10gal or 14gal?

[Loch]

I’m tired of fresh water and finally want to start a salt water tank. But rather then spend a lot of money converting my 55gallon tank into a salt water, I want to start off with something small just to see if I can handle it and to see if I’ll enjoy taking care of a salt water tank. So the tank that will be converted into a salt water tank is a small ten gallon. I only plan to have maybe 3 or 4 fish in there at the most. When I was in the local fish store to look for a high powered light for a salt tank, I’m so new to this that I can’t even remember what the special lights for the salt water are. Anyway, while I was in the fish shop looking for a light the store clerk told me that they had a 14 gallon tank already made for salt water. He told me that I’m going to spend about $140 for the tank light alone for my 10gal. and that I would be better off just getting the 14gal. for $179 that already had the light and what not.
First question is:
The 14gal. tank is square and doesn’t have as much left to right space as my 10gal. Would the 10gal. be better since there’s more right to left space?
Second Question:
Price wise, would I be better off just getting the 14gal. that’s already made for salt water rather then converting the 10gal. that I already have? (Poor college student here, so saving money is good.)

 

[leebo_28]

Yes...it's probably a nano cube he is trying to sell you...if you are just wanting to try out the hobby , I would go with that...lights , filter etc.. even for a ten gallon tank will prob run you just as much...maybe more! everything is included in the nano

 

[Zestay]

dr. fosters and smith have nano cubes. and give a discount to reef central members..

 

[Blown 346]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9709830#post9709830 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by leebo_28
Yes...it's probably a nano cube he is trying to sell you...if you are just wanting to try out the hobby , I would go with that...lights , filter etc.. even for a ten gallon tank will prob run you just as much...maybe more! everything is included in the nano

I agree, the tank is setup for either fresh or salt water. The lights can be used for fresh water plants or lower light corals. That would be your best bet. You have to remember that with a smaller tank if any of your water chemistry chnages it will be more potent than with a bigger tank( more water volume.) You will have to keep up on water changes etc, and not add things to quickly. Also with a 10 or 14 gallon tank 4 fish will be too many. I wouldnt have more than 2.

With saltwater fish every inch of fish need 2 to 5 gallons of room to swim and grow. Otherwise stress can become a factor to the fish.

 

[Loch]

I don't want a whole lot of fish anyway. I only want at least one colorful fish to draw attention to the tank. I want a lot of crabs and shrimp type things in the tank more. I don't want people to notice whats in the tank right away. I want them to take one glance and see just a fish, but when they look closer I want them to see all of the other life thats in the tank.

 

[papagimp]

I'd go with wichever tank will give you the maximum amount of surface area. If it's the 10g, than that would probably be a better choice. (IMO). More surface area allows for more gaseous exchance and generally a higher stocking level. (although both tanks have a fairly low stocking capacity).

 

[papagimp]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9710096#post9710096 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Loch
I don't want people to notice whats in the tank right away. I want them to take one glance and see just a fish, but when they look closer I want them to see all of the other life thats in the tank.

That's the normal with all reef tanks. Get decent live rock, well seeded sandbed, and a little time and any reef tank will do just what you are looking for. The fish always grab peoples attention at my house. And then I go and point out some crab or even my crocea that's out in the wide open but they hadn't noticed and then all the "oooo's and aaaah's" kick in.

 

[Kengaroo131]

well i dont want to sound like a party pooper but im running a 10 gallon nano reef and i puchased a light for only 35 buck its a 28 watt coralife fixture and light. i got it at hello lights here the link.
http://hellolights.com/201xcoraqpch.html
i think it would be better to use the tank that you have. like Blown said the bigger the tank the better but if you really want to get into this hobby and have the time to tend for your tank then i would think the ten gallon is the way to go. i'll be honest once you get the hang of all the things you have to do and if you have the right stuff the tank almost takes care of itself heres a pretty good link that help me out a hole lot back when i started my 10 gallon hope this site helps you like it helped me.
http://www.aquaworldaquarium.com/marine_reef_aquariums_made_easy.htm
just read that and do alot of research and you should be good to go! good luck!

 

[Kengaroo131]

ooh and as far as fish go i would only stick to maby one or two

 

[Icefire]

set up the 55G
Only need a few powerhead and a skimmer

 

[Kengaroo131]

yea i agree with Icefire on that one, if you can, setup the 55G it will be so much easyer. but if you have limitations your other tank is always an option.

 

[Kengaroo131]

ooh one more thing if you go skimmer shopping i highly DO NOT recomend the fission nano skimmer it may seem nice and cute. but it really dosent do all that much.just a little heads up.

 

[Loch]

I can't set up the 55gal. I'm leaving for Chicago in July so I can go to college. So I only have room for a 10 gal.

 

[papagimp]

fyi, Even though bigger is better as far as water quality is concerned, the difference between a 10 and 14g is so minimal that you really will not see much "improvement" using the 14 over the 10. Unless you just prefer the shape of the tank.

 

[rustybucket145]

I think what everybody is trying to say is that when it comes to reefkeeping small tanks can be EXTREMELY difficult to keep even for the experienced aquariast. The low water volume makes chemical imbalances, temp and water chemistry in general very tough to keep balanced and in check. The bigger tanks are simply more stable and easy to maintain.

So yes you can start with a 10gal tank, just expect to have some troubles with it especially in the beginning.

 

[Aimforever]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9718539#post9718539 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by papagimp
fyi, Even though bigger is better as far as water quality is concerned, the difference between a 10 and 14g is so minimal that you really will not see much "improvement" using the 14 over the 10. Unless you just prefer the shape of the tank.

papagimp I would like to respectfully disagree. A 40% volume increase, even though in such a small volume, would definitely be worthwhile. That extra 4 gallons will make the environment more stable, and will have a significant impact on how many organisms can be sustained.

 

[Salamander]

If you're leaving for college in a few months just wait.

Why spend the $ now only to break it down before it even gets established. Wait a while and save some $ up and then you can get better equipment.