Ive already mastered freshwater and I want to start my skillz (hehe) on Saltwater. I want to put live corals in it. Just 1. Anemone or any other saltwater plants. Do these take any extra care? And one more question, what type of filter will i have to use?
2006-12-30 13:31:15 · 6 answers · asked by lilgman424 2 in Pets ➔ Fish
Your talking about a nano-reef aquarium and some people are venturing into saltwater that way, small tanks, less investment. However with such small tanks you are very limited on what you can put in there. This tank is still going to cost many times what your freshwater did in initial setup, maintenance, and livestock costs. I recommend a lot of reading at www.nano-reef.com and also get a book called The Conscientious Marine Aquarist and read it front to back before you put a drop of water in that tank.
2006-12-30 13:51:15 · answer #1 · answered by Brian 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You need to start much larger than that if you want to do saltwater. Get some good literature on salt water fishkeeping, and expect to spend a lot of money.
Anemones and corals require lots of light and very clean water. This is why it is hard to do in smaller tanks, waste can build up easily and with lots of lights the water will evaporate quickly. These fluctuations will be deadly for the tank.
The filters used in fresh water do fine for marine, you just need about 5 times the circulation of the water in marine tanks (20+ cycles an hour). Live rock is essential.
Get some books, and spend lots on the books and the tank.
2006-12-30 13:46:35 · answer #2 · answered by Johnny 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Anemones are pretty difficult to maintain, you need very good water quality, high power lighting and the right foods. It is definitely possible, but it takes a good deal of work to keep them around for a long time...especially in a 10 gallon tank. Your best bet in a tank that small is to stick with 'mushrooms' and other soft coral like 'leathers' and 'tree coral'. I personally wouldn't advise getting any fish....but maybe a cool shrimp or crab. nano-reef.com is a great site to get a lot of info on small reef tanks.
You can use a variety of filters on saltwater tanks. A good reliable investment would be a hang on back filter like an aqua clear, with a chemical media like chemi-pure. You can get the filter for about $15 online or about $20-30 at a pet store. A lot of people use Live Rock in their tanks, you can get it for about $4-6 a lb at a saltwater aquarium store, and it comes it infinite variations of shape, size, and density....it is full of creatures and beneficial lifeforms, and actually filters the water. Many people just rely on the Live Rock and water changes in their tank with no chemical or mechanical filters at all. (to do this you need at least 1-1.5lbs of liverock for every gallon of water in the tank.)
But the most important thing is to do water changes and maintain stability in the tank. Especially in a small tank, you need to do water changes at least once every other week of about 10%. And you should test it at least every few days to make sure the tank is at optimum water quality.
It is a lot of work to have a nice reef tank...but it is very rewarding and fun.
2006-12-30 19:31:59 · answer #3 · answered by Mr.Robot 5 · 3⤊ 0⤋
People so many different opinions on saltwater tanks, I would ask the people with experience on aquariacentral.com
2006-12-30 13:56:38 · answer #4 · answered by Skittles 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think it is nearly impossible for salt water in a 10 gallon tank, last time I looked into it, I was told 50 gallons is the minimum to go.
2006-12-30 13:39:58 · answer #5 · answered by starting over 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
I know they have to have extra care because you have to clean the tank more often but I don't know what type of filter. Go to pets smart and ask them.
2006-12-30 13:37:45 · answer #6 · answered by Alyssa N 1 · 0⤊ 2⤋