Few questions...I wanted to confirm with you guys.

[bagodonuts22]

I have been a freshwater man for the past 10 years and I'm getting quite bored of performing the same aquascape over and over again on different tanks...they are getting blah and boring. I am looking into switching to saltwater and I had a few simple questions. By the way, I have ready everything i can on About.com, nano-reef.com, and other sites...Im not the type of person to just post without researching...but I have a few questions that havent been answered on those sites.

If i wanted to go small, 10 gallons, and yes I know if will be harder to maintain.

Would a aqua clear 150 filter be ok with it. I would be putting in about 10-15 lbs of live rock, and about 2 fish...not sure what fish yet..but anyway.

Would I need a skimmer?

Am I still supposed to be using an air pump and tubing for air bubbles?

10 lbs of live rock should be ok with the size I am going for right?

How many watts of lighting would i need for live rock/reef aquarium with 2 fish?

It is a 10 gallon tank, reminder.

Thanks guys and any suggestions would be great.
THe reason I ask about the skimmer, is because I have all the neccessary equipment on hand from previous setups. I dont want to spend that kind of money on a skimmer if it is not needed in a 10 gallon tank.

Thanks a lot, and I'm sorry if these questions have been asked before.

Thanks.

Steve.

 

[fait15]

Not sure about the filter there, but 10-15 lbs of live rock will be fine. Ive got a coral 50/50 light that was recomended by my friends and the lfs.Im still new to the SW thing so the others would be great advisors, I would suggest sand for the bottum and would get a powerhead for water movment.And just in case ya needed to know,Instant ocean is a very popular mix for SW.Good luck with it man!

 

[bagodonuts22]

thanks man, anyone else willing to help out a lonely newb?

 

[sinasster]

A skimmer is always a good idea. but is not always necessary, It even gets difficult to do on such a small tank as most skimmers are pretty big and tall.

Remember that the magic rule for freshwater is 1 inch of fish for every gallon and in salt water its 1 inch of fish for every 10 gallons of water. So 2 fish is probably a bad idea.

In my opinion its time to let that whole air bubble thing go (in all your tanks)

Bottom line is that i would not recommend a 10 gallon tank for salt water, untill you become experienced with salt water and are ready for a nano reef tank. I would recommend the largest tank you can get. And a minimum of 30 gallons.

 

[bagodonuts22]

Thanks for you help. The problem with the tank size is that I really dont have much more room for another tank. I allocated just enough space to squeeze a 10 gallon in there....thats where my problem lies. No more room.

I figured I would give saltwater a try...so thats why I came here

and by the way, why no more air bubbles in my tanks? No more airbubbles in my freshwater tanks? That oxygen is essential to fish. Please explain your opinion..thanks.

So you are saying to not even try with a 10 gallon tank? Some live rock, and one fish, no skimmer? That wont work too well?

 

[S.Reef]

I definately recommend a protein skimmer. One I recommend for a small aquarium is the Skilter 250. There is mixed opinions on this filter/skimmer, some think it is inefficient, others like myself believe it works fine for the 20 gallons and under tanks. I currently run one on my 20 gallon Reef and it works fine. (Also good for water movement) Now I personally wouldn't recommend anything under 20 gallons for the beginner, but you have had freshwater for a while and probably have a basic understanding of aquarium maintenance. If you decide to purchase a Skilter 250 I would scrap the aqua-clear 150. You will not need it for biological filtration, eventaully not for mechanical filtration, and not for chemical filtration.(Skilter comes witha chem. pad)

For live rock you will need 1-2 watts of light per gallon. If you want to eventually make a mini-reef you will need 2-5 watts per gallon. I would go with 10-15lbs. of live rock. Also drop the air tubing and air diffuser.

I would also stick away from live corals until you have succesfully kept marine fish for six-months. Corals are delicate animals that require a lot of time and knowledge.

All in all get a protein skimmer, lots of live rock, and no live corals.

Sam Reef
__________________
90 Gallon FOWLR Marine System
20 Gallon Reef
10 Gallon Reef
20 Gallon Freshwater Planted Aquarium

 

[bagodonuts22]

Reef, that is exactly the information I need. Thanks for your help.

I will look into the skilter 250. So you are saying to drop the filter, and just the use the skilter and LR as the filtration ?

 

[Leopardess]

This doesn't pertain to sw specifically, but bagodonuts, most filters provide enough surface agitation to make an airstone obselete. It is not the bubbles that provide oxygen, but rather the agitation they create on the surface - which your filter should do for you. The consensus is that they have only aesthetic value (even that is questionable) except in certain instances of high temp tanks/little to no filtration, or heavy meds.

 

[wayne]

OK, I have strong opinions on 10 gallon setups, but that' not what you're asking. Go with the 10 plus about 10 lbs rock. Get cured rock that looks good, you don't have much room to play with, and don' worry about the cost. I would go for 2 small powerheads to try to generate a turbulent flow. I wouldn't bother with an airpump. Also, if you're smart, I tihnk you can go without a skimmer, but you need to be able to do a weekly or twice weekly 1/2 to 1 gallon water change.
My objections to 10 grow ever stronger after setting up my new tank. With live rock in there, plus sand and such you will be lucky to get 8 gallons of water inthere. This isn't much! Stability is poor - can you really afford to have a tank that can't be left more than a week for vacations and so on? Also your fish range is really , really limited to 2 tank raised clowns or a couple of small gobies as these tanks really have very, very little room. That just my opinion

 

[bagodonuts22]

yeah, i totally agree. My problem is that I have been a freshwater nut for over 6 years. Its become so sad that i'm buying dead "live rock" from saltwater aquariums and putting them in my freshwater. THey have great textrue and look, and still have some colors as well. I have no room, so a 10 will be my only option. Another thing that i know from experience is to put pvc pipe around your filter intake...cap the end of the filter...and the pipe should be about 2 inches below the water surface..That acts as a skimmer as well creating a whirlpool effect and it will suck everything into that pvc pipe. I can do that as well with a 10 gallon.

So let me ask you guys this as well. To start a 10 gallon. I need the sand, a hydrometer, instant ocean salt, and a filter that I already own. If i dont put any life rock in yet...It will probably cost me 20 bucks to get a saltwater tank going...i might as well do it and see what happens. I will only be providing 1 watt per gallon, so live rock might not even be an option in my case.

what do u guys think? Is taht all i need to start a 10 gallon sw tank. And obviously a test kit too.

 

[Purple]

Originally posted by Leopardess
This doesn't pertain to sw specifically, but bagodonuts, most filters provide enough surface agitation to make an airstone obselete. It is not the bubbles that provide oxygen, but rather the agitation they create on the surface - which your filter should do for you. The consensus is that they have only aesthetic value (even that is questionable) except in certain instances of high temp tanks/little to no filtration, or heavy meds.

I have a 55 (f/w) with a Fluval 404 - and if i turn off my bubble stone within 30 mins all the fish are at the surface. No meds - temp is 79 - 80.

I often hear this "airstone is useless" comment, but I wish people would qualify the statement by saying "In my tanks...."

In the consensus of my fish - "In my tank" - bubbles are essential.

 

[wayne]

Purple - I'm not restarting all the previous, but that is a killer sign you are overcrowded, and right on the edge. So what happens if you're away for a few days and you get an electricity cut?
Bagodonuts - try this. Get as good live rock as you can. put it in the tank with reasonable circulation (powerhead -> spray bar should give reasonable turbulence) add reasonable lighting and leave for 6 months to see what comes out. If you can avoid adding fish then your biowaste management becomes much easier, and everything works better, and frankly clownfish and gobies are some of the least entertaining fish you can get.

 

[Purple]

wayne - you're quite correct (and yes, I'm on it), also my outflow is submersed for several reasons, which doesn't help. Nonetheless, sweeping statements can be confusing unless the person reading them knows enough to judge his/her tank individualy. In the event of a power cut, like everyone elses, my tank goes cold and the fish have had it.

Anyway - back to the thread (my fault - sorry).

 

[wayne]

I think we could/should start a thread at some point about what happens if the tank does go cold as different people seem to get different results, also other fish seem to have differing sensitivities. I've had apistos breeding at 18 degrees which should be fatal, but I've also had my favourite L number expire after about 5 hours in conditions I wouldn't call too harsh. Frankly I suspect your fish could hack lower temps than you think. How cold is your house? All irrelevant to b'o'd.