Help with 10 gallon saltwater tank

Pasfur

For a 29 gallon aquarium, I would probably use the Coralife Hang on model:

Super Skimmer with Needle Wheel - Up to 65 Gallon | Venturi Models | Protein Skimmers | Aquarium - ThatPetPlace.com

This should handle your aquarium well and allow you room for future upgrade to a reef environment, if you so desire. This is probably the most inexpensive skimmer on the market that is effective and reliable.

ScottAndChris

Ok, so I took back the fish yesterday and I'm going to go look at protein skimmers today. I dont have the tank yet unfortunatly, the lady is taking forever to get it down from her attic. I don't know if the guy I was talking to still has the live rock or not, I really hope he does, I'm not shure if I can afford storebought live rock yet. I read that power heads keep water flowing through live rock and keeps them from clogging, do I need these? If I do how many? I was looking at some and they were $17, $19, $25 and $29 dollars (from smallest to biggest.) Are these too cheap? I dont know what brand to get. And for this 30 gallon FOWLR tank without a sump how will maintinence be?

wake49

Look for hydor koralia, probably a 2 & a 3. You can find them at dr foster & smith (online). Maintenance will be everyday. I add a gallon to top of any evaporation. I test calcium and alkalnity every day to every other. I do a 10% water change every month (or sooner if tests suggest I do so). I check temp every day, and salinity once a week. I feed small pellet feedings twice a day, and frozen food for the fish every third day. I feed my corals every other day, and my anemone once twice a week (that obviously doesn't apply to a FOWLR).

My fiancé complains that I spend too much time with my fish.

Pasfur

The Koralia's are very nice, one of the best on the market. However, if cost is a huge issue, I have had a long standing relationship with the Maxi Jet brand. They are rather versatile and have a great suction cup brace that is reliable and holds them in place. They are also readily available for under $20.

The nice thing about these units is that they have many uses. You can easily move them to a terrarium to power a sponge filter, or on a quarantine application. They also have decent head pressure and are great for pumping water from a vat into your aquarium or sump.

ScottAndChris

I think that the Maxi Jet sounds good for me. So I have to get two (2+3?) Where do I face them? I do some of that maintinence stuff already, I still have to find tests, I've been taking my water in once a week to test it (it will be more once I get my license renewed again.)

mullinsd2

You had your fish in the tank before it finished cycling? Really, you put yourself in a difficult situation. Do you have a skimmer? Any cured live rock? We are not trying to scare you off, but it seems like you are not starting out on the right foot. You made the right choice to start asking ?s on here. For quicker responses, I would join reefcentral.com. Just a side note, if you do join there, idk if I would tell them everything you have said here. Some members on there take fish keeping super, super serious. They will just give you a hard time.

mullinsd2

Sorry about the previous post.. I could have swore that I read all your posts before asking some of those ?s. Hopefully I can be some help rather than badgering you lol. The maxi jets can basically be placed wherever you want them. It is all a matter of personal preference. Basically, you just want them to keep any detritus from settling to quickly on the sandbed or bb. It is also beneficial to the fish to have some random flow in the tank. Api reef master test kit at pet smart will suffice. You want to be able to test for as much as possible. This will help you and others determine the root of any problems in your tank.

ScottAndChris

The 10 gallon I have right now is basically a freshwater thank with saltwater contents. I will look for a reef master test kit next time I go to petsmart. I think I have most of the information I need to start putting together my new tank, I just hope my fish can stay healthy for a few more weeks. I have been reading lots of books about saltwater aquarium equipment, setups, fish and inverts and see why my tank is such a screw up. But hopefully all that will be in the past soon enough!

ScottAndChris

Another question that just crossed my mind is, how much salt should I be adding per gallon? I use red sea salt right now and it says to use 1.4lbs (or something) per gallon but I don't have a scale that precise so I did lots of math and now I have to use a bunch of small measuring spoons. I heard on a video to use 1/2 a cup per gallon and thats about twice as much as I use! So if anyone can clear the air it will REALLY help.

onefish2fish

look for a refratometer, ebay has them pretty cheap. this will be a pretty accurate way of checking the salinity of the water and is more accurate then hydrometers. if your doing a reef i would keep the salinity at 1.025 but if its fish only i would keep it lower to better prevent disease. stable is key and premixing your salt water in a seperate food safe container/tank with powerhead and heater atleast 24 hours in advance with RO/DI water is best.