1. Daphnia - Live Aquarium Foods

    Grow your baby fish like a PRO
    Live Daphnia are great live feed for your Fish or Shrimp Fry. Order online to start a never-ending supply of Live Daphnia! [ Click to order ]
    Dismiss Notice
  2. Microworms - Live Aquarium Foods

    Grow your baby fish like a PRO
    Microworms are a great live feed for your Fish or Shrimp Fry, easy to culture and considerably improve your fry mortality rate. Start your never-ending supply of Microworms today! [ Click to order ]
  3. Australian Blackworms - Live Fish Food

    Grow your baby fish like a PRO
    Live Australian Blackworms, Live Vinegar Eels. Visit us now to order online. Express Delivery. [ Click to order ]
    Dismiss Notice

Starting saltwater experiment soon.

Discussion in 'Fish and Aquarium - all types' started by Mice, Mar 27, 2006.

  1. Mice

    Mice New Member

    My friend and i are ganna start a 10 gallon or 20 gallon salt water tank and try to see if we are capable of doing it and if we can we are going to get a bigger tank. But what are some things i will need please list. And for the fish what fish can i put in for 10 or 20 gallon that is cheap too. Thanks.
     
  2. Used

    Used New Member

    Since this is your first saltwater tank it would be best to start with the 20 gallon rather than the 10 gallon. Here is a list of some things you will need.



    -Live rock. Live rock is a natural biological filter, and would benefit your tank greatly. A good rule to follow is 1lb of live rock per gallon of tank water. You could use 80% base rock and add 20% live rock to seed the base rock which will save you some money.

    -Marine Salt. There are alot of different brands to choose from, but I have used Instant Ocean for the past couple years and love it.

    -Hydrometer or Refractometer. Is used to test the salinity of the water. A refractometer is more accurate than a Hydrometer but more expensive. Try and aim for 1.023-1.026 for your level.

    -Powerhead. Powerheads are a essential piece of equipment in a saltwater tank. It depends on what you want to keep but for a Fish Only With Live Rock tank you will want around 15x turnover rate. Softies need 15-20x turnover, LPS need 20-30x turnover, and SPS need 30-40x turnover. Also try and get two powerheads instead of one so you get an equal amount of flow throughout the tank.

    -Substrate. You can either choose Sand, Live Sand, or Crushed Coral for your tank. I find that using plain sand is the best as it looks natural, the inverts would appreciate a sandbed, and the food and waste gets left ontop instead of falling beneath the substrate. Live sand imo is a waste of money as overtime the live rock will seed the sand. Crushed coral just doesn't look very natural, and is rather rough.

    -Light. Again it depends on what you want to keep. If you don't want to keep any corals then a simple No fluorescent bulb will work, but if you wanted coral you would need more intense lighting such as PC lighting.

    -Test Kits. The basic Nitrite, Nitrate, Ammonia, pH test kits are great tests to have for a simply saltwater tank with no coral.

    -Heater. A good reliable heater is a great piece of equipment to have.

    -Thermometer. Either Digital or glass thermometers.

    There other supplies you should aquire including 5g bucket, algae scrapers, food, etc.

    Is this a 20g high or long? As for what fish you can keep in a 20g I would 2-3 small fish. It is also best to pick fish that are relatively peaceful so they would all get along with each other. Check out http://marinedepotlive.com/fish.html as it will give you some ideas on what you would like to keep.

    Remember take things slow, and don't rush anything. If you have anymore questions just ask. :)
     
  3. kc5gvn

    kc5gvn New Member

    Hi Mice, I believe you will find it much easier to maintain a larger tank. A small chemical change has a much more dramatic effect the smaller the tank is, especially so with a Marine tank. Trying to keep a small Marine tank balanced can be extremely frustrating for your first venture into Marine fish. If you start with a larger tank like a 55 gallon it will not only be easier to maintain but you will have more versatility of what type freshwater fish you can put in it if you decide a Marine tank is not for you. Good Luck on your venture.
     

Share This Page