[mellieellieissa]

I'm starting a new 10gal saltwater. What should I put in it? I need something relatively easy to care for.

 

[eagleANTH]

maybe a single pseudochromis or goby of some kind? and a couple sps and 1 or 2 lps. that would be nice with about 15lbs of LR. or possibly a symbiote tank... get a pistol shrimp and a shrimp goby the digging antics are comical.

 

[archer772]

I would put LR and then some LS and let it cycle for at least a month as that will give you some time to do some reading up on SW . I like the idea of a pistol shrimp and gobie pair maybe a cleaner shrimp and some snails and a couple hermits. I wouldnt put any SPS's in a tank that small because the paramaters can change quickly and thats not good for SPS's. I would go with some Zoas, mushrooms, ricordias and maybe a hammer or frogspawn. I would also get a good liquid test kit, a refractometer because they are much more accurate than a hydrometer I know they are more expensive but they are worth it IMO and use RO/DI water ONLY for mixing up you SW and for top offs as this cause alot less problems down the road. What type of lighting will you be useing PC's, T-5's or a small MH???

 

[mellieellieissa]

Well, I've done a lot of reading on saltwater online, but it is a little difficult since everyone says something different!

I've got the saltwater set up with Live Sand at the bottom. Currently the tank is really, really cloudy from adding the sand.

The salinity is 1.024. Should I add live rock right away or wait for the cloudiness to clear up? How long will it take for that cloudy look to go away?

 

[archer772]

I would get the LR in rite away and let that cycle your tank. I would say maybe a couple days for it to clear up some but it depends on what you have for filtration and how much flow you have in the tank

 

[eagleANTH]

you should put rock in before sand so that the rock doesnt get undermined by diggers and sifters causing a topple. so add the rock in as soon as possible and be sure your "legs" of the rockwork are firmly in place and right on the bottom pane of glass to prevents the diggers and sifters from tipping it over. the rock will definately help kickstart and keep your cycle quite a bit faster than just the live sand. but you will see some die off so its best just to do it once and cycle once and this way you can stabilize your water parameters quite a bit faster.