10 gallon saltwater

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allaboutfish

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Jul 12, 2011
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johnathon dunn
ok i really would like to do a saltwater tank. i know its better to start bigger, but its what i have for now. anyway i need a list of supplies i need, and i need the answers to these questions;
1.if i dont plan on growing any corals or anything can i use flourescent bulbs?
2.how do you do water changes?? i really dont get how to put the salt back in once you take it out.
3.what should i am for in salinity?
4.my salt i have now is all clumped why did that happen?
6.what can i keep in here? i saw something really cool that burrowed into the substrate any idea what that was and if itd work? if not s a pair of occeleris clowns ok or only one? can i have a starfish? what about hermits?
any other info would be helpful.
 

Khemul

Sea Bunny
Oct 14, 2010
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1.if i dont plan on growing any corals or anything can i use flourescent bulbs?
Yes. Before I went to corals I was lighting my tank with cold cathodes. :laugh:

2.how do you do water changes?? i really dont get how to put the salt back in once you take it out.
Generally you just make sure to put in exactly what you take out. In freshwater you may just remove water and refill till the tank is full. With saltwater you have to be more careful. If you remove 5 gallons then you only add 5 gallons, even if it'll take 6 gallons to fully top off the tank (the remaining 1 gallon would be purified fresh water). You measure the water change water to be as close to the tank salinity-wise as possible.

3.what should i am for in salinity?
There is some debate there but generally anything in 1.020 to 1.026 should work. I've heard of people claiming to run their tanks much higher (1.030+) but not sure how likely that is to work normally.

4.my salt i have now is all clumped why did that happen?
Moisture. It happens. Not sure if it changes the salt mix at all. I know I've used clumped up salt before but that was before I had anything even remotely sensitive in the tank.

6.what can i keep in here? i saw something really cool that burrowed into the substrate any idea what that was and if itd work? if not s a pair of occeleris clowns ok or only one? can i have a starfish? what about hermits?
any other info would be helpful.
For burrowing, pistol shrimp would probably fit that. Maybe a Yellow Watchman Goby paired with a pistol shrimp for the tank. Not sure how well it'd work with that size tank though.
 

Khemul

Sea Bunny
Oct 14, 2010
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South Florida
....that is a tricky question.

You may be able to do tap water. It really depends on how good your local water is. But the problem you run into is that tracking down issues becomes a big problem. If you only keep fish you can manage it. Snails might be okay. Shrimp and crabs might not make it in the tank. At least that was the pattern I had with tap water.

On such a small setup I'd at least go RO from a store, since even major water changes would only be a couple dollars.
 

allaboutfish

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Jul 12, 2011
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johnathon dunn
the problem is how much is it and how much would i need every week? id kinda rather do just fish for now anyway. would an occelaris clown need a mate to be happy? and could i do a court jester goby and an occelaris clown?
 

allaboutfish

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johnathon dunn
could i do
2-ocellaris clownfish or snowflake clowns(are they the same species just different colors?)
2-zebra hermite crabs
how much live rock do i need? its 6.99 at my LFS, fully cured, is that a good price?
 

Khemul

Sea Bunny
Oct 14, 2010
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South Florida
As far as I know they are the same species. Although considering how similar they are, Percula or Percula x Ocellaris wouldn't be a shocker either on some of the Picasso/Snowflake Clowns.

I'm not entirely sure about the clowns in a 10g so I'll leave that one up to Greech or some of the others that have done smaller saltwater tanks. The minimum suggested seems to be 20g.

Live rock is entirely up to what you want to do with the tank and the type you use. 1lb per gallon seems to be a common guideline, but it is sort of like the watts per gallon rule and falls apart when you apply any variables to it. Essentially you want to be able to fit the fish and some equipment in the tank, so enough rock for you to be happy with the looks and still have room for things like powerheads and other equipment. The price isn't bad. Live rock prices in general are a bit ridiculous. It ranges around here from $4-8 a lb depending on the type around here (and usually has next to nothing living on it).
 

allaboutfish

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Jul 12, 2011
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memphis, tn
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johnathon dunn
well this is my LFS so if anyone can like pic some fish that will work that would be great. i might just wait till my bday to set it up so i can get the whole 10lbs
 
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