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I was planning to setup a 10 gallon fish only or fish only with live rock. I know it is pretty small, but i think i would like to give it a try anyway.

Just a few quick questions:

Is a protein skimmer necessary?

Do i need to buy a RO system?

Does live rock need high lighting?

This will be my first SW tank, but i have done a bit of research. I am probably going to stock it with Damsels, Blennies or Gobies of some sort. (which would you recommend?)
I wouldn't mind a clown or two, would they be happy in a ten?

You are right, a ten gallon is small, especially for a first SW tank. If you set up the tank well, and do regular upkeep and water changes you may be able to get away with maybe two well thought out fish. An occelaris clownfish is about the biggest fish I'd put in a 10. you could go with 2 of those, or one and a small goby. The clowns would be much more comfy in a larger tank though, so maybe you could bump your size up to a 15 or 20.

A skimmer will help a ton, but most important will be careful feedings and regular water changes. I'd recommend a couple gallons per week.

Live rock and water movement will also be essential. I'd get at least 15 lbs and at least 150-200GPH of water movement from powerheads or HOB filters or a combination of those and a skimmer.

Lighting isn't essential for the bacterial/biological aspect of the live rock. Light is only important if you wish to persue photosynthetic organisms. Otherwise I'd just get a nice daylight, or 50/50 flourescent fixture. Keeping the lighting down will help maintain steady temperatures, which that and salinity are important to keep very stable.

Hope that helped

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Critical Fertilator: The Micromanager of Macronutrients

That answered a lot, thanks!

But what about the RO unit?

Oops, my bad. RO units can be necessary in some cases, depending on your tap water. If you have any ammonia, nitrite, or nitrate in the tap, I would consider it a MUST. Otherwise it's not necessary for a fish only tank. However, it will help a TON with problem algaes, and make your tank look better in that aspect. I'd personally not have a SW tank without, as resulting algaes can really take away from a nice tank.

Aquasafesystems on ebay sell reasonably priced, reliable RO units that work great to clean the water. I've had mine well over a year now, glad I bought it.

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Critical Fertilator: The Micromanager of Macronutrients

Alright, i thought for a while, and figured i'd just go with a 15 gal to open up a few more options. I found a nice skimmer for anything up to 30 gal, plus it came with a pump, (what do you think?) http://www.thatpetplace.com/pet/product/productInfo.web?picGroupKey=11297
For now i might just go without a RO unit, i am pretty sure our tap doesn't have NO3, NH3, or NO2, (i may need to check again.) I intend to buy one if i ever attempt a reef setup, to remove any copper in my water. I have one power head, but it is quite small, i will probably look into getting another. I thought of the following items to buy:

15 gal tank
Aqua Clear (something for a 20 gal or so)
A power head of some sort (need to look into that)
A Hydrometer or something
Probably 10-15 lbs of live rock (any suggestions)
The protein skimmer in the site above
Instant Ocean Salt
The hood, maybe just a like 8,000K to 10,000K (what would you go for? 50/50 or a Single Daylight?
I will figure out what the stock will be after a while i suppose.


Did i forget something?

Thanks for the help matty!

No prob Sinai,

I'd get the aquaclear for the next size up, the 50. That will give you lots of flow and room to play with for media and whatnot. That way you might be able to get by with your one extra powerhead.

15lbs it bare minimum for biofiltration, so make sure you at least meet that or go with a filter more geared toward SW filtration, like an emperor, or a small cannister. As for the LR I like really porous rock, no matter the locale. You might be able to find a good deal online for 20 lbs or something.

About the skimmer...I've heard good and bad. Unfortunately it's the only small skimmer out there, so whatcha gunna do right? The bad was that people have a hard time adjusting the skimmer so that it produced good skimmate reliably. No horror stories or anything, and I think some skimmate is better than none.

Oh, and at least consider the refractometer instead of a hydrometer, especially if you think you might be doing this for a while. I wish I had gotten one when I first started, now it's on the want list.

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Critical Fertilator: The Micromanager of Macronutrients

I cant answer many of your questions, however, I would
like to suggest a couple interesting fish for your possible soon to be sw nano tank.
How about a Royal Gramma, these are interesting, colorful, very personable little fish, that many people in my aquarium club keep in 10-15g nano tanks.
Purple firefish also come to mind, as another small, colorful, and interesting fish.

Heres a website with a list of many suitable small
nano fish, that may help you choose.

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/scateg.cfm?pCatId=2124

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Sweet thanks Sneaky,

Me and my brother were looking for a fish to go in the tank, we weren't finding many for a nano tank.

That helped tons!

matty, i found 16 pounds of live rock here: http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Display.cfm?siteid=20&pCatId=1949&topcatid=393
It said it needed medium lighting.

Thanks.

Didn't look like a great deal to me, especially when you factor in the shipping. At that price, you'll be better off handpicking from the store.

Like I said, if you want all of the photosynthetic stuff on the rock to live, you'll need better lighting. It doesn't need light to act as a biofilter though.

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Critical Fertilator: The Micromanager of Macronutrients