My first saltwater tank!

[SCReef'n]

Welcome to R2R! Best of luck going forward

 

[Fishbro]

welcome to R2R!!!

 

[Rudzbrewski]

Hey Everyone!

I got a 10 gal tank for my birthday and decided to get a saltwater tank going. I understand that the smaller tanks are less forgiving than a bigger one but given the size of my apartment i have to make due hah. I've already met a few very helpful people here locally just by going to a specialty store and they referred me here. I plan on doing mostly coral with a couple clown fish, some sexy shrimp, and maybe a few more but i dont want to over crowd it.

I dont have any direct questions just yet but i figured I should let everyone know my setup in case I'm missing something. I just threw water in it today so I've got a ways to go before it finishes cycling.

I have:
- 150 GPH bio wheel
- digital thermometer
- LED light
- salinity refractometer
- 425 GPH powerhead

Im not tooooo sure if i need a heater since I'm in florida and the room doesnt get too cool outside of winter.

I also filled it using salt water I bought from the local store here. I figured ultimately because of the size of my tank it was probably more practical/economical than adding salt to the water myself.

What do you guys think? Im getting some rocks tomorrow to throw in and once its done cycling I plan to get a nice live rock to throw in before getting any livestock.

Congrats on the new tank! I decided to go the 10 gallon route to start with plans right from the beginning to upgrade. Starting small has definitely helped me get some processes down on a small scale and help with the learning curve even after months of research. Of course it does come with its limitations and difficulties.

Quick thing I noticed are:
-425 gph power head might be a lot for the size tank. I’ve got the 240 gph on mine and it seems like a good amount. Then again people with more experience always say there’s no such thing as too much flow? Since I plan on upgrading before keeping SPS requiring high flow I’ve been happy with the smaller pump so far. Can’t speak to if it would be enough for high demand corals.
-Also the $60-80 for good live rock at the LFS really helped compared to starting with dry in such a small system. I do plan on curing dry for months prior to starting my larger build though.

I’ve tried to document my journey in my build thread. More than happy to share any of my experiences and things I wish I did different or learned.

 

[NC122606]

Sounds good! Welcome to R2R!

 

[andrewey]

Welcome to Reef2Reef!

 

[mich2599]

Welcome to R2R!

 

[Mr_Knightley]

Sounds like a great start, welcome to Reef2Reef, and to the Hobby!
No one thing real quick; there is a filter media sold by the company Seachem called 'Purigen'. I have a whole jar of it in my 24g nano and I have never had to do a water change so far. It handles excess nutrients and pollutants very well and can be re-used when it turns brown. I'm not saying it will remove your need for water changes, but the product has really helped me out with my tanks.

Good luck and God bless!

 

[F i s h y]

Welcome to the party! Happy reefing!

 

[RobB'z Reef]

Hey Everyone!

I got a 10 gal tank for my birthday and decided to get a saltwater tank going. I understand that the smaller tanks are less forgiving than a bigger one but given the size of my apartment i have to make due hah. I've already met a few very helpful people here locally just by going to a specialty store and they referred me here. I plan on doing mostly coral with a couple clown fish, some sexy shrimp, and maybe a few more but i dont want to over crowd it.

I dont have any direct questions just yet but i figured I should let everyone know my setup in case I'm missing something. I just threw water in it today so I've got a ways to go before it finishes cycling.

I have:
- 150 GPH bio wheel
- digital thermometer
- LED light
- salinity refractometer
- 425 GPH powerhead

Im not tooooo sure if i need a heater since I'm in florida and the room doesnt get too cool outside of winter.

I also filled it using salt water I bought from the local store here. I figured ultimately because of the size of my tank it was probably more practical/economical than adding salt to the water myself.

What do you guys think? Im getting some rocks tomorrow to throw in and once its done cycling I plan to get a nice live rock to throw in before getting any livestock.

Welcome! You've got a world of knowledge at your fingertips here. Some brilliant folks in this community here. I remember my first salt water tank in the mid 90's when there was barely a thing called AOL ... Info wasn't easy to come by and I didn't know much from rice crispies when I first started out! Enjoy and good luck!

 

[BighohoReef]

Welcome to R2R! So much reefing goodness here. You have a great few (Years) weekend projects ahead! Looking forward to seeing and hearing more about the setup!

 

[BighohoReef]

Welcome! You've got a world of knowledge at your fingertips here. Some brilliant folks in this community here. I remember my first salt water tank in the mid 90's when there was barely a thing called AOL ... Info wasn't easy to come by and I didn't know much from rice crispies when I first started out! Enjoy and good luck!

Haha... so true! Miss that dial up sound

 

[ShepherdReefer]

Hey Everyone!

I got a 10 gal tank for my birthday and decided to get a saltwater tank going. I understand that the smaller tanks are less forgiving than a bigger one but given the size of my apartment i have to make due hah. I've already met a few very helpful people here locally just by going to a specialty store and they referred me here. I plan on doing mostly coral with a couple clown fish, some sexy shrimp, and maybe a few more but i dont want to over crowd it.

I dont have any direct questions just yet but i figured I should let everyone know my setup in case I'm missing something. I just threw water in it today so I've got a ways to go before it finishes cycling.

I have:
- 150 GPH bio wheel
- digital thermometer
- LED light
- salinity refractometer
- 425 GPH powerhead

Im not tooooo sure if i need a heater since I'm in florida and the room doesnt get too cool outside of winter.

I also filled it using salt water I bought from the local store here. I figured ultimately because of the size of my tank it was probably more practical/economical than adding salt to the water myself.

What do you guys think? Im getting some rocks tomorrow to throw in and once its done cycling I plan to get a nice live rock to throw in before getting any livestock.

Awesome sauce! Welcome to the R2R channel.