New to SW, 10g tank, stocking and setup questions.

[Leighlou]

Okay so my aunts love going to garage sales, currently I have a 1.5 gallon tank as a new hospital tank and two freshwater tanks. But its my latest gift that I'm excited about. I decided to try my hand at a salt water tank. So here are my questions.

I want to put clownfish in the tank, is the tank the proper size? (they would be the only fish in the tank)

Do I have to put coral or soft coral in the tank?

I got a topfin 40 power filter with the new 10 gallon tank (200gph), is this alright for a salt water tank?

Do you need airstones for saltwater tanks?

Are clownfish jumpers? (The tank doesn't have a lid)

How many pounds of live rock/sand would I need to cycle the tank?

If clownfish are too big for a 10 gallon, what fish do you recommend?

Thank you for any input. ^_^

[Leighlou]

My bad, the small tank is actually a 6 galon, xD thought I'd clear that up.

[Conski]

yea man especially is the the tank is 6 gallons, itd be pretty pointless for a SW tank in that but if you must if you got some proper lighting you could have small little pico lps tank with a yellow goby :)!

[7itanium]

to small to do much on the saltwater side.. way to small for a clownfish

your pretty much limited to corals only (and your gonna need a LOT of light to do it)

10-15 lbs of live rock, and maybe a small goby thats about it

[Leighlou]

10 gallons is too small?

What I meant earlier with the 6 gallons is that the 1.5 gallon I thought I had was actually a 6 gallon, just finished measuring it.

I'm trying to see if I could have one of the small clown fish in a 10 gallon fish tank?

[Conski]

yea you could have one in a ten gal ive seen them in 8 gallon biocubes, besides your CUC thatd be it though, better off buying an 8gal BC for like 159 and using that as your first SW tank

[Leighlou]

I don't have have $159 to spend, I'm limited to like $40, I already have the 10 gallon why would I buy the biocube?

From what I was researching, all I really need is the crush coral/live sand to start the cycle, some decor (I probably won't do live rocks), new light/hood and maybe a air pump (?). And then the clown but I wouldn't get him till well after the tank is set up.

[Conski]

No airstone, no crushed coral..set up for disaster.

trust me man its not worth setting up a cheap SW tank, more of a hassle then can be enjoyed. upwards off 500 should be spent on a decent one.. im not makignt his up to crush your dreams but you should be more educated in SW and willing to spend more money on the tank.. thats why so many people do get into SW cause they dont wanna spend the money

put aside ten bucks a week for a while until you have enough for something more appropriate

[greech]

You can absolutely have a wonderful SW tank using a 10-gallon. If all you want is a clownfish you don't need excessive lighting and you can always buy a nicer light down the road. 10-15 lbs of LR, sand (if you want it), a couple of nice powerheads and a decent power filter would be more than enough to support a clown and maybe one other fish. Conski is correct in that SW can be addictive and you would benefit from looking at your options before you commit but if that is what you want then go for it! Just be patient with getting your tank cycled before you consider adding the clown. Also, I would not recomend an anemone for that tank even if you get a better light. Nems do not fair well in nanos. Good luck with whatever you decide to do!

[fsn77]

Please do not keep a clownfish (small or not) in a 10g tank. Even fed lightly, that clownfish will outgrow the tank rather quickly.

I won't try to talk you out of setting up a 10g sw tank, as smaller tanks can be very nice if you're willing to put the time into them. The fact is that there are many limitations that come with setting up smaller tanks:
1) The selection of appropriate fish is limited.
2) If you want to have photosynthetic corals (corals are not required), the cost for the lighting will likely be more than everything else for the tank combined.
3) The overall bioload in the tank needs to remain small.

If you need help picking out fish that would be ok in a 10g, you may want to start by browsing the nano fish section on LiveAquaria.com (http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/aquarium-fish-supplies.cfm?c=15+2124&count=32&s=ts). Be sure to check the minimum tank size for any fish you're interested, which is listed in the details for each fish. Please keep in mind you'll likely only be able to keep 1 - 2 fish in the tank, depending on the specific fish you choose.

Since you do not have a lid, I would avoid firefish all together. They are most certainly jumpers, and considering how small a 10g is, they'll likely jump out of the tank rather quickly (the startle easily).

I would avoid crushed coral, too. Sand really is the way to go. In a tank so small, a nice 1" layer of sand should be good. I would highly recommend having live rock in the tank. 10 - 15 lbs of it would be a good idea. In sw tanks, you want the live rock to do the vast majority (if not all) of the biofiltration, not a hang on back filter or canister filter. Besides, live rock can provide many more benefits than relying on a filter. There's plenty of tiny organisms (most of which very beneficial) that come with good live rock.

As for an airstone... They are not recommended for sw tanks. Running one will cause all kinds of salt spray / salt creep on the edge of your tank, as well as on anything nearby the tank. It will only complicate the difficulties you'll have trying to maintain a proper Specific Gravity in the tank.

HTH... Post more questions as you have them. :)

[Leighlou]

Thanks for the input everyone ^^ I think I will stick with my FW tanks until I can get my hands on a larger tank. I'm currently overrun with small tanks lol (20, two 10s and a 5), if I could trade three of them for one large tank it would be awesome. Not that lucky though. Maybe near march or after christmas I will have the money for a larger tank that I can use as a SW tank. ^.^ and make it nemo themed.