I have had a 30 gallon salt water tank for a about a year now and was wanting to start a small reef tank. I had to learn too many things the hard way with my first tank as I had no one but local store employees to help me. I just found this forum and was hoping for your help in starting this new tank. Assume I know nothing; I'd much rather have too much information than too little.
The first thing I can tell you is that a 10 gallon reef is a lot of work, and much harder than keeping a 30 gallon. With saltwater especially, the bigger the tank the easier it is to keep stable. Lots of potential issues with a 10 gallon tank. Evaporation causes severe swings in spg/salinity (the amount of salt in the tank) because water evaporates... salt doesn't. Ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH, etc... all will swing a lot more drastically in a small tank, and it doesn't take much to get it there. The smaller the volume of water the faster the rate of change. If you've kept fish already, then you know that most fish/animals can adjust to some change if it's gradual... it's the fast and drastic that kills. Add to it that this is a marine environment, and the expense goes way up really fast.
I'd like to know what kind of powerhead/filtration system, etc. I will need, how many pounds (10 gallon tank) and what kind of sand at the bottom, how much live rock, and some good starting procedures on getting it through the first cycle (like what levels of the different compounds I could have).
For live rock, as much as you can get in there. The more the better. For sand, about 2 inches deep at the bottom, not over 3 inches... average about 10 - 15 lbs. Filtration and powerheads I can't begin to suggest until I know what animals you intend to keep. Some things work better than others depending on what the animals can tolerate or will need.
Also, it would be helpful to know some good inverts that I can use once I get it started.
Blue leg hermits are popular, especially for a 10 gallon. Again, the types of roaming inverts will be dependent on the types of corals you wish to keep. Some crabs, snails, starfish, etc will harm or eat certain species of corals. If you're wanting to start off with corals, it would be a good idea to use your other, established tank, to get this one started. You can fill the 10 gallon with about 3 - 5 gallons of water from the existing tank, finish filling with fresh saltwater, and it will help to bring the bacteria and even some life forms into the new tank. After cycling is complete, some good things to start out with would be zoanthid polyps, any of the smooth textured mushrooms, xenia, and some of the leathers that are known to be sturdy, such as finger leather.
Money isn't much of an issue, but it doesn't need to win any awards either. Thank you so much, I've read how much you have helped other people and am looking forward to your input.