im going to buy a small 10 gallon tank to house 2 or 3 clownfish. i was wondering if i could just use a freshwater filtration system to filter the saltwater. im going to use live sand and put tap water in the tank and then mix it with instant ocean salt. but again, im getting live sand, coral and 2 or 3 clownfish. is the filter ok? and im getting a bubbler and hydrometer. is that it?
10 gallon clownfish tank
- Thread starter snus29
- Start date
10g would be good for 2 clownfish. make sure when you get them you get the largest in the tank and a smaller one; as long as their both healthy. the largest in a group will always be the female, the smaller ones males. when the largest dies, the biggest male will turn into a female
you could use a hang on the back filter, but you will have to make sure to keep it clean as the salt will make it slow down and not work so well.
you need to read up on cycling and saltwater in general.
if you plan on getting into corals, you need to look into lighting as well and i would recommend softies and leathers to start with.
you could use a hang on the back filter, but you will have to make sure to keep it clean as the salt will make it slow down and not work so well.
you need to read up on cycling and saltwater in general.
if you plan on getting into corals, you need to look into lighting as well and i would recommend softies and leathers to start with.
**INVEST IN A GOOD SALTWATER AQUARIUM BOOK** before you dive into a marine tank.
10g may be okay for a single clown, I wouldn't do a pair in a 10g- most recommend 20g as the minimum size for a pair, and with any of the above that is only for the smaller clowns (percula or ocellaris). Also note that the smaller the tank, the more difficult it will be to maintain water quality and salinity level.
Very few people do filters in a reef tank unless they are changed several times a week, because they tend to trap waste and as it decays, so does water quality and thus coral health.
Skip the bubbler and go for a good nano powerhead, like a hydor koralia.
If you add tap water to the tank with live sand, then mix in the salt, you will end up with dead sand and poor water quality from dieing bacteria and such from the sand. You will need to premix saltwater before adding it to the tank (fresh water will kill live sand, live rock, corals, marine fish, snails, etc). You also need to used conditioned tap water (RO/DI water is much better, but you could likely squeak by with conditioned tap water depending on the corals you want to try). You would not be able to have any other fish in with a clown in a 10g tank - as she matures, she will not want to share the space with any other fish.
Any corals require better lighting than the junk that comes with the tank, good lights tend to be expensive but for a 10-20g it shouldn't be too bad (depending on what type of corals you want).
In any size tank, the max is 2 clowns. Once they mature, two will pair up and will kill any others. This is the case for any species. The two must be the same species (although you could do different colorations of the "designer" clowns as long as they are both the same species (percula or ocellaris)).
A lot of this info is freely available online or in a good book. If you don't do the research first, you will be one of the countless people who rush into things, end up buying stuff twice when you find the first thing you purchased was total crap / useless / etc, and ultimately trying to sell an unsuccessful SW tank on craigslist. Make sure you can commit to the total cost of the setup, the patience of letting it cycle and mature (especially before adding sensitive corals), and the weekly maintenance / daily upkeep of the tank, before you spend the time and money to do it halfway. I'm not trying to discourage, but trying to help you do it right the first time, if you decide you do indeed want to do a SW fish tank. Having a tiny tank with several clowns is not a long term dream, unless you want to constantly replace clowns....
10g may be okay for a single clown, I wouldn't do a pair in a 10g- most recommend 20g as the minimum size for a pair, and with any of the above that is only for the smaller clowns (percula or ocellaris). Also note that the smaller the tank, the more difficult it will be to maintain water quality and salinity level.
Very few people do filters in a reef tank unless they are changed several times a week, because they tend to trap waste and as it decays, so does water quality and thus coral health.
Skip the bubbler and go for a good nano powerhead, like a hydor koralia.
If you add tap water to the tank with live sand, then mix in the salt, you will end up with dead sand and poor water quality from dieing bacteria and such from the sand. You will need to premix saltwater before adding it to the tank (fresh water will kill live sand, live rock, corals, marine fish, snails, etc). You also need to used conditioned tap water (RO/DI water is much better, but you could likely squeak by with conditioned tap water depending on the corals you want to try). You would not be able to have any other fish in with a clown in a 10g tank - as she matures, she will not want to share the space with any other fish.
Any corals require better lighting than the junk that comes with the tank, good lights tend to be expensive but for a 10-20g it shouldn't be too bad (depending on what type of corals you want).
In any size tank, the max is 2 clowns. Once they mature, two will pair up and will kill any others. This is the case for any species. The two must be the same species (although you could do different colorations of the "designer" clowns as long as they are both the same species (percula or ocellaris)).
A lot of this info is freely available online or in a good book. If you don't do the research first, you will be one of the countless people who rush into things, end up buying stuff twice when you find the first thing you purchased was total crap / useless / etc, and ultimately trying to sell an unsuccessful SW tank on craigslist. Make sure you can commit to the total cost of the setup, the patience of letting it cycle and mature (especially before adding sensitive corals), and the weekly maintenance / daily upkeep of the tank, before you spend the time and money to do it halfway. I'm not trying to discourage, but trying to help you do it right the first time, if you decide you do indeed want to do a SW fish tank. Having a tiny tank with several clowns is not a long term dream, unless you want to constantly replace clowns....
ok so im gonna get the tank and 2 clownfish. ill get a good light and all that and buy preboxed slatwater. ill let it cycle through the filter for about a week and then add corals, then fish. one question. when you say its harder to care for (the water) what do you mean? like i have a sand vacuum ill use once a week which will suck up about 40% of the water as well as poop, etc. then ill just pour in more preboxed seawater until its full. isnt that it? let me know i nee dto know everything about this before getting even close to starting
It normally takes several weeks for a SW tank to cycle. You need several things for a SW tank. You need to be able to test the salinity level, Alkalinity, and pH just to start plus the regular testing stuff as well. Also the tank needs to be topped off daily or more with fresh RO/DI water to replace what evaporated. Have you read the SW beginner section here yet?
knowing the difficulty of owning corals, i wanted to get equally colorful FAKE corals. they are artificial and i found a few at petco that are pretty nice. with clownfish though am i going to have to get a live one? like an anemone. because im assuming he MUST have a place to house and obviously they love anemones! can i get all fake? what do i do?!
Clown fish do not have to host with anything to live in a tank only is the wild so they do not get eaten. I would skip on the fake coral and for more live rock. Clown fish will even host with simple coral sometimes like a toad stool or hairy mushroom which are much much easier then an anemone. Normally beginner coral will last longer then beginner fish. Also stay away from damsels!!!!! They are mean most of the time and will kill you higher priced fish.
ok thanks, so i guess i can buy an 8 lb. bag or so of live rock and put it in there. any specific way to place it? can it be IN the sand with the top sticking out that would be level with the sand? and yeah i just plan on getting clownfish and maybe a shrimp or two. also i hope my local pet store has some of those corals in stock, if not ill find an equally beneficial coral for my fish.
You want to put the rock in first then the sand so critter do not under mine the sand and cause the rock to fall and kill things or break the glass. I would try to get at least 10 pounds of rock but 15 would be better. Place the rock so its stable and give plenty of nooks and crannies for live stock to hide. Just get the sand and rock first and let the tank run until the ammonia and nitrite hit zero and you show nitrate. This is when its safe to add livestock as the tank is now cycled. This will take anywhere from a couple to a few weeks if not more in some cases.