. Because of the small volumes, you get chemical spikes fast!!! Especially if if have coral that is getting too much light/not enough light and starts to dies = ammonia spike and other problems....

Having said that... I can't live your life. If you are going to get into saltwater fish keeping you should definitley check out Leroy's site at http://www.garf.org/ the guy is world reknown and still has time to check his e-mails every day. The site should be a must for reefkeepers....

good luck...

VP

[ambushman2j]

I didnt know grey was a vibrant colour there art? heh

Is it not better to make your mistakes in a small tank to keep costs down then to make them in a huge one and go broke?

[vpilieci]

It's harder to make mistakes in a bigger tank... you can notice the changes in the water chemistry easier and make changes faster... ie: 10 gallons of water gets dirtier a hell of a lot faster than 55 or 100. And a 10 per cent water change in a 55 or 100 gallon is a lot more effective that a 10 per cent change in a 10.

VP

[cerickson]

There is and always will be skepticism of nano tanks, but in my experience they are not that bad, as long as one keeps the necessary parameters steady as well as only puts in things that are more compatible for a smaller tank...  No anemones. I will put in one hard coral and thats probably it.  Keep smaller fish, and leave it at that.. nano tanks are easy to overstock. So if one keeps things in a comfortable level, nano tanks can be a nice addition.

[ambushman2j]

making a mistake in a 100 gallon probly will end up costing about 500$ where as in a 10 gallon maybe only 10$..when one is living from paycheque to paycheque I perfer the later

[Pisidan]

I saw at Big al's a 10 gallon Salt water setup in Kanata...Somw company makes a thing called a Nano cube has everything you need for a 10 gallon salt water steup!! They had one going there and he said it has been fine looks really nice cost was the only thing i saw as a problem LOL it was 199.99. It was neat though it had a piece of Coral and one coulourful fish in it maybe you wanna check that out!!

[ambushman2j]

yeah I might just do that, 199.99 is rather expensive..I will have to see what comes with it, from what I have seen from setting up the 33 gallon marine tank at SP, it would not be nearly that expensive to just turn a hagen starter kit into a marine tank..might not be as good but I don't see why it would not work

[cerickson]

lol, If you think 199.00 is too expensive then I'd advise you to think twice about going with Marine at all..


I actually have the nano cube system that Pisidan referred to, Its great!..

And after getting the liverock, substrate, heater, hydrometer, salt, and all of the other items, It has cost me nearly in 500s now. And don't expect to pay any less with a small tank.

So unless your prepared to spend a lot already, dont bother.

And I still recommend you get the nano cube.. Although it is 199.00, remember you get the proper lighting with it as well as a pump system to provide the necessary water flow.. both of which you won't get with a simple hagan starter kit.  All in all, your saving money with the cube, plus it looks nicer than a regular tank IMO.


The design of it is much more ergonomic and appealing than a regular tank, especially because you can hide the heater and the pump in the back compartment, leaving the inside of the tank clean of devices and cords.


If you go to marinescape aquariums on carling, they also have the nanocube, but also sell a kit with it as well that saves you some money for the other setup items...

For $350 you get the tank, heater, hydrometer, substrate, and salt. Which is a much better deal considering the price for the extra items will run you much more. Plus the guys there are really helpful, since they specialize solely on marine aquariums.

[Pisidan]

Yeah I was interested in that Nano Cube thing but I think I will get my others tanks up to where I want them before moving to salt water..freshwater tanks can sometimes be a big enough challenge though I must say lately I have had little to no problems..I think by saying that I have ruined it LOL!!

[cerickson]

Touch wood man touch wood!!!


Anyways, Yes, I finally decided after a while it was my time to try out marine, so here I am.

It was a good move IMO, Much more things to look at.

[Pisidan]

Yeah lol...ws wondering with that Nano Cube how many salt water fish could you put in it??If I got something saltwater I always loved Clown fish but I would have to see how biog they get. Do you have a pic of yours. the one at Big Al's they have set up only had one fish in it and a huge piece of coral!!

[cerickson]

Yea.. Actually I'm a big fan of clownfish as well, and I will be putting in two of them once the parameters are all tuned properly..


So two clowns is no problem, just nothing more..

I will also be putting in some sort of coral as well.

You can't put any anemonies though as the lighting isn't good enough (they need a lot)..

But yea, i'll take a pic for ya.. keep in mind there is only the rock and a cleaner pack in it.

[ambushman2j]

heh well, I don't think I am really willing to go out and get a second job to afford a nanocube heh..specially since I am just trying marine out to add diversity to my multitude of african tanks, hagen is coming out with a new small dual light starter system which should be really good for planted tank, maybe I will go that way

[cerickson]

Yea I might look into one of those too.. I'm new to planted freshwater tanks.. I have one planted tank and it is doing well, and i'm looking to put more plants in.. but a tank like that sounds good.

[ambushman2j]

yeah the waterhomes are tanks where there's no glass to difuse the light as it tries to get to the bottom of your tank so it's much stronger then if you just had glass..and the ones which will be coming out soon will be smaller like 31 gallons and 19 or something like that and they will have the dual lights which are nessessary for growing plants

[Pisidan]

That sounds nice cause I want to get something like a 30-40 gallon soon. I dont have permission from the wife for anything bigger lol!! But I want another tank so bad another 55 lol Ah well!! Guess I will have to suffer for a 30-40 gallon!!

[ambushman2j]

well I know that has always been the biggest problem with regular hagen tanks is that the standard canopy only has room for the one bulb, and that's not adaquite for most planted setups, so these new tanks will be really good

[cerickson]

Do you have an idea of how much they are planning to go for? $$?

[ambushman2j]

unfortunately not, when the waterhomes first game out they were quite expensive, and nobody was buying them, they were just buying the old style equivelent and I cannot blame them who wants to pay like 60$ extra for a different style but the exact same product?..when they noted nobody buying them, they lowered the price to just below the price of the old style starter kits, like .01 lower and they are starting to sell, so we will see how much they price the dual pro starter kits

[cerickson]

Oh I see.   I'm actually looking into getting a simple 10-20g starter kit for my mother for christmas.  It's is the one thing they don't have.

[ambushman2j]

They still have all the traditional starter kits, except the 20 gallon, although I think we do still have 1 left in stock over at merivale..unless it's been sold since I was last there..but last time I was in I was pretty sure I saw it there, give me a call today (sunday) 224-1212 and ask if we still have a traditional 20 gallon starter in stock, we have lots of 10 gallons tho

[cerickson]

She actually lives out in B.C though, so I'd have the hardest time lugging it over there when I fly back.. But I might be on the market for one myself come January.

[ambushman2j]

I found out today it's a 21 gallon dual light and a 32 gallon dual light, they are in the superpet gifts catalogue, price was not included and we have not received any as of yet