Help Setting up a 10 gal saltwater tank

[MuseCrazy]

So a little background information first. I keep land hermit crabs and am upgrading them to a 157gal tank. In the 157 I have a 10g that I plan to use as a salt water pool for them. Land Hermit crabs have modified gills that allow them to breathe on land as long as there is sufficient humidity, if not they slowly suffocate. However, they need to be able to fully submerge in fresh and salt water and can actually swim and be under for long periods of time. Here's a pic of my set up for them now

As you can see I use Tupperware with bubblers and I have to change the water daily or once every 2-3 days because I'm lazy sometimes lol.

Here is their set up in progress

And here is another members set up from the Hermit Crab Association forum so you can see what I'm trying to accomplish.

So now time for my questions, I figured I'd get better answers from fish people lol.
I use instant ocean for the salt water. When I set up the tank do I cycle fresh water first and then add the salt later? And how do I know the water is cycled? Also how long does it take? I'm so used to just dechlorinating, adding the salt, and just putting it in the tank. I did get the 157 from someone who had a saltwater set up in it before so it came with nitrite, nitrate, and PH test solutions. I wasn't going to bother with substrate since it's just going to be used as a pool/toilet for the crabs, they just love dumping their poop, substrate and food in the saltwater. What kind of filter should I use? I'm sure I have more questions but I can't think of them right now

 

[gemini9]

Hello. I'm not sure what input people will be able to give you here, as this is a forum for saltwater reef aquariums and we don't deal much with land hermits. But as far as getting a cycle going in your 10g tank, for reef setups and fish aquariums, this is how we go about the cycle. Go ahead and mix your salt in with the water. Salinity should be around 1.022ish. You can measure this with a specific gravioty hydrometer. We recommend using drinking water (reverse osmisis filtered, not spring water) to be sure the water is pure.

Once your salt is added to the reverse osmosis water, add a small filter or pump in there, something to keep the water flowing, as well as a small heater. Once the water is mixed and you've got your equipment set up. Go to the local fish store and pick up a few pounds of live rock and a couple pounds of dry rock and put them in the tank. You can start the cycle by throwing in some fish food or by using an additive, such as Dr. Tim's. Some will advise you to drop a dead shrimp in the tank, but I don't recommend that method. It's gross and stinky. It will take several weeks for a tank to cycle, so be prepared for a long wait.

 

[gemini9]

Are you going to put any fish in the 10g? Or is it just for your hermits to play in?

 

[MuseCrazy]

Will I have to do water changes? Or do you literally just let it cycle? And if the crabs swim in it and dump their poop in it during that time will it disrupt the cycle? I was thinking about adding marine hermits. If I added fish I'm pretty sure they'd get eaten unless they were super fast. The main tank would be kept at 80-85F what kind of fish would you recommend?

 

[gemini9]

You won't need to do water changes until after it cycles. You say you have a test kit? You will need to monitor Ammonia, Nitrites and Nitrates. First, keep watch on the Ammonia. You should see the ammonia levels begin to rise. After the ammonia levels rise, they will begin to fall and be replaced with nitrites. When your nitrites rise, they, too, will eventually dissapate. Near the end of the cycle, your nitrates will rise. After your nitrates go up, then you can start doing some partial water changes to lower your nitrate levels. Tank temps are usually around 78-80 degrees. At least from what I've seen. If you want fish, you could go with some Yellow Tailed Blue Damsels. They are very pretty and can live through almost anything.. unless eaten, of course. lol. Yellow Tailed damsels aren't quite as aggresive as other damsels, but they can still be territorial, so that may cause problems in a 10g tank. Unless you only have one in there. And better yet, they are inexpensive. BTW, yeah damsels are pretty good swimmers. Mine bolts around all over the place.

 

[gemini9]

OH, and the crab poo will actually help to initiate the cycle, so it's ok to have some poo in there. Having some marine hermit crabs in there with the fish will be fine for the most part. marine hermits normally leave fish alone, though they may eat a few snails.

 

[MuseCrazy]

Okay, when do I add the fish? And do I mix more salt water to do the changes? I don't have anything to measure salt right now, I just follow the instructions on the box

 

[gemini9]

Can't always rely on the box. You can pick up hydrometers to measure specific gravity (salt) that are pretty cheap. Around $10 or so I think. I'd wait until the tank cycles before putting in any fish.

 

[gemini9]

Here are some compatible fish for 10g tanks. Should be ok for beginners.

Beginner Fish: Tropical Fish for Beginners in Saltwater Aquariums

There is also a compatibility chart there for fish. Hard to find fish for a 10g. Maybe a clown? We're getting into topics I'm not all that educated in. Maybe someone else can pitch in on some fish recommendations.

 

[MuseCrazy]

What kind of filter should I use? A member from the hermit crab forum told me SW set ups do better without filters and I should use a sump. But up to 20 crabs would be dumping their poop in the water daily, would a sump be efficient in transforming the ammonia fast enough?

 

[MuseCrazy]

What exactly is a sump? From the pics I'm seeing, looks like an additional tank hooked up to another tank? I just want to get a good cycle going so that I can do 20% water changes every week as opposed to complete water changes every day.

 

[MuseCrazy]

Ok here's a link to a vid of exactly what I hope to accomplish.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ofY3kRrc5cA

She is using a sponge filter in hers, would this be a better option for me instead of the sump since this tank is really just going to house marine hermits and snails for a while?

Also I forgot to mention the 157 gal came with a ton of dry rock and coral and stuff

Can I use any of this in addition to live rock to start the cycle? And how do I treat it first? You can see a lot of dry algae and white stuff in the pictures.

 

[MuseCrazy]

Well I started. Turns out the tank is 5.5 gallons. Mixed the water, added a live rock and a bubbler. Off to get sand and a filter now. So far there's a cool clam looking thing and a snail that came in on the rock.

 

[KorD]

very nice so far... the clam "thing" kind of looks like flame scallop. did you end up building them a bridge for easy entry and exit?

in a week or so after the water cycles you could add a few shrimp to help clean up their poop..how often are you planing on doing a water change?

 

[MuseCrazy]

very nice so far... the clam "thing" kind of looks like flame scallop. did you end up building them a bridge for easy entry and exit?

in a week or so after the water cycles you could add a few shrimp to help clean up their poop..how often are you planing on doing a water change?

Yup building them a ramp now. Planning on picking up this filter. Thoughts?

I would like to get water changes to 10% a week. Is a protein skimmer necessary for my hermit play pool lol? Also my boyfriend works at RadioShack so he should be able to help me build some cool LED lights. He says they have blue and white strip tape already, just gotta see if it's the right wattage if I do decide to get ballsy and add corrals down the road.

 

[KorD]

the strip lights will do nothing for the corals.. you will actually need to get T5's or LED's for the tank...

 

[MuseCrazy]

the strip lights will do nothing for the corals.. you will actually need to get T5's or LED's for the tank...

They have the individual lights and the sockets in the strip tape. Basically all the DIY parts. I'll take pics and do some research before I buy anything obviously.

 

[joshbbert]

Id go with an aquaclear 20 filter cheap (25$)can get one at petco and mod it to a fuge if you like id ditch the bubbler too if you want corals good luck!!

 

[MuseCrazy]

What about this?

 

[joshbbert]

Looks good to me