I have a 10 gallon story to tell

[Sparky]

Hi everyone, I'm kind of new to this nano tank thing so excuse me if I say anything stupid om

Well I've have a tank sitting around taking up my oxygen space so I decided to do something with it. First I thought about making a terrarium out of it. At first it seemed like a fun idea, but yeah... let's watch some plants grow. Then I thought about making a freshwater aquarium, but all the interesting animals required a bigger tank. I've been debating the idea to setup a saltwater tank or go with something easier like a pet rock.

A saltwater has some pretty colorful and neat invertebrates. Though I don't know if it would be easy to pull it off in a 10 gallon tank. Can you guys help me list the things I need for a 10 gallon nano tank? I'm pretty up tight about money so I've been wondering how much money I'll need to start it off and how much money I'll need to spend on it monthly.

Thanks everyone.

 

[Burgerking]

It's not the easiest for newer hobbyists to keep smaller tanks, have you kept fish before?? I assume yes because you have the tank.

Well, you'd need a protein skimmer($40+) to start, a powerhead(price ranges) will be a good thing to have too. A light, the more watts the better($100ish), sand ($20), live rock(price varies, $6 lb usually), heater($30), and a master test kit($50). I think thats it.

monthly costs also vary, it depends on what you stock, It includes food, additives, just random stuff.

HTH, josh

 

[KoNP]

Well, you'd need a protein skimmer($40+)

Uh... I don't have a protein skimmer and the need for one seems to be highly debated. Tim doesn't seem to think it's that important, and neither did the guy at the aquarium store I got my recent rock and cleanup crew from - and he's more than a little experienced considering he's setting up a 20,000L marine tank.

Yes, you read that correctly.

 

[Burgerking]

You dont need a protein skimmer with an established tank, you can simply use live rock/sand and powerheads, I said to start, as in the beginning stages of setting up a tank, I should have explained that sry.

Though this LFS guy might actually know what he's talking about, a lot dont. So I dont really listen to the advice given by most LFS ppl, rather do the research on the fish/invert/coral/product I want then see if they stock it.

What are the dimensions of the 20 000L tank, and what is he planning on stocking???

 

[TimSchmidt]

I love debate!

True for nanos I don't think a protein skimmer is *needed*, but they sure don't hurt! It's just honestly most decent skimmers cost so much and in a tank that should get the water changed weekly (or every other week) I don't see a great return on investment.

Only things I would add are: 1. Source of clean water(RO/DI is best, then RO, then distilled, and I do NOT recommend tap water) 2. Quality salt mix (lots of debate on which is best, honestly Instant Ocean does quite well)

 

[Sparky]

That sounds like a money eater. I should save up at least $200 before getting anything then.

 

[davenia7]

I think the cost depends on what you plan on keeping. I don't use a PS and when I tried it, it didn't really pull out much.

I would highly recommend making an HOB fuge with an Aqua Tech 30-60 from Walmart. I think it cost about $30. And then the Koralia powerhead I have had on my 10 for the last year was only supplemental. I can probably post pics of my tank during its heyday. But I'm in the middle of an upgrade now, and it's a mess.

 

[KoNP]

What are the dimensions of the 20 000L tank, and what is he planning on stocking???

It's a converted rainwater tank. He lives on one of the islands close to the coast of Qld called Moreton Island. He's already got a house full of huge tanks and because of his location he's basically able to drop a pipe out his window for the water.

But yeah, converted rainwater tank. As for what he wants to stock, I've forgotten lol.

 

[ITSMANNY]

sparky i recently started a 12g so far nothing bad has happend except that my cardinal fish died like two days later...i figured it was cuz he was not eating since he arrived at the fishstore and i just happend to get the lucky one the day before he died he ate a couple brine shrimp. i tested the water and everything was fine so i dunno what may have happend luckily everyone in my tank is doing great the shrimp the nemo and even my royal gramma has come out of his lil cave a lot of times, but basically from wat iv learned from these forums and reading is that you cant let the aquarium just marinate and expect the fish to survive like in fresh water. be prepared to maintain it monthly or bi weekly depending on how u feel. but heres your list to start in my opinion.........LIVE SAND 25-30$ LIVE ROCK (6-8$ A POUND) PETCO HAS THEM FOR 10$ A ROCK AND 25$ FOR THE BIGGER ONES IN MY AREA THEY HAVE THE BEST ROCKS WITH THE MOST CORALINE ON IT ANYWAYS...ULL NEED A 50/50 LIGHT WITH ALOT OF WATTAGE not sure how much those go for since my tank came with it...FILTER OFCOURSE MAYBE WITH SOME CARBON...OR OTHER NATURAL THINGS LIKE ROCKS ETC.. AND ONE POWER HEAD WICH IS ABOUT 20-30$ OR........JUST GET A CUBE LIKE A JBJ OR OCEANIC THEY LOOK NICE AND COMES WITH EVERYTHING U NEED TO GET STARTED AND THE BIGGER THE BETTER KEEP THAT IN MIND......IF U HAVE SPACE FOR A 20G PUT A 20G JUST GET AS BIG AS POSSIBLE ACCORDING TO YOUR BUDGET

 

[ITSMANNY]

sparky....dont forget to add PAAATIEEENCCCCEEE!! to your vocabulary when you start. most importantly plan and read before you build anything. hopefully in the beggining you wont lose any fish but in a way its good to expect it so when it happens you wont be discouraged. the smaller the fish is the better that way it can get used to the tank and not cause too much stress as it grows