Setting up my 1st aquarium

[SeanC]

Hello i am just getting into Saltwater aquariums. I am looking to set up a 10gal Nano aquarium. I Plan on using Live rock and live sand. What would you guys/girls recommend using for filters and lights and heaters and such. I intend to have coral and a couple fish (3-4) and maybe a shrimp. Any Input would be amazing and greatly appreciated.

Thank you!
Sean

 

[BlacknBlue2]

to get yourself started you could use a simple hang on back filter, for your heater you could use a simple Aqueon heater and cheap led light strip. This will give you the exposure to start out with and get you used to sw maintenence.

 

[Vinh]

I'm new so all I can offer is what I've experienced so far with my 10 gallon.

• I use only my rocks as filtration. Trying to keep a minimalist approach and just keep up with water changes. You can make your setup as simple or advanced as you want and it also depends on the type of corals you plan to keep.
• I started with a 50W Eheim heater and upgraded to a 75W as the smaller heater didn't seem to keep up. I now use the smaller heater to heat up saltwater mix before each water change.
• I recommend 2 fish max (and maybe a shrimp - I have no experience with shrimp). All I have is a pair of clowns.
• I started with a cheap LED light and quickly upgraded to an AI Prime. Lighting is probably the one piece of equipment you don't want to skimp on.
• You'll want to decide on water pumps for decent flow. I use a Hydor Koralia 425 and a Hydor 180 with rotating deflector. This combination provides a good amount of flow and surface agitation for a ten gallon. The rotating deflector provides decent random flow which I like (don't know if it's necessary though). If you go with an HOB filter it will provide some flow so you may only need one additional pump.
• Think about what you want for clean up crew. IMO, keep this small especially in a nano. I have 1 scarlett hermit, 2 blue legged hermits, 2 turbo snails. You will find endless opinions on the right mix of CUC.
• Get some test kits. First - ammonia, nitrite, nitrate. Then later - calcium, alkalinity, magnesium (I don't have this one yet).
• Some other stuff to get - turkey baster (for cleaning off rocks), toothbrush is good for cleaning algae, glass cleaner (I like the Kent pro scraper, some like the magnet scrapers), super glue gel for rocks and corals (can't have enough of this stuff)
• Make sure your aquascape is stable (I've had issues and had to go back and glue stuff down) and allow room between glass and rocks for easy cleaning.
• Go slow - be patient!

 

[mrsaltwaterguy]

My recommendation would be to go larger if you can. I understand that this isn't an option for everyone but it certainly makes things easier. A 10 gallon tank is more prone to swings in parameters and thus things can go south rather quickly. At a minimum I would go for a 20 long or even better would be a 29 gallon. They don't take much more room but they will be more forgiving. You certainly wouldn't be able to put in 3 or 4 fish, 1 maybe 2 max. The comment above has some great advice on equipment, but this is just my two cents.