# Never attempted saltwater - Need Advice



## Tallonebball (Apr 6, 2009)

Hey all, I need a little bit of help setting up a 10 gallon saltwater tank. This is a tank I want mainly for corals, the only fish I would consider would be a mandarin goby, a clown fish, and maybe chromis. I want it to be a 10 gallon tank because I don't have that much money and its my first salt tank. I have heard that you can modify hang on the back filters into really good salt filters by blocking off the impeller and outtake, adding a little light, and then just growing cheeto right on the back of the tank. Do i need a protein filter for such a small tank? does this idea sound legit.


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## jrm402 (Jan 21, 2010)

Look into bio-wheel filters. make sure it has prefilter media, such as filter pad/sponge, and a spot for activated carbon. Bio wheels have proven good success for me in the past. A protein skimmer is good for any tank. Personal preference says yes put it in, but probably not necessary.


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## CollegeReefer (Sep 1, 2006)

First of all welcome to the hobby. 

As for your 10 gallon tank 

Mandrain need large tanks because they only eat microfauna like copepods. Most will tell you they need at least 75 gallons and I would argue they need even a bigger tank.

In a 10 gallon tank I would say maybe 1 clown would be the most you would want to put in the tank. A 10 gallon is even small for them. If you want to just do corals then maybe just stick with inverts.

Looking at your picture it looks like you are a college student and live in the dorms. Keep in mind that tanks are a pain to move. I had a 24 gallon aquapod in my dorm room and moved it 4 times a year which was a lot of work.

Just using a hob filter would be fine. With such a small tank the only way to keep it going is weekly water changes.

What kind of light are you going to use?


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## TheOldSalt (Jan 28, 2005)

heh,heh... tallone has been around for quite awhile since he started this thread, and already know a lot more than just these things.

See, jrm? This is what happens when you go around posting willy-nilly all over the place without checking first for relevance.


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## Tallonebball (Apr 6, 2009)

haha yep I have a 34 gallon red sea going now and its about 7 months old lol Everything is healthy and beautiful. The 10 gallon idea was dumb.


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