Fun 10 gallon desktop tank?
- Thread starter suds1421
- Start date
As I said above, that's not an option. I understand that they can be harder to manage but there must be some simple systems that would be at least somewhat interesting. I have no interest in trying corals at this time, just thought something saltwater would be fun to try. 10 gallons is the max I can have at work and if I stand up another tank at home well I'll be living in it...
I would suggest something like an IM nuvo 8. Nice little tank, the light it comes with works (if not for sps), pump is quiet, and the media rack is easy to maintain.
I know you said you weren't looking for coral, but some great easy ones would be gsp, zenia, sympodium, and/or some palys/zoas. A yellow clown goby would be an interesting fish, add a couple of snails and/or hermits, and you would have a nice little slice of the ocean.
I know you said you weren't looking for coral, but some great easy ones would be gsp, zenia, sympodium, and/or some palys/zoas. A yellow clown goby would be an interesting fish, add a couple of snails and/or hermits, and you would have a nice little slice of the ocean.
toothybugs
New member
If you dedicate yourself to a 1-2 gal water change every week it should be okay. Devise some sort of ATO for sure.
I'm putting in a custom 15 frameless on my desk and it's going to be pretty sick
I'm putting in a custom 15 frameless on my desk and it's going to be pretty sick
I would describe the more basic aspects of the saltwater hobby (keeping fish, softies, lps, and maaaaybe some of the easier sps), more of a diligence and handwork thing compared to a task difficult in complexity. I am on my first tank which is 30 gallons and sumpless, obviously a fair bit larger than a 10 gallon, but a smaller system none the less. I did manuel top offs for about a year before constructing an ATO this summer. Manuel top offs are slightly annoying, but if your willing to do them an ATO isn't needed. I would have continued with manuel top offs, but the thing spurring my decision to make an ATO was a long vacation. I wouldn't have been able to top off the tank myself since I was away, and I didn't feel comfortable with the person we had feeding the fish to put in the correct quantity of top off water in the tank. Making an ATO allowed the tank to top off while I was away and it also turned out to be nice because it allowed me to dose kalkwasser and keep some stoney corals. If you can handle adding top off water daily, maybe even twice daily depending on the season, region, and weather, you can do a fun 10 gallon tank. I definitely wouldn't put any corals too complex in that tank. softies, maybe an acan or some of the other less aggressive lps corals since space is precious in a tank that small. Maybe florida ricordeas and even if your feeling a little more ambitious and able to dedicate more time, maybe even an easy to keep sps like a montipora if you want. Appropriate fish selection would be 1 small fish like a goby. If you use a salt like reef crystals high in calcium and change like 5 gallons a week (probably not all at once, to avoid to much shock to the inhabitants, maybe change like 2.5 gallons at the middle and end of the week) , matching the temperature and salinity of your display tank, you might likely be able to keep calcium and alkalinity up while keeping 1 or two stoney corals in the tank with some softies.
Thanks for the suggestions, keep them coming. I fully understand that 10 gallons is not ideal for a first tank but also please understand this:
I get it, 10 gallons is less forgiving so I'm not going to anywhere need to over stock it....
I'm looking for one interesting fish... maybe something cool in the clean up crew... it's all new to me so all of it will be interesting....
A small ATO is not out of the question either...
So if you were making a 10 gallon tank, what would you put in it for a single fish? Or is there a small fish that would support more than one...
For right now, no corals, SPS, etc... Fish only with live rock......
I get it, 10 gallons is less forgiving so I'm not going to anywhere need to over stock it....
I'm looking for one interesting fish... maybe something cool in the clean up crew... it's all new to me so all of it will be interesting....
A small ATO is not out of the question either...
So if you were making a 10 gallon tank, what would you put in it for a single fish? Or is there a small fish that would support more than one...
For right now, no corals, SPS, etc... Fish only with live rock......
toothybugs
New member
A 10? Clown goby and a tailspot blenny - they're both comical and entertaining, and easy to keep too. My first tailspot was in a 5 with 5 lbs of rock and rubble, a half inch of sand, and just a skimmer for filtration.... and it was awesome. So you can do this.
toothybugs
New member
That said, WATCH YOUR FEEDING. I would suggest you start with your basic clean-up gang, a couple snails and a hermit, and watch them for a month. Then keep a fish-safe shrimp with them, and watch them all. Meanwhile, QT your fish. Then add them once your shrimp has been fine for a month. You should be fine by that point. Add the fish maybe 2 weeks apart to minimize shock.
mpderksen
New member
Yes yes yes!!! I started the hobby this way. A basic 10gal, a little sand, some live rock and patience. Here is the list of everything I had:
Test kit
50watt heater
Nano powerhead
Hob filter with the basic floss/carbon cartridge
1 gal of RODI water for daily top off (I bought a 5 gal bottle, and refilled it for $1 as needed)
A small bag of salt
Homemade LED fixture (critical and most expensive thing on the list)
The picture above is about 2 years in, right before I got the itch to go bigger.
Maintenance required a 2 gallon water change weekly. And I do mean EVERY week.
Keep the fish load very light, and focus on buying soft corals only.
I had a bad couple of months when a gonipora died and I got some cyano. Lots of water changes and it turned out fine.
If you like clowns, they are hardy, but all you get in a tank of that size. A shrimp and some snails and you're done.
With a smaller tank you can have a thriving little reef on your desk with far less expense.
Last edited:
itzonlithai
New member
Innovative Marine Nuvo Fusion 10 and Cadlights 8G are two of the more popular all-in-one aquariums this size and both are decently priced.
