Newbie needs help...

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pcpaulinoii

AC Members
Feb 20, 2008
23
0
0
San Diego, CA
Hello Aquarium Central.

I have been contemplating the idea of a saltwater tank for many years now but the thought of the amount of money that goes into a good quality setup has been pushing me away.

I spend the majority of my time at work and want to setup a 10 gallon (20 gallon maybe pushing it since I am in the IT department and there is nothing but electronics around me) on my desk, gives me something to look at and get my mind off work.

I spent some time reading other newbie's posts about setting up a tank but majority of them are for larger tanks.

What I would like to have in my office is a 10 gallon saltwater tank with live rock and 2 'fake' clown fish and maybe a shrimp.

Now for the questions...

What would I need to get this project started? I don't plan to buy everything at once, maybe a item or two every paycheck. Items that I know I need are:

Is a 10 gallon tank 'big' enough for live rock, 2 fish, and shrimp?

I read about needing RO water but I also read using distilled water works almost as good, your thoughts?
 
Ok, I quickly posted the above message but forgot a few things...

I know I need/might need the following:

- aquarium
- heater
- live rock
- sand / crushed coral / some type of substrate
- sea salt
- hydrometer
- thermometer
- lighting

Would I need a filter and/or power head?

Anything else I am forgetting?

Thanks in advance for all your help.

I plan on creating a log on the setup of the tank as I build it.
 
I know I need/might need the following:

- aquarium
- heater-50 watts is fine
- live rock-aim for 1-1.5 per lb
- sand / crushed coral / some type of substrate-sugar fine sand
- sea salt-i use instant ocean
- hydrometer-ditch this and get a refractometer
- thermometer-get those plastic suction ones.
- lighting-depends if your going to keep corals. if only fowlr(fish only with live rock) then regular light is fine.

welcome to AC
 
I would suggest looking at a Nano cube if this is going into your office. I am a Network Admin for a college, so I know what you mean about electronics laying around everywhere. I did have my 29G tank setup in my office as a freshwater tank a long time ago.. but was told "it takes to much power to run 1 airpump, 1 20w floro light, filter, and a heater" so they made me take it home. Nevermind they left 1500 computers on 24/7 without a second thought to that.

Nano's are all self contained, filtration, light, etc so they make an ideal office tank.

As far as 2 clowns in a 10g... I wouldn't do it myself but I won't say it can't be done. I would suggest only 1 clown, a shrimp, and maybe a small goby. Just my opinion though. I know how people love clowns after Nemo. lol.

I use just RO water (kind you can get at any grocery store dispenser outside). Others here say to use RO/DI water. I wouldn't use distilled but thats just me.

Look online, ebay, craigs list, reefcentral.com for local reef clubs, and you will probably find a good deal in your area fairly quickly. I just said this to someone else yesterday, I saw a 28G Nano w/stand for $50 and a 20G Nano for $20 without a stand. In my area, or just south in Los Angeles, these deals seem to come up at least once a day on the reefclub forums at reefcentral.
 
As for the tank I would check out some of the nano tanks such as aquapods and others. With just a few changes to them they work great for your kind of set up and can be modified to handle corals if you decide to go that way latter on. These come with lights that will work for a fish only tank.
Your list is pretty good. But you will also need some basic test kits, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate.
I would suggest 2 containers. A 2-5 gallon pail with lid for mixing up changing water. And a 1-2 gallon container with lid for ro-di or ro water.
But the most important thing that you will need to start up a salt water tank is Knowledge. Read everything that you can on the subject, and ask alot of questions. This hobby is expensive, but that multiplies fast when we make simple mistakes. Take your time, patient is a virtue, and in this hobby can make the difference between a successful tank and a crash.
Good luck and Happy Reefing
Rich
 
I wish I could put a 20+ gallon aquarium in my office but I highly doubt it, my boss has a 10 gallon so I know that is an ok size to have. I always check craigslist but here in san diego you don't find too many nano's and when they do appear they are still an arm and a leg in price.

Reading is something that I do whenever I have the chance. I already read a few of the threads here on AC and they have been very informative. I have also read some articles on other websites (but so far nothing has even come close to the information provided by everyone here!).

ACE25... if you find a good deal let me know and I wouldn't mind driving to LA. I live in San Diego but have relatives in Riverside and my brothers girlfriend live in Anaheim.

As for the 2 clown fish, I only suggest 2 because I read that they fair well in pairs but I guess that also depends on the tank size. 1 clown, 1 shrimp and a small goby works for me... heck, even just a clown and shrimp is fine.

I only plan on setting up a FOWLR tank even though an anemone would be nice.

Assuming that I only set up a FOWLR tank, what would you calculate the cost being?

How about with an anemone?

Is live sand necessary? What are the pro's and con's?

I know patient is a virtue and that doesn't bother me one bit, especially since I know I won't be able to buy everything at once (unless I find some crazy deal on craigslist!).
 
It would be A LOT easier to run the tank as a FOWLR without an anemone. The anemone adds such a big jump in costs (water tests, lighting, water changes, filtration, etc).

For a 10G FOWLR you can get away pretty cheap. Rough guess.. $200. It is when you get that bug in you to go more to the reef side that things get very expensive very fast.

No, sand is not required. There are a lot of "bare bottom" tanks, including reef tanks. It is somewhat for looks, and somewhat for filtration, but in a 10G I doubt it would do much on the filtration side.
 
Playing Devils Advocate...

If I went FO, no LR, and artifical coral/anemone... what are the pro's and con's?

So basically it would be a 10 gallon tank, some sort of HOB filter, heater, sand (no LS), artifical coral/anemone, and a clown fish.

Would a shrimp be necessary?
 
Live rock is grate because it makes such a wonderful bio filter, leave out the live rock and you will need to make up for it in extra filtration - which will include not only $ for the filter, but also more maintanance! Plus with live rock you get the fun of seeing what kind of neat stuff shows up and starts to grow, six months down the line you will still be seeing new things appearing on it. Finaly, its just me but i really prefer the look of lr to the artifiacial decorations. I would really recomend paying a little extra for the rock personally.
For the sand you dont have to get all live sand, buy some cheap, regular dry sand and then seed it with a small amount of live sand from a friend/lfs tank - a cup of live sand from an established tank would be more then enough to get the substrate in a 10g jump started.
I also agree, keeping an anemone will really bump your costs up, mostly beacause of the lighting upgrade, add to that water chemistry will fluctuate more in a 10g, if you leave the office for a three day weekend and loose 1.5 gallons in evaporation thats more then 15% your water volume if you have substrate and rock in there, and that can cause some big swings in water chemistry, so you probably dont want to put anything to fragile in there.
 
I found a 12 gallon nanocube fish tank on craigslist today but no word back from the seller. It is a 12 gallon JBJ nanocube with 15 lbs of LS and 10 lbs of LR, Koralia nano (???), stealth heater, and a Chromis... all for $160. Is that a decent deal?

http://sandiego.craigslist.org/csd/for/578317280.html

Anyways...

So if I don't manage to get a nanocube of some sort then I would need help with the following...

How much LR should I purchase? I read the FIJI rock is pretty good.

How much total sand, whether it be regular sand or LS or a combination of both?

What type (if any) filtration would I need if I have LR?
 
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