Help, Biggener

[lego008]

I want to get a 10 gallon saltwater tank. I want to get two firefishes, one Ocellaris Clownfish, one double tip anemones, and one catalina goby. Is that too many fish? and what type of corals can I get? And I need ALL the instructions on how to care for it. And what type of lighting do I need. Thanks :-)

Oh, and could I get a lettuces sea slug?

[GHill762]

that's a bit of a bioload...

 

skip the catalina goby, it's a temperate species and won't do well in a tropical reef tank. there are many other gobies that would be better suited - I know it's unfortunate becuase it's such a pretty little fish. take a look in the thread "lgreens guide to nano fish" in the beginner forum, there's a pretty solid list of fish grouped by minimum tank size.

 

I'd put the firefish in first as they tend to be shy in my experience, and may get bullied by a clownfish in such a small tank. if you really want a clownfish I'd advise getting a small one and adding it last after the firefish have been in the tank a while.

 

I would limit it though (IMO) to 2 firefish and a goby, or 2 firefish and a clown, or 1 goby 1 firefish and 1 clown. 2 firefish, 1 goby, and 1 clown is going to be crowded and likely end in bullying. you may even get that with 2 firefish and 1 clown.

 

by double tip, I assume you mean bubble tip? this will be difficult in a 10g and I can't say I'd recommend one, particularly for a new reefer.

 

coral, pretty much anything you want as long as your lighting and water chemistry are up to par.

 

lighting, depends on the needs of your corals/inverts. what do you want to stock?

 

 

 

 

oh, and to NR!

[lego008]

Thanks for the info. :-) I have a 15 gallon comunity tank, a 5 gallon betta tank, and kind of run a 55 gallon tank at our school. But what type of lighting should I get?

[ndrobey]

Skip any small polyp stony coral. They are for expert reefers. Start with mushrooms, as they are hard to kill. Most places that sell coral will tell you if it is easy to care for.

[Smithjm5]

How much do you want to spend on lighting?

[Partially Submerged]

Also skip the clown fish for now. Get one when you have a chance to get a larger tank (or can convince your school to convert the 55g into SW ). A clown can be and is kept (since Finding Nemo) in small tanks for a while, but they really need a significantly larger tank, and you will never see any of their natural behavior in a tiny tank.

[lego008]

To smithjm5. About 30

[iadubber]

Not sure if OP is serious or trolling

[lego008]

whats OP?

[Pinner Reef]

OP=Original Poster

 

Props to Ghill... I wasn't gonna touch this one

 

Lego008 read the threads pinned to the top of the beginner section...twice

[lego008]

I am serious. I want to get a saltwater tank!

[GHill762]

Everyone please remember this is the beginners forum, not general

 

 

Lego, what kind of coral would you like to keep? Also what is your lighting budget? That will help is answer your lighting questions.

 

 

 

As for stocking, it's a pretty high bioload for a 10 but I don't think it's impossible. There's also no reason you can't put a clown in a 10g, I think a clown and two firefish will really be pushing it, I'd rather see you do one firefish and one clown and maybe one small goby.

You should really take pinner's advice and read the top stickies in the beginners forum.

[Roshan8768]

Lighting is probably the most limiting and expensive part of this hobby. You could probably find a used t5ho or 75watt halide setup for about $50 if you're willing to wait and hunt around. LEDS are nice, but they are pricey

[lego008]

Ok, I'll read the stickys. How many gallons would i need to have 2 firefish and a clown? I am thinking about $30 on lighting.

[yomon347]

$30 on lighting is fine if you don't want corals.

 

Start researching, salt water is way more work than freshwater. Also you might want to use spell check... Beginner vs Biggener

[lego008]

For corals i am thinking some hard diferent colored ones. Could i get some anemones?

 

Sorry for the spelling my phones spell check hardly ever works :-(

[yomon347]

You sound enthusiastic but these are the same questions I would ask if I was trolling this forum.

 

Research everything you want via Google for a few weeks.

[Roshan8768]

For corals i am thinking some hard diferent colored ones. Could i get some anemones?

 

Sorry for the spelling my phones spell check hardly ever works :-(

 

You really should do some research and read up on the different varieties of coral, lighting, etc. Not trying to be mean, but the internet is a wealth of information... there are a ton of threads ON THIS SITE with the same exact questions you are asking that have been answered before.

 

You are not going to find a light for $30 that will keep many corals alive, definitely nothing overly colorful or hard (having a skeleton). Definitely no anemones!!

[lego008]

Thanks for all the help. :-)

[GHill762]

for this size tank the most economical option would be an LED PAR light such coral compulsion and that would allow you to keep pretty much anything as long as your water parameters and flow are good.

 

t5ho isn't really an option on a 10g tank and I don't think they make PC fixtures anymore, but maybe you could find a used one in the classified section.

 

if you bump up to a 15g you could use 4x 24" T5HO fixture, and would have more room for the fish you want and your stock list would be perfectly fine IMO, having had a 15g reef myself. a 20 long would be even better and it would be more asthetically pleasing (tank shape), and the cost difference in setting up a 10g vs a 20g long would be very little, I always regretted picking the 15g over the 20 long. just my 2 cents.

[cju84]

For corals i am thinking some hard diferent colored ones. Could i get some anemones?

 

Sorry for the spelling my phones spell check hardly ever works :-(

 

No, not with a $30 light and that sized tank. Definitely check out the stickies and use the search function in this forum.

[tibbsy07]

You can actually light a tank with a regular sunlight spectrum bulb and get growth from coral. Any coral (recent research suggests this; some softies actually have higher photosynthetic thresholds and requirements than SPS; And in the wild SPS live alongside softies in the same general lighting conditions http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2014/2/myths).

 

That being said, if you want your coral to LOOK nice and not muted, then you need to spend the money on a decent light. Coral Compulsion makes a nice Par38 bulb for a good price.

[lego008]

Ok,thanks i have picked out all the supplies. All i need is to find a par38.Thank you all for the help :-)

[GHill762]

Ok,thanks i have picked out all the supplies. All i need is to find a par38.Thank you all for the help :-)

another thing to do is cruise the member tanks forum, look for other builds in the same tank size, see what they're doing and what equipment they're using. try to replicate something that looks nice to you, or use their tank as guidance. also keep in mind that cheaping out on equipment usually costs more than buying good quality equipment, cheap equipment will fail or you'll inevitably want something nicer and have to upgrade. notice I said good quality, not expensive, and I said cheap, not inexpensive, they aren't always interchangeable.

 

pretty much all par lights are "inexpensive", some brands of them are cheap and some of them are good quality.

[jtwisconsin]

GHill gave you the best advice above - read what others have done, check out the member aquariums section, spend time looking through the Pico section, and go look at the monthly featured tanks that are similar in size to your tank.

 

Learn from others and see what has worked (and what has not worked) for them. I guarantee this will help you avoid spending money on equipment you will only regret later.