Setting up my first saltwater aquarium

[FlyingPotato]

I’ve done lots of research but you can never trust the internet 100%. After several years of freshwater aquariums I want to set up my first saltwater aquarium. Tomorrow I am driving almost an hour to pick up supplies to get my first tank up and running. It is a budget 10 gallon that will have clownfish and an anemone. I don‘t have much to spend so I must use every cent as well as I can. Here is a list of things I am planning on picking up tomorrow please let me know if I am missing anything or if there is a better alternative to something I choose.

*At least 10 lbs rock including a piece of live rock
*filter (Any recommendations for a good quality filter are appreciated)
*Bag of live sand
*API saltwater master test kit
*refractometer
*Bag of salt
*lighting fixture for anemone
*Source of ammonia

My plan is to cycle it and let it mature for at least a month. After that I would like to add a couple invertebrates and see how they do. If they are healthy after a couple weeks I want to add the clownfish. The anemone will go in last since I have heard they can be very delicate. I do not have my heart set on an anemone so if it is a poor option for my aquarium please talk me out of it. I already have a lid, heater, and thermometer. I am also worried about the cost of lighting for an anemone and maybe even a coral or two down the road so any budget lighting ideas Would be great. I was also wondering if I could keep two clownfish in the 10 gallon. I want to get a normal clownfish and a black clownfish and name them Nemo and emo. Every source said something different but I don’t want to attempt it unless it has a high chance of success. I really don’t want to kill a fish over a joke. If they can get along well in my 10 gallon what kind of filter would I need to make sure they stayed healthy? Sorry about having so many questions but I really want to do this right the first time.

 

[Bryn]

Welcome to R2R. Looks like a great plan, with plenty of people here, ready to help.

 

[Algaewarrior]

I would say you don't need the api master kit. The only thing you will be testing for in the beginning is ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate. I started out with the simple test strips that have nitrite and nitrate on them as well as an ammonia test strip. For other tests down the road you can pick them up as needed. I recommend salifert. As for lights you can start with a $60 amazon light(hipargero aqua knight 028) and get a push pin timer or smart outlet. You can always upgrade later.

 

[Payne Train]

Awesome idea -with a small tank with a Ben and clowns ... welcome to the forum . Tons of people here to help !

 

[hds4216]

What light are you considering getting? I've heard nems can be picky about it. Here's a good guide to them: https://aquariumstoredepot.com/blog...ly require a moderate,color to your reef tank.

 

[Doctorgori]

You will gat a lot of varied opinions and often many are viable just depends... But for starters

- Anemone wouldn’t be my first recommendation for a 1st timer (your FW experience advances you a lil). Anything past a bubble tip can be tricky ... I dunno, maybe I’d get the nem 1st then match the clownfish to the stile alive established host....either way, wait for purple to show and the nem is settled before adding coral. Even then consider the coral expendable with any nems (just my experience)

- “maybe” skip the gravel this go round; yes bio-cycles mid term can be funky (Baterial blooms/cloudy water) et but long term Is you save a lot of time/effort maintaining a clean tank ...emphasis on ”maybe”, read up on any of the gazzilion bare-bottom vs gravel threads

- Definetly get your alkalinity testing/maintenance strategy straight and in place immediately. Get a good alkalinity tester (i.e Hanna “Blue” DKH) ... Monitor coralline growth. Fast purple = good water. BRS vids are golden for this.

- don’t waste your money on cheap stuff: Return pumps: Lifeguard and work your way up. Lighting? I must own the record for wasted $$ and a lot of it on cheap lights. I’d wait unti you can swing at least AI’s for about $200 and go up from there

- I think people put too many fish in their their tanks but I usually keep my fingers shut...given room many SW fish get naturally large and taste good

 

[FlyingPotato]

Thanks for all the advice and encouragement. I'm tempted to skip the anemone but I'm not going to say anything for sure right now. I'm excited to see what happens and will keep updating on the aquariums progress.

 

[Doctorgori]

progress.

You gonna do a build thread ? And check out BRS 5 minute guides

 

[Rjukan]

With a tank that small don't skimp and get a little cured LR with rest dry. Just get all cured LR in one shot, it will greatly speed things up for you and give you a more solid system.

10g is too small for a pair of clowns and a nem imo. Maybe consider a zoa garden with a yellow clown goby. For light I would consider a Kessil A80, I have one on a 7.5g and love it.

 

[WIReefer]

Welcome to R2R!!!

 

[FlyingPotato]

I got almost everything I need. Just need test kits and a nice lighting system. My problem is the salt levels when I went to bed last night the salt levels measured at 1.022 but this morning it was at 1.016. I'm not sure if it is normal or If something is wrong. I used instant ocean and mixed it with a water pump for about 20 minutes so it was all dissolved before putting it in the tank. I'm worried I will harm the live rock if I cant keep the salt levels stable.

 

[FlyingPotato]

You will gat a lot of varied opinions and often many are viable just depends... But for starters

- Anemone wouldn’t be my first recommendation for a 1st timer (your FW experience advances you a lil). Anything past a bubble tip can be tricky ... I dunno, maybe I’d get the nem 1st then match the clownfish to the stile alive established host....either way, wait for purple to show and the nem is settled before adding coral. Even then consider the coral expendable with any nems (just my experience)

- “maybe” skip the gravel this go round; yes bio-cycles mid term can be funky (Baterial blooms/cloudy water) et but long term Is you save a lot of time/effort maintaining a clean tank ...emphasis on ”maybe”, read up on any of the gazzilion bare-bottom vs gravel threads

- Definetly get your alkalinity testing/maintenance strategy straight and in place immediately. Get a good alkalinity tester (i.e Hanna “Blue” DKH) ... Monitor coralline growth. Fast purple = good water. BRS vids are golden for this.

- don’t waste your money on cheap stuff: Return pumps: Lifeguard and work your way up. Lighting? I must own the record for wasted $$ and a lot of it on cheap lights. I’d wait unti you can swing at least AI’s for about $200 and go up from there

- I think people put too many fish in their their tanks but I usually keep my fingers shut...given room many SW fish get naturally large and taste good

Thanks to Rjukan, I looked up zoa garden and fell in love with zoanthids. Definitely would rather have that then an anemone.

As for test kits I'm getting the red sea test kit starter with ammonia, ph, nitrate, nitrite, and alkalinity. I cant keep the salt levels right because I started with the instant ocean hydrometer which is trash. Instead I'm getting a nice refractor.

As for lighting would the MarsAqua 165W led or NICREW led reef light on amazon be a good choice? As much as I would love $200 lights I would like to at least look at more budget friendly options before leaping into spending that much money.

I got told today that keeping corals in a nano tank was impossible and now I am on a mission to set up the most beautiful mini zoa garden ever.