Nano-tank Filters

[Velvet AciD]

If one was starting up a 10 gallon nano tank, can filters that are used in regular freshwater aquarium be used for saltwater also?

[dbacksrat]

i dont know what salt would do to HOB filters.....
would it be silly to use an expensive filter like a canister for a tank that small?

[levia7han]

They say cans are bad for saltwater because they produce too much nitrate. And in a smaller tank that could add up fast.

I think that a HOB would be ok for filtering. But what most people would say is get about 1-1.5 lbs of live rock per gallon and then run a powerhead to circulate the water around. That would be your best bet.

Also a good amount of live sand will help.

Lev

[supahtim]

lol excellent...my type of question.

what are you putting in the tank?

HOB filters have always worked for me. don't get one with a bio-wheel though. they will cause your nitrates to raise.

right now in my 30g fish/coral/invert tank, i have around 40lbs of live rock and around 45lbs of crushed coral with aragonite doing my filtration. 2 aquaclear 301 powerheads and an empty HOB filter are doing the circulation.

if i had more money, i'd get around 10 more pounds of live rock, i'd upgrade my powerheads to 401's, and i'd replace my crushed coral with 4" to 6" of Southdown play sand. and that would be my filter. expensive, but nice. lol

Tim

[Velvet AciD]

Wow, thanks for the responses guys!

Right now I'm stuck as to what I could put in it, all the pretties seem to need 30 gallons or more for a single 2" fish. But I was thinking along the lines of a few corals and a Helfrichi Firefish OR a Goby Firefish and a few shrimp.

Are shrimp and corals bad together generally or is it just with certain species?

And about the filtration;

So basicly live rock and sand replaces the filter? And all I would need for water current is a few powerheads? And.. HOB filters, with or without media? Or are HOB's just used for the airation and current?

[supahtim]

i use my HOB for airation and circulation, but you can put the extra media in there.

the firefish would do good in a 10g. i had 2 black percula clownfish in a 5.5g

it really depends on the kind of shrimp you get. some will eat corals, some won't. peppermint shrimp, skunk cleaner shrimp, and blood shrimp are good with corals and they all look nice. skunk cleaner shrimp would be the most useful though as they will clean your fish of most diseases.

Tim

[1979camaro]

imo 5.5g is too small for a pair of percs, I would go at least 10g for that...could keep any of the clowns singly in that size aquarium, psuedochromi, many of the blennys, cardinalfish (I like bangaii, but pyjama would be fine as well)...there are really a lot of options for stocking, just do some research first

[Velvet AciD]

Also, which catagory do those cubeshaped fish fall under?

[1979camaro]

umm...boxfish? thats about the only roughly cube shaped fish I know of, most common being the cowfish...these get way to big for a nano...roughly 1.5 to 2 ft

[Velvet AciD]

Umm.. I think they're called Boston Beans?