few questions for you all

[OscarMan82]

i have a few x-tra 10 gal tanks can you set one up as a sw? i mean is it goin to be too small? i have always hear that you can't go smaller than like 55gal for sw is that true? and what would be some good choices for a tank that size? thanks in advance

[Riverserver]

I think there's someone on this board with a 1 gallon salt water. It pretty much costs about the same to start a 10 gallon tank as it does to start a 55 gallon tank. The only real difference is sand, live rock, and the amount of salt used. The equipment is pretty much the same price. Most people easily spend about a grand on their smaller tanks, especially reefs.

[OscarMan82]

ok, this may sound stupid but do you have to have a reef for sw?

[Reefscape]

no, certainly not...the other options are fish only, when you just provide decor to give hiding places, or Fish only with live rock.....where the live rock is just for filtration, decor and territory.....

Niko

[Pallen81]

you certainly can do a 10 gallon. you just have less room for error compared to larger tanks that can take rookie mistakes.

I wouldn't bother personally unless its over 20 gallons, but if this is your first setup and to be used as a learning experience then there is nothing wrong with that.

It won't take much to get it up and running.

btw. welcome to AC!

[OscarMan82]

well thanks for all the advice. when you say fish only does that just mean no shirmp or anything like that or just no live plants for the fish? if that makes sense to you all?

[Reefscape]

just that..........all the cleaning is done via external filtration.....personaly, i would not put inverts into a fish only system, only the live rock systems....

Niko

[OscarMan82]

ok last thing becuse i think i am confusing you all with my questions, if i set up a reef tank does everything on the reef have to be totaly alive or can it be some fake so live?

[Riverserver]

If you buy good quality live rock, you will get a ton of live stuff that will grow on your rock 100% free and add a very natural feeling and look to your tank. Personally I think that you can't really get away with the same "fake" decorations in salt water that you can get away with in freshwater tanks.

You say you have extra 10 gallon tanks, I would setup a 10 gallon with a 10 gallon sump for a small protein skimmer and refugium. This site has a bunch of really great info on sumps:
http://www.melevsreef.com/allmysumps.html

The hardest thing about keeping a smaller water volume like 10 gallons is that if something starts going bad, it will start going bad REALLY quickly. So if you add another 10 gallons or so it will help increase your water volume and curve the spread of whatever is happening.

[OscarMan82]

well thanks agian now i have been lookin on liveaquaria.com under live rock and they have 9 diffrent live rocks and live sand what is the diffrence and is there any kind in particula that i would want?

[Riverserver]

The difference in the rock is the shape and the part of the ocean it comes from. I got my rock here:
http://phishybusiness.com/livestock/index.php?cPath=29&osCsid=24d594c45fed637ae1ebc4504c1fb68d

I got the super select. I am about to order some more for another tank, 10 gallon for a mantis shrimp. I emailed the guy and asked if he could hand pick the best pieces for a small 10 tank and he said he'd be happy to. You might look into that.

As for sand, live sand is pretty expensive, but if you want to fork over the cash thats fine. I got my sand here:
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/Prod_Display.cfm?pcatid=7318&N=2004+113554

I choose the fiji pink sand, its very pretty and leaves a nice white substrate.

[OscarMan82]

well thanks for the websites to go to, how much live rock do you need or should i say how much for a 10gal?

[jwddboy]

ok... id go bigger if its ur 1st SW tank... or everything could go wrong very quickly. Its generally a good rule that if you have a bigger tank, you have more time to sort something out if it goes wrong.

[Reefscape]

well thanks for the websites to go to, how much live rock do you need or should i say how much for a 10gal?

about 15lbs would be adequate for filtration in there....

Niko

[severum mama]

ok... id go bigger if its ur 1st SW tank... or everything could go wrong very quickly. Its generally a good rule that if you have a bigger tank, you have more time to sort something out if it goes wrong.

True, but if you are willing to research a lot and give a small tank DAILY attention, then you can make it work. My first SW tank was a 2.5 gallon, and it's been doing great!

[Reefscape]

Its certainly agreed by most that bigger is always going to be better....

However, as we have seen on these forums, and tank can be a success if the dedication, research and patience is there....

Niko

[Subliminal]

I have a 29g and compared to my old 55g, it's a breeze to maintain.

However, I've LEARNED a lot more since then, and that is worth a lot!

[OscarMan82]

well agian all thanks for the info, i just found an old 20 gal in my mother in laws storage unit so i am thinking about going with that instead of a 10. so from what you have all said it would be better to go that route anyways.

[OscarMan82]

oh and 1 more thing i just thought of what kind of lights do i need for this kind of set up anything special. sorry about so many questions but sw is a totaly new thing for me.

[Riverserver]

No these questions are great. It's better then showing up on the board and saying "What do I need to know about to keep salt water?"

Personally I would go with a single compact florescent light fixture. 50/50 bulbs (10,000°K / Actinic) will bring out tons of color in whatever you decide to keep:
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/Prod_Display.cfm?pcatid=11418&N=2004+113345

If you have access to a book store or library it would be worth your time to read through some marine keeping books. The book Conscientious Marine Aquarist is a popular one and contains a ton of useful information.

[OscarMan82]

yea i never even thought about going to the library i think i'll try and do that tomarrow and agian i say to you all thanks for all the info.