semperfimarine1 Posted July 13, 2007 Share Posted July 13, 2007 i have a ten gallon i got for free and was wondering what i could do with it pertaining to saltwater. id figure i could do a mini fuge in a powerfilter. any ideas on what i could do with this tank and livestock i can put in it. i wont have any high tense lighting on it so that might narrow things down. i know gobies, shrimp, what about seahorse?? please help thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sushi Posted July 15, 2007 Share Posted July 15, 2007 Seahorses could be an option for you, but if you go salt in a basic ten gallon be aware of evaporation. One inch on a 100 gallon tank isn't as bad has one inch on a 10. Adding a top since you aren't going to try to grow corals could help with that. I know it sounds like a sales pitch, but bigger is better with salt. I'm not saying you couldn't, but you want to do the research before you leap. -Kat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
irishtexan Posted July 15, 2007 Share Posted July 15, 2007 Its up to you with the lighting. There are a ton of fixtures out there. Right now I have an 8G and a 1G and they are super easy to keep. I started with a 2.5G, even though its not reccommended, but I wanted to get feel for SW before spending loads of money on larger setups. If you are just starting out I would do something similiar to what I did. Just a 2.5G AGA and the stock hood with a 20W 50/50 Coralife Bulb, and an AquaClear 20 Power filter. But whatever you decide to do, make sure you do your research first. Hope this helps! -Andrew Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Headless_donkey Posted July 15, 2007 Share Posted July 15, 2007 You really ought to check out nano-reef.com. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sharkbait33 Posted July 17, 2007 Share Posted July 17, 2007 i agree, just purchase nano from craigs or RCA and use the 10gal for breeding your angels Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chatfouz Posted July 21, 2007 Share Posted July 21, 2007 if you want seahorses check out seahorse.org it is the best source to check out that area of intrest. in a ten gallon you are restricted to dwarf seahorses that require live food. enriched brine. my question is "are there corals that will do well in such a small tank with those cheapo lights? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptainBob Posted July 21, 2007 Share Posted July 21, 2007 mantis shrimp. tough, hardy, and easily the coolest SW critters that exist. we have been getting more of the smaller species in lately, keep an eye out, we're sure to get more in eventually. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chatfouz Posted July 22, 2007 Share Posted July 22, 2007 mantis shrimp. tough, hardy, and easily the coolest SW critters that exist.we have been getting more of the smaller species in lately, keep an eye out, we're sure to get more in eventually. i thought those quickly outgrow a ten gal. plus the clubber mantis will crack the thinner glass of a ten. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptainBob Posted July 22, 2007 Share Posted July 22, 2007 the vast majority of stomatopod species are small enough to live in a 10 for life, the peacocks are the most commonly imported species and they will outgrow a 10 for sure, but there are several other smaller species that will work fine. as far as breaking glass goes, I've seen it happen, when a large specimen was provoked to do it. None of the species that I would advise you keep in a 10 will ever get large enough to shatter glass. I got my 4" Gonodactylus chiragra riled up yesterday just for fun, and he punched the glass on his 10G multiple times in the same spot while trying to take out my eye.. and there were no ill effects, other than making an evil genius frustrated... I'm pretty sure he's building a doomsday device out of LR rubble and algae in his burrow. some relatively easy to come by species I'd reccomend are N. oerstedii, N. wennerae, or O. haveninsis, you can look them up here http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/arthropoda/cr....html#directory Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chatfouz Posted July 22, 2007 Share Posted July 22, 2007 the vast majority of stomatopod species are small enough to live in a 10 for life, the peacocks are the most commonly imported species and they will outgrow a 10 for sure, but there are several other smaller species that will work fine.as far as breaking glass goes, I've seen it happen, when a large specimen was provoked to do it. None of the species that I would advise you keep in a 10 will ever get large enough to shatter glass. I got my 4" Gonodactylus chiragra riled up yesterday just for fun, and he punched the glass on his 10G multiple times in the same spot while trying to take out my eye.. and there were no ill effects, other than making an evil genius frustrated... I'm pretty sure he's building a doomsday device out of LR rubble and algae in his burrow. some relatively easy to come by species I'd reccomend are N. oerstedii, N. wennerae, or O. haveninsis, you can look them up here http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/arthropoda/cr....html#directory that is awsome beyond awsome. i thought i would never be able to keep em. is there places in austin to get these?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
semperfimarine1 Posted July 22, 2007 Author Share Posted July 22, 2007 ya i wanna put a small mantis in this ten im about to start up. where can we get one? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptainBob Posted July 23, 2007 Share Posted July 23, 2007 (edited) we get them in occasionally at Aquatek, but most species are pretty tricky to find since most reefers are terrified of them and kill them on sight, it's one of the biggest misconceptions in our hobby that mantis shrimp are guaranteed to obliterate everything in your tank up to and including the tank itself... they're as reef safe as turbo snails and safer emerald crabs IME... the most they'll ever do to corals is move them, they'll never freak out and decide your favorite zoanthids would make a nice snack. They will eat small snails and hermits though, but not at such an alarming rate that you can't replace the ones the mantis decides to munch on, and if you are pretty good about feeding them they won't even go after your inverts most of the time. *edit* we do have a medium sized peacock mantis, O. scyllarus, she's actually quite tame, we're able to put our hands in her cube and she's content just to watch us... bear in mind though that a peacock will need a much larger tank given time. Edited July 23, 2007 by CaptainBob Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
semperfimarine1 Posted July 23, 2007 Author Share Posted July 23, 2007 ive seen the small mantis that your talking about. its pretty. what about a small leaf or scorpion maybe?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CaptainBob Posted July 29, 2007 Share Posted July 29, 2007 maybe a small leaf fish, if you were religious about your waterchanges, and either set up a reliable autotopoff system or kept the tank covered reasonably well to prevent evaporation from setting in too quick. Another good choice would be a little sargassum angler if you insist on going the fish route, very cool little fish, but I'd want to upgrade any of these fish to at least a 20 before they hit adulthood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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