planning to start a saltwater tank....

[laurahammock]

Ok. Information overload!! LOL. I decided to follow the first instruction given by many before even starting and READ, READ, READ. Which I have. I get overwhelmed by all this information! I read the sticky, wrote down what I think I'll basically need. Could you guys answer a few questions for me? I have a freshwater tank that is thriving. Now, I want to convert a 10g I have to saltwater. I know I'll need:
Live sand or crushed coral--think I'll go with sand
Saltwater mix--how much to start a tank up accounting for changes,etc?
Hydrometer or refractor (sp?)
2 to 3 power heads giving at leat 10x gph per gallon, right?
thermometer
filter
skimmer--I found a skimmer/filter combo--would that work?
test kits
and live rock--1 pound per gallon, right?

Ok, some questions I have....what type of filter? Can you use the same kind as with freshwater?

Live rock--if you buy it dry, what does that mean. Is it not cured? You have to cure it yourself/longer cycling process? I don't mind it, I just have no clue. I've seen TONS on EBAY but it looks dry. Some say they ship it in bags, but most don't. Is there a type to avoid? What's the best. Any suggestions on where to get some as my lfs is CRAP!! There are a few more close by so I'll have to check those out I guess...

I know I'm annoying and repetative, but could you read over this and tell me if this is a good plan. I want to start soon.
1. Clean my aquarium
2. Install heater, filter, protein skimmer (if I need one for a 10g), and power heads.
3. Mix salt into dechlorinated room temp water, check hydrometer for reading of 1.021-1.024, then add water to aquarium
4. Turn on tank and let the water circulate for a day or two.
5. Add live rock. Aim powerheads at rock
6. Every few days, turn off power and scrub dead stuff off rock and siphon debris.
7. Refill tank with saltwater premixed the day before

Ok, do I wait for the rock to cure before adding the sand? If not, when do I add it? When the parameters are good, I can add a CUC, right?

And my final question which may be the dumbest of all--I've been reading about hermit crabs....are these the same hermit crabs that you keep in a cage? Like the ones you buy from souvenir shops at the beach?

Any adjustments to my plan, any suggestions, any critisism, would be great. I really want my tank to be a success.

Oh, by the way, right now I'm just going to try fish and live rock only....
Thanks

One more...I've read about using live rock rubble instead of bio balls....is this inside the filter???

 

[laurahammock]

another question....anyone know anything about the bio orb 8 gallon for saltwater?

 

[sweetpickles7]

Well i just started to so ill try to help you out but listen more to the advanced salwater people. You dont need a filter but if you do get one make dont put any cartriges in it, all it will do is hold nitrates. The LR should be your filter. IMO you dont need a protien skimmer either. If your using a 10g u only need 2 powerheads, i would think. Are you planning on putting any corals in here?

 

[MOsborne05]

If its only a 10 gallon then you don't really need a skimmer, just a couple of powerheads. Your live rock is your filtration. Lots of people on here have journals documenting their progress when setting up a 10 gallon saltwater tank, check out their threads. I know YahooFishKeeper and Limi310 both had 10 gallons.

Live rock is alive, essentially rock that has little critters in it that help filter your water. Cured live rock has all of the dead things scrubbed off of it and is ready to go directly into your tank. Uncured live rock needs to sit in your tank for a few months and cure, and you would periodically have to scrub it to get all of the dead things off of it. I've heard that curing live rock is an absolutely disgusting smell, so I don't think you would want to do it at home. My tank doesn't have much depth, so I am going to use pvc pipe to attach base rock together, and then add some live rock to it. The live rock will eventually make the base rock "live", and you won't have to deal with the horrible smell.

 

[laurahammock]

Cool, guys! Thanks! I'm really excited...I've even been dreaming about my saltwater tank....dorky, I know, but, I'm getting more confident every day! Ok, so, if it's already cured, I can add the lr and the sand from the beginning, or let the water circulate for a day or two?

 

[MOsborne05]

If you add the salt directly to the tank, let the water circulate for at least 24 hours. If you pre-mix the saltwater the day before, then you can add live rock after you fill the tank. Never add salt to the tank with live rock, fish or critters in it because it can kill them!

Once you add the live rock, then you have to wait for your tank to cycle before you can add anything else. Once your tank is cycled, then you can add fish & critters slowly.

This is a good thread to read http://www.myfishtank.net/forum/nano-saltwater-discussion/34528-10gal-nano.html

 

[laurahammock]

ok. how bout the sand? When does it go in?

 

[sweetpickles7]

The sand can be put in really at any time. I prefer to use aragonite as my substrate.

 

[Lotus]

Live sand or crushed coral--think I'll go with sand yes, don't get crushed coral
Saltwater mix--how much to start a tank up accounting for changes,etc? Get a couple of bags or small buckets
Hydrometer or refractor (sp?) refractometer
2 to 3 power heads giving at leat 10x gph per gallon, right? Yes
thermometer
filter not really needed
skimmer--I found a skimmer/filter combo--would that work? Those skilter filters are awful. You probably don't need a skimmer on a 10g
test kits
and live rock--1 pound per gallon, right? 1 to 2 pounds per gallon

Live rock--if you buy it dry, what does that mean. Is it not cured? You have to cure it yourself/longer cycling process? I don't mind it, I just have no clue. I've seen TONS on EBAY but it looks dry. Some say they ship it in bags, but most don't. Is there a type to avoid? What's the best. Any suggestions on where to get some as my lfs is CRAP!! There are a few more close by so I'll have to check those out I guess...

Dry rock is dead rock. It won't cycle your tank and can't be cured. Look around some other stores in your area, there's probably one that has good live rock. It will be better if you can pick out some nice shapes, as it's a small tank. Getting rock from eBay would be a last resort for only 10 or 15 pounds.

 

[laurahammock]

I did have to get some from ebay because NONE of the lfs around her have live rock....then again, I am from south eastern Kentucky and our stores are kind of "rinky dink"...lol....but, it's being shipped in bags of water.....so, I hope it'll be okay....I'm getting really excited. I'm gonna try to do a journal with pics when I get started....

 

[pearl_aqg]

And my final question which may be the dumbest of all--I've been reading about hermit crabs....are these the same hermit crabs that you keep in a cage? Like the ones you buy from souvenir shops at the beach?
...
One more...I've read about using live rock rubble instead of bio balls....is this inside the filter???

There are land hermit crabs and marine hermit crabs - the ones you have been reading about for a saltwater tank, of course, are marine hermit crabs (the ones in the cages are the land crabs). You might want to do a search on the forum to see what people have to say about them since there seem to be differing opinions on how well they work out in a community tank

As for using live rock instead of bio-balls, this probably refers to a wet/dry filter and/or sump, since you wouldn't just put bio-balls in a tank as substrate. Using live rock for filtration in a sump is called a "berlin filter", which you can read up on, but it doesn't sound to me like you are planning a sump? If you do decide to use a sump for your 10 gallon it will certainly help keep conditions stable, and you should definitely go with live rock over bio-balls if that's your plan.

 

[laurahammock]

Thank you SO much everybody. Like I said before, my lfs's are pretty small time and though they do sell some saltwater fish and supplies, they only have two tanks, and they don't seem to know that much about it....lol...so that's why I decided to come here and get some straight answers....I used to try to just "figure" things out, but the more I read about saltwater tanks, the more I realized that you HAVE to research for the sake of the fish and your wallet! Well, thanks again guys! I'll get some pics as soon as I get this thing started!!