saltwater beginner 10 gallon

topenjoin

topenjoin

New member
Hi I am pretty new to these forums, I am trying to setup a 10 gallon saltwater setup.
I have a ton of old dry rock that a couple of my friends given to me.

I have about 5 fish tanks setup as freshwater, keeping cichlids tropical, and planted tank. so I have a lot of knowledge on that matter.

looking to start this very basic 10 gallon setup.
my setup
10 gallon fish tank/ with diy built in wet dry filter running rio 600 return
15 pound bag of instant ocean sea salt, mixed in some salt already
couple of pounds of dry rock
a 36 inch t5 HO 2X40 watts both are 6400k for this tank and another 10 gallon planted tank I have sitting right next to it.

so once I get everything setup, hopefully I can add some corals and maybe some fish.
this is basically just me trying to get in the hobby of keeping corals. just trying to get some knowledge before I step up to a bigger fish tank

I just wanted to get some insight from this forum, to see if there is any other information I need is my light setup alright. how long would it take to have dry rock turn into live rock and so on. I am not sure of which corals I would like to add in. but im open for suggestions.

Thanks,
David
 
10 gal is a tough size to start at. I know, ive tried. 30 gal or bigger is the best for keeping level steady bud. Either way, good luck and prepare to convert all of your other tanks over to reef. :)
 
haha I have 2 of them waiting to be converted a 30gallon with built in wet dry, and a 40 gallon breeder. but I wanted to start small just to dip my feet in the salt water lol. im trying to spend as little money for now if possible so I can gather equipment for my bigger tanks,
 
Hey how's it going? Seems we share many interests.

Rob is correct with the stability. I have a 10 gallon nano set up and the most difficult thing is dealing with evaporation.

My advice is to start slowly and make sure the tank cycles completely before adding anything. Many folks like the Dr. Tims product for cycling. You would just need to add a small piece of mysis shrimp to feed the bacteria. Just make sure to keep testing.

As far as lighting, I'm not really too much of an expert so I'm sure someone will have a recommendation on that for you. You will probably need to change out the bulbs though.

For corals, look into getting a different salt mix. Most folks like to use Aquavitro Salinity, or another high quality salt mix. Specific gravity of your water should be at 1.025. Do yourself a favor and invest in a refractometer. Trust me on this lol!

The "secret" to this hobby is go slow, and do weekly water changes. Refugiums are also great. You could possibly use your wet/dry portion to run a refugium.

Here is a shot of my 10 gallon nano. http://i1304.photobucket.com/albums...-9075-B9D098324A8E-17241-00000F03B28CB368.jpg

Good luck and I think you will be successful. I came over from planted as well.
 
alright so took most of your input ahaha, i did buy a refractometer gotta a pretty good deal for 45$ from aquapros, i think i will worry about the salt mix a little ways down the road, for now i think its enough to get the dry rock live.
also got about 1 pound of live rock for free with the refractometer from aquapros, that i started seeding the dry rock with.he was really nice there and gave me some info.
i will give the tank a month before i start adding anything here are some pictures so far, oh and as for the light i bought a 24inch 2x24watt 10k and actinic lighting for $20 pretty sweet deal

Thanks for all the help so far, hope to get this tank going, and hopefully i get started on a 40 gallon breeder salt. just want to learn the ways of saltwater and what to watch out for


Here are some pictures so far has been 2 days

View attachment 10278View attachment 10279View attachment 10280
 
Nice! I like the scape! Dave at Aquapros is a good guy. Are you planning on going bare bottom or will you be adding sand?

I'm glad you got the refractometer. I was using a plastic hydrometer and would tap the bubbles off the swingarm. Thought my SG was at 1.025. Got a refractometer, 1.027!!!

You look to have a really nice start there. Keep it up and be patient, I think I had mine set up for a week and wanted to add stuff but forced myself to hold off till the cycling was complete lol!

My prediction: every tank you own will eventually become a reef lol!
 
im not sure yet if i plan on adding sand, i hear it helps and doesn't matter from others. i think for now i will just try and grow the live rock and probably add a few cheap beginner corals like pulsing xenia and something like frogspawn just to get used to it, after about a month or so once i know its fully cycled,

how can you tell your tank is cycled? should you be able to see algae growing on the live rock?

and i don't think i can turn my 125g into a salt, way to much cost into that ahaha. and im keeping 2 planted tanks haha
 
topenjoin said:
im not sure yet if i plan on adding sand, i hear it helps and doesn't matter from others. i think for now i will just try and grow the live rock and probably add a few cheap beginner corals like pulsing xenia and something like frogspawn just to get used to it, after about a month or so once i know its fully cycled,

how can you tell your tank is cycled? should you be able to see algae growing on the live rock?

and i don't think i can turn my 125g into a salt, way to much cost into that ahaha. and im keeping 2 planted tanks haha
Click to expand...

Get some test kits to monitor your cycle. My preference are salfert test kits but they are pricey. Just get a "master" type test kit. As long as you can test for PH, Ammonia, Nitrite, and Nitrates you should be fine until the cycle is over. Once you start adding corals and livestock, you'll also want to invest in some good kits, here is where I would invest in the salfert kits, Calcium, Alk, Phosphate, and magnesium.
 
looks great the biggest mistake of the hobby is rushing into stuff so take it nice and slow and you will have a great tank there
 
Alright so here is an update.

I can see brownish algae starting to build up on the tank and rocks, and some tiny spots of purple algae I believe. how should I know when the tank is completely cycled? and when I can start adding in some xenia. probably the only thing I want to put in right now, maybe some other cheap corals, but not to much.

I have noticed some creepy critters already in the tank, you can see in one of the pictures, I saw one about 1.5 inches long, fuzzy bright red color with white legs, also found another smaller one about half inch as you can see in the picture, are these things bad for the tank?

Also I am planning everything out to setup a 40 gallon breeder tank, maybe in the next couple of months after I get everything I need for the tank. Saltwater is very addicting once started haha.

Thanks for all the info,

View attachment 10561View attachment 10562View attachment 10563View attachment 10564
 
Great start!! looks great so far. That could be a bristle worm but I would wait for others to comment. I would try to get it out if you can while our tank is empty so you don't run into problems later.
 
the fuzzy things are bristle worms (possibly fire worms, but I don't think so). probably good for the tank, but they they give me the herbie-jeebies something fierce. You can leave them and they will eat detritius and left-overs or pull them (with tweezers as the spines will break off and irritate your skin). The algae sort of looks like diatoms which is of part of the process for most people.
I like your rockwork and the DIY AIO. Looking forward to seeing your progress.
 
What did you use to start the cycle? Usually there will be some spike in the ammonia and then the nitrites will go up then down; and then there will be a rise in nitrates. Then you do a big water change and you're ready to add livestock.
 
Looks like a diatom bloom (part of cycle) and letting you know it's the end of the cycle once it disappears on its own. That worm also most definitely looks like a bristle worm. They can grow super long. Most of the time you'll never see them, they're ok in the tank and shouldn't hurt anything but watch your fingers poking around, they do sting.

IMO I'd add some softies, couple gobies and call it a day until you get that breeder running. That 10 would make a sweet sump for the breeder, just sayin'

Good luck and don't be afraid to ask questions, we also LOVE pics!
 
nice start...I agree with everyone else...you'll "eventually" convert all your tanks to SW...no matter the cost involved (thats from my experience of owning 4 FW...now 2 SW + 1 more on the way)
 
Google 'giant bristle worm' and you'll have nightmares and never put your hand in the tank again! Otherwise they're good for the tank. They usually hide in the sandbed, so I don't know how it'll be with a barebottom.
 
thanks guys for all the help guys, yeah I googled bristle worm, and looks just like that, it is really hard to find these worms. very creepy I really don't want them in my tank, especially if I decide to throw this live rock into my 40 gallon

Before I put any livestock in the 1o gallon I need to buy testing kits, and test all my levels.

I used 3 small pieces of live rock to get the cycle going, that i got free from a LPS.

For the breeder i will have something bigger than a 10 gallon sump tho, i am still trying to find all the bits and pieces for my build, like sump probably a MP10w and another smaller power head, i have been doing a ton of research on LED lighting, like the radion xr30w or some other Chinese ones like TaoTronics TT-AL09, but very though decision, also going to try and have a acrylic shop cut me a internal overflow box, and drill the 40 gallon, should be nice and easy. just have to get around to doing all of this lol.. lots and lots of planning, taking things slowly for now.
 
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