10 gallon nano..?

[Ad900]

so lately i have been in the market for a nano setup with most or all of the stuff needed for a saltwater aqaurium.
ive never done saltwater before and i was told extremely small nano aquariums can be very difficult to maintain,

i finally found a good deal on a 10 gallon setup that basically includes everything, even LR and sand.

my question is, just how difficult would a tank this size be to maintain?
could a complete newbie at saltwater be successful with a 10 gallon or should i continue looking for something a little bigger?

Thanks!

 

[tklassman]

Being a newbie at this hobby, I can tell you it can be done...but its a lot of work. I have a 10 gallon with a few coral and a fish and they are happy, its just be prepared to be working on the tank a lot. Evaporation occurs so quickly and you need to be ready to top it off (an auto top off is recommended). I also have a 30 gallon tank (but no corals in that one) and that is ALOT less maintenance. If you are doing a 10 gallon, I just recommend testing very frequently and always have pre-mixed saltwater because you will be doing many water changes. Good luck!

 

[Smitty]

A tank that small is do-able...you just have to be anal about water changes(which wouldn't be much in that size tank). Larger bodies of water are just more forgivable and harder to pollute, vs smaller volumes of water. But, I actually like smaller footprint tanks because they're easier to fill with corals and less maintenance.

 

[Hyperlitexr50]

Weekly water changes and take your time. I do 40g water changes weekly and I don't think its a lot of work lol. Not to stear you away from here but there is a lot of info on nanoreef.com for small tanks.

 

[Hyperlitexr50]

My 5g pico is the easiest tank I have ever owned. I have never tested any thing and when things look out of whack I do a 80% water change.

 

[m.miller1547]

I do a gallon waterchange on my 9 every two to three days. Concerns for me with small tanks have always been temp swings and flow issues. Otherwise you can do an awesome 10gal. You will upgrade in no time.

 

[brianspider]

Two reasons I'd go bigger:

1) Personally, I think people talk up the difficulty of keeping a saltwater tank a little much. I am fairly new to the hobby, and I started with a 30 gallon. People told me I should start with something bigger for maintenance purposes, but I really have not found it to be too bad.

In my opinion, the issue with small tanks and beginners does not necessarily have to do with maintenance, but rather room for error. If you are truly psyched about the hobby entering it, you'll be able to maintain your tank or find the finances for added equipment to make the regimen easier on yourself. The problem with starting so small arises when you face issues. Your small 10 gallon can go down fast, while solutions to problems will also require a more delicate touch and faster response.

2) You are going to get addicted. Once you start running your tank successfully, you are going to want more. More corals, more frags, more fish. You get sucked in man, afford yourself some extra space. I'm already running out of room in my 30 gal, and its been 5 months.

Like I said, I'd go bigger if you can afford it. This is an expensive hobby, so understand that going in, but there's ways to cut down costs. Go on craigslist, this forum, and other forums and find used stuff. Buy parts individually if you have to, and be patient for deals. Personally if I had to do it again, I would've gone 40g breeder with sump. But that's just me.

 

[Ad900]

alright thanks for the advice guys, hopefully i will have a build thread going up soon...

 

[Ad900]

now that im thinking about it, i might buy this setup and not use the tank and instead immediatly upgrade to a 20 or 30 gallon