10 gal Saltwater startup

[ldarkfrost]

So, after some deliberation, I am considering setting up my previously freshwater 10 gallon tank as a saltwater tank. Since I have no experience with saltwater, fish are going to come much later, but I would like to start cycling it within the next couple weeks (once I can afford to buy all the parts) and I am really determined to use the pet store brand real ocean water and cultivate some live rock in the tank just to see how things go. When I'm feeling confident I will add some corals (not many, I know a 10 gallon isn't very big... and in time perhaps a pair of clowns. I haven't decided yet. I might get a green spotted puffer. I'm a puffer fanatic lol. So, I would appreciate advice as I go along, and I will post updates on my progress as I begin. I'm going to have fun with this. First, I have to give the old tank a deep clean and get it dried out, and figure out a new place to put it.

 

[fish 321]

Actually saltwater fish are very easy to care for. Corals require stable parameters and and different elements in the water. The only other thing different than taking care of freshwater fish is testing salinity which is not that hard. I started off with inverts then a pair of clowns and then corals. Also don't worry you can stuff a 10 gallon with quite a bit of corals. Also if you go with a puffer corals are probably not a good choice as it might eat them.

Just for reference here is my equipment for my 10 gallon
Light: Hipagero Aquaknight
Heater: Fluval
Filter: aquaclear 20
Cheap Surface skimmer
15Lb of live rock
You will also need a refactometer.

 

[Patpatthepat]

So, after some deliberation, I am considering setting up my previously freshwater 10 gallon tank as a saltwater tank. Since I have no experience with saltwater, fish are going to come much later, but I would like to start cycling it within the next couple weeks (once I can afford to buy all the parts) and I am really determined to use the pet store brand real ocean water and cultivate some live rock in the tank just to see how things go. When I'm feeling confident I will add some corals (not many, I know a 10 gallon isn't very big... and in time perhaps a pair of clowns. I haven't decided yet. I might get a green spotted puffer. I'm a puffer fanatic lol. So, I would appreciate advice as I go along, and I will post updates on my progress as I begin. I'm going to have fun with this. First, I have to give the old tank a deep clean and get it dried out, and figure out a new place to put it.

Hey! I love puffers myself. Just a heads up, I am not sure if a GSP would be the best idea. I remember them as being brackish so the salinity will have to lower than most saltwater tanks. Also, I think they get too large for a 10 gallon once fully grown.

May I suggest a pair of cleaner shrimp instead?I have a pair of them in my 10 gallon saltwater tank and they are an absolute joy. If I put my hand in the tank they will come up and “clean” it for me. Also they have this sort of swaying motion when they hang upside down that is fun to watch. They’re also incredibly beautiful in my opinion. I find them a lot more interesting than freshwater shrimp, but that’s my opinion.

 

[justinwhitening]

So, after some deliberation, I am considering setting up my previously freshwater 10 gallon tank as a saltwater tank. Since I have no experience with saltwater, fish are going to come much later, but I would like to start cycling it within the next couple weeks (once I can afford to buy all the parts) and I am really determined to use the pet store brand real ocean water and cultivate some live rock in the tank just to see how things go. When I'm feeling confident I will add some corals (not many, I know a 10 gallon isn't very big... and in time perhaps a pair of clowns. I haven't decided yet. I might get a green spotted puffer. I'm a puffer fanatic lol. So, I would appreciate advice as I go along, and I will post updates on my progress as I begin. I'm going to have fun with this. First, I have to give the old tank a deep clean and get it dried out, and figure out a new place to put it.

I just started my first ever saltwater tank about three weeks ago, a ten-gallon just like you. Of course, I cycled it, and then added live rock first. I may have a few pounds of live rock in it right now. I then added my pair of clownfish. I did not want to spend much for normal Ocellaris clownfish, so I bought two of the smallest ones, which were about $10 each; the larger ones were about $15 - $20. I then added a feather duster and several blue-legged hermit crabs. Lastly, I added a Pipe Organ Coral. This coral is considered a "beginner coral", so this definitely caught my eye. Doing more research, I learned that this coral grows pretty slow, but also looks great. All of my fish and inverts are very healthy.

You said you were going to use the "pet store brand real ocean water". I haven't tried that yet; I buy the salt separately and mix it into the fresh water I will replace the old saltwater with during a water change. I am not sure which one is more efficient in terms of money, as I know the water will be more expensive than buying separate salt at the immediate time, but you will eventually end up spending the same amount of salt than you would have done buying the actual store water as time goes on, so I guess it will be relatively the same either way.

I am very interested in your progress; definitely keep us updated!

Actually saltwater fish are very easy to care for. Corals require stable parameters and and different elements in the water. The only other thing different than taking care of freshwater fish is testing salinity which is not that hard. I started off with inverts then a pair of clowns and then corals. Also don't worry you can stuff a 10 gallon with quite a bit of corals. Also if you go with a puffer corals are probably not a good choice as it might eat them.

Just for reference here is my equipment for my 10 gallon
Light: Hipagero Aquaknight
Heater: Fluval
Filter: aquaclear 20
Cheap Surface skimmer
15Lb of live rock
You will also need a refactometer.

Yes, certain saltwater fish require more specific parameters to live in than others. Definitely, some beginner saltwater fish would be cardinalfish, clownfish, damselfish, and gobies.

It is true that corals do require more stable parameters to survive, but at least in my experience so far, it doesn't seem too difficult at this time. You definitely will need a refractometer or hydrometer. Experts say refractometers are more accurate, but they are a little more expensive than hydrometers; I only use hydrometers myself. Testing salinity is very easy.

 

[ldarkfrost]

Actually saltwater fish are very easy to care for. Corals require stable parameters and and different elements in the water. The only other thing different than taking care of freshwater fish is testing salinity which is not that hard. I started off with inverts then a pair of clowns and then corals. Also don't worry you can stuff a 10 gallon with quite a bit of corals. Also if you go with a puffer corals are probably not a good choice as it might eat them.

Just for reference here is my equipment for my 10 gallon
Light: Hipagero Aquaknight
Heater: Fluval
Filter: aquaclear 20
Cheap Surface skimmer
15Lb of live rock
You will also need a refactometer.

thanks for the advice! I know, puffers will munch on anything lol. I was really considering just going with corals until I feel comfortable with fish, perhaps some small clowns and shrimp like JtheFishman was talking about. Im not decided yet, first comes the setup.

Hey! I love puffers myself. Just a heads up, I am not sure if a GSP would be the best idea. I remember them as being brackish so the salinity will have to lower than most saltwater tanks. Also, I think they get too large for a 10 gallon once fully grown.

May I suggest a pair of cleaner shrimp instead?I have a pair of them in my 10 gallon saltwater tank and they are an absolute joy. If I put my hand in the tank they will come up and “clean” it for me. Also they have this sort of swaying motion when they hang upside down that is fun to watch. They’re also incredibly beautiful in my opinion. I find them a lot more interesting than freshwater shrimp, but that’s my opinion.

Hi! Thanks for stopping by to add your bit. I appreciate the help. Do you have any puffers? Ive owned F8s before. They were wonderful. I was told they were freshwater but doing a bit of research found that theres a lot of debate as to the best water conditions for puffers regardless of where they come from, and that they should be kept brackish, so I have experience in maintaining that. So maybe Im already off on the right foot. I know some 'experts' that said GSPs were full salt... but I guess some people experiment and disagree... so I guess if thats true I could have kept some GSPs back then, but not along with my F8s of course.

Im already considering cleaner shrimp. Shrimp as pets were one thing I could never have because we either had puffers or cichlids and cichlids will also eat or bully anything you put in the tank to death. Honestly, through trial and error, learned that some fish are beautiful but they can be complete a-holes... Mollies are prone to ich and we always had outbreaks of ich and our platys and even our cory cats would all die... never again, mollies. Cichlids are mean, although beautiful... we would always have that one that would bully our favorite cichlid to death, that was horrible. So, what I have learned is that the learning curve in keeping fish tanks is much bigger than the pet store employees make it out to be... and its incredibly expensive.

 

[Jesterrace]

Corals are more finnicky than the hardier saltwater fish. Even the easy corals are more demanding of water parameters. That is why so many people recommend that newbies start out with fish only setups when they first go salty. With something like Clownfish, Cardinalfish and the easier to keep Gobies and Blennies the only difference between them and easier to keep freshwater fish is keeping your salinity levels balanced.

 

[justinwhitening]

Corals are more finnicky than the hardier saltwater fish. Even the easy corals are more demanding of water parameters. That is why so many people recommend that newbies start out with fish only setups when they first go salty. With something like Clownfish, Cardinalfish and the easier to keep Gobies and Blennies the only difference between them and easier to keep freshwater fish is keeping your salinity levels balanced.

Agreed; keeping the salinity level constant and at a safe level is the main goal. Once you do a few water changes over the course of a couple of weeks, you will get the hang of it and will get used to it fairly quickly.

 

[Patpatthepat]

thanks for the advice! I know, puffers will munch on anything lol. I was really considering just going with corals until I feel comfortable with fish, perhaps some small clowns and shrimp like JtheFishman was talking about. Im not decided yet, first comes the setup.


Hi! Thanks for stopping by to add your bit. I appreciate the help. Do you have any puffers? Ive owned F8s before. They were wonderful. I was told they were freshwater but doing a bit of research found that theres a lot of debate as to the best water conditions for puffers regardless of where they come from, and that they should be kept brackish, so I have experience in maintaining that. So maybe Im already off on the right foot. I know some 'experts' that said GSPs were full salt... but I guess some people experiment and disagree... so I guess if thats true I could have kept some GSPs back then, but not along with my F8s of course.

Im already considering cleaner shrimp. Shrimp as pets were one thing I could never have because we either had puffers or cichlids and cichlids will also eat or bully anything you put in the tank to death. Honestly, through trial and error, learned that some fish are beautiful but they can be complete a-holes... Mollies are prone to ich and we always had outbreaks of ich and our platys and even our cory cats would all die... never again, mollies. Cichlids are mean, although beautiful... we would always have that one that would bully our favorite cichlid to death, that was horrible. So, what I have learned is that the learning curve in keeping fish tanks is much bigger than the pet store employees make it out to be... and its incredibly expensive.

I have had pea puffers in the past and I briefly cared for a red-tailed red eye puffer (Carinotetraodon irrubesco). I don't have any experience with brackish puffers, but since you do, it should be easier for you. I had a discussion with a friend about them and he also said that they were full marine. However, based off of seriouslyfish.com and the Fishlore website, they seem to be brackish as that is the environment in which they seem to be found (Green Spotted Puffer Fish Care - Size, Lifespan, TankMates, Breeding).

Yea, that's one thing that has stopped me from getting puffers. They're so cool but it does mean you're severlely limited in terms of tankmates. I strongly advocate for the cleaner shrimp, though I should note that they can be mean towards each other, as a study found that having more than two will result in aggression and death (Control of social monogamy through aggression in a hermaphroditic shrimp). Here's a video of my cleaner shrimp! I think they're really really cool.

https://imgur.com/a/phqYLZK