Most people that venture into this hobby start with a freshwater aquarium filled with colorful gravel and plastic plants. From here, after countless hours of research, many of us venture into planted aquariums or more niche types of fish tanks. The final step for many aquarium keepers is dipping their toes into saltwater fish tanks. This is usually the final step due to the challenges and costs that saltwater aquariums can bring. It is very rewarding setting up a successful saltwater fish tank, and with today’s equipment and technology, it has become much easier than years before.
This article will focus on equipment and supplies needed to setup a 10-gallon reef tank, but much of what will be discussed can be scaled up to 15 – 20 gallon aquariums.
Disclaimer Before Continuing
Before diving into the long list of supplies for saltwater aquariums, there are a few things I want to bring up. First, I would not recommend setting up something this small if it’s your first time creating a saltwater setup. If you’re new to saltwater, I would recommend setting up at least a 25 – 30 gallon aquarium. The easier route is to set up an All-in-One type of aquarium, like the Coralife Biocube, Waterbox Cube 25, or SC Aquariums 24 Gallon AIO. This is mostly because a larger aquarium holds more water volume and more water volume helps keep your water parameters a little more stable.
My second disclaimer for small reef tanks is that I would personally not recommend adding fish into a 10-gallon saltwater fish tank, especially if you’re new to this. You may be able to get away with a small species of goby like the Yasha Goby or Jester Goby but I would not recommend other fish such as Clownfish, Blennies, or most other species. The space they need and the bio-load they have will make your aquarium harder to maintain. For this aquarium, I would stick to just corals and invertebrates.
Lastly, if you run this aquarium as an open top, you will likely need to top off your water daily. I have to add about a half cup to a full cup of RO water daily to keep my salinity at 1.024 sg. On top of that, I would recommend also changing about a gallon of water once a week to help remove any nitrates, phosphates, and waste from the aquarium.
List of Supplies Needed for Aquarium
There are many different supplies and equipment that can be recommended for your saltwater reef tank. I will provide you a list of things that I have purchased for mine, and that have continued to work for me. I will split the supplies/equipment into 2 categories, things I highly recommend/are needed and supplies/equipment that are optional. I will cover the following in a little more detail:
- Filtration
- Lighting
- Hardscape (live rock and sand)
- Aquarium
- Water changing
- Misc. Supplies
Filtration (needed)
For my 10-gallon saltwater reef tank, I decided to use an Aquaclear 70. The intake tube of the Aquaclear 70 may be too long if you choose to have a deep sand bed but I made it work for my setup. It provides a large chamber for filter media and also provides plenty of flow for an aquarium this size. If you’re curious about the other types of Aquaclear HOB filters, check out Fluval Aquaclear HOB Filter – Specs, Dimensions, etc. My goal is to use the large chamber as a refugium in the future, but for now, I have it filled with AQUANEAT Bio Sponge Filter Pad and Aquaclear BioMax. So far, running these two have helped keep my water crystal clear and there is plenty of surface area for bacteria to colonize the filter media.
Filtration (recommended)
If you’re not interested in setting up a small refugium in your HOB filter, I recommend Chemi-pure Blue or some form of Activated Carbon media to help remove undesirable contaminants from your water. I would also include the Bio Sponge Filter Media Pad and BioMax listed above. This media and weekly water changes will help keep your water in excellent condition.
Lighting (needed)
If you’re looking to grow coral, you will need some type of lighting designed for coral. You do not need a high-end light to grow many different types of coral. I currently run a NICREW LED Light which is a very budget-friendly light, but I also understand the limitations of the light that I am using. You’re welcome to go all out with the Radion G6 LED Light, which has all the bells and whistles, or catch it in between with the NICREW 100 Watts Aquarium LED Reef Light. There are so many different lighting options out there, you just have to find the one that will work best for you and your coral.
Heater (needed)
Most marine animals will require aquarium temperatures between 72°F – 78°F. I usually keep my marine aquariums between 76°F and 78°F. A heater will not only raise your temperature to your desired degree, but it will help prevent fluctuations. Stability in water parameters is one of the things you should always strive to have. If you’re looking for suggestions on heaters, check out 6 Best Heaters for Freshwater and Saltwater Fish Tanks. I would also purchase a thermometer for aquariums as a safety check that your heater is working properly.
Hardscaping With Live Rock & Live Sand (needed)
Your hardscape is what you will be looking at every day. It’s important to make it look exactly how you want it. In my opinion, live rock and live sand are important additions to an aquarium this small because they create the surface area for bacterial colonies to settle. If possible, I would recommend going to your local fish store to see if they have live rock or dry rock for sale. If they do, ask to simulate the scaping in-store and find the best pieces for you. If you do not have access to live rock at a local fish store, you can find some on Amazon, like the Carib Sea Base Rock or Nature Ocean Base Rock. You’ll likely only need between 10 and 20 lbs. of rock for a 10-gallon aquarium.
Another thing to keep an eye out for at your local fish store is live sand. CaribSea is often the go-to brand for live sand. I usually try to choose either CaribSea Reef Sand or CaribSea Fiji Pink Sand. Some very fine sands look incredible in reef tanks, but I usually avoid them because of how easily they get stirred up. Similar to live rock, you’ll only really need anywhere between 5 and 15 lbs. of sand for your reef tank.
Aquarium (needed)
An aquarium will be needed realistically for any type of setup that requires water. What type of aquarium you choose is completely up to you. My 10-gallon is made by Aqueon. Many other brands make this size aquarium so choose which is available for you. Petco often has discounted aquariums, so you may be able to pick one up for cheap.
Water Changing (needed)
Water changes will be the backbone of keeping this aquarium up and running. It’s important to get all the supplies needed for water changes. Everyone has a preference for what equipment and supplies are a necessity, but the following are mine.
Clean Water
The first thing that you will need is clean water. As easy as it might be to get water from the tap, it will unfortunately not work well for a reef tank. A saltwater aquarium will do best if you use distilled water or RO water. If you have the money and space to set up an RO unit, I highly recommend it. The RO Buddie is a nice compact Reverse Osmosis Unit that creates roughly 50 gallons of clean water per day. However, there are much larger units you can purchase if needed. It will save you from taking trips to the store. Otherwise, most distilled water jugs from stores provide nearly as good water as RO water.
Saltwater Reef Salt (needed)
You can’t use table salt or aquarium salt to create a marine saltwater habitat. You need reef salt. When I first started working with saltwater aquariums I would always use Instant Ocean Reef Crystals. Since then, I have decided to change it up and have moved to Red Sea – Coral Pro Salt. It’s more expensive than Instant Ocean Reef Crystals, but I prefer using the Red Sea Salt. There are many different marine salts available, it will be your personal preference as to which works best. Also, either purchase a measuring cup online or run to your nearest dollar store for a cheap measuring cup. This will be used to measure the amount of salt needed for your aquarium.
Refractometer
A well-calibrated refractometer, like this one from Amazon, will be your best friend when it comes to gauging the proper salt level in your fish tank. Avoid purchasing hydrometers if you can, their accuracy diminishes significantly over time because salt particles will stick to the meter and provide an inaccurate reading.
Siphon Hose & Bucket
Siphon hoses will be a great tool to have to remove water and/or vacuum your sand bed. You can get a simple Aqueon Aquarium Siphon, a fancy Laifoo Aquarium Siphon, or any other gravel siphon available out there. On top of that, I would recommend purchasing at least two 5-gallon or 2-gallon buckets, preferably with measurements displayed on the side for easy measuring. It’ll make life easier to have a bucket for clean water and a bucket for dirty water.
Other Supplies
Coral Food (recommended)
Once you start adding coral into your fish tank, you’re going to want to feed them. I usually feed mine 2-3 times a week with different types of food. My go-to foods for coral are Polyp Lab Reef-Roids and Reef Chili. I also supplement them with Red Sea Reef Energy Plus AB+. If you’re going this route I would suggest that you also purchase disposable pipettes or a Coral Feeder Syringe. This will help you successfully target feed your coral, to make sure they are getting the food you provide.
Coral Rx (recommended)
Coral from different pet stores, online shops, or even the same pet store can be full of different nuisance critters and parasites. Coral Rx is a concentrated coral dip, and giving your coral a dip in Coral Rx will help eradicate the parasites before you place them into your reef tank. Coral Rx is the one I commonly use, but there are a multitude of dips out there. Here is a great guide from some pro reefkeepers on different dips and dosages used.
Coral Fragging Tools & Frag Plugs (optional)
If your aquarium is running successfully, your coral will likely grow into surrounding rocks. A time may come when you need to frag your coral. Fragging consists of you cutting chunks of rock that hold your coral, or breaking off pieces of coral and transplanting them onto frag plugs. The DDP Coral Frag Kit may come in handy when this time comes. Many stony corals will likely need a more heavy-duty tool like a band saw to create clean cuts and to prevent excess damage. Once corals are fragged they will need to be placed on a piece of rock or frag plug to keep them from floating away.
Super Glue (recommended)
When you are fragging plugs, you will have to adhere them to something hard, like a rock or frag plug. Super Glue can be used to stick the coral onto these types of surfaces. There are many types of Super Glues on the market, but I recommend Gorilla Glue Super Glue Gel for this task because it runs less and seems less messy than many other glues.
Water Test Kits (needed)
When you set up a fish tank of any kind, it will go through a nitrogen cycle. It could last anywhere between a couple of weeks to over a month. If you seed your aquarium with bacteria from a well-established fish tank, the cycle should be much shorter. Regardless, it’s very important to monitor the progress of your nitrogen cycle, as well as monitor water parameters afterward. You will want to test for ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates throughout your cycle. After your cycle is complete you should test for nitrates, phosphates, carbonate hardness, and pH in your reef tank, but I would at least start with nitrates, phosphates, and calcium.
An API Saltwater Master Test Kit provides the kits needed to test for pH, Ammonia, Nitrites, and Nitrates, which will get you through that nitrogen cycle. API makes fairly easy-to-follow test kits, which are very beginner friendly. There are other things to test for like magnesium which will require more elaborate test kits, like Red Sea’s Marine Care Test Kits, and Salifert test kits. I highly recommend checking them all out.
Final Notes
This is an incredibly long list of supplies I believe is important to your reef-keeping journey. These are simply recommendations. Not everyone will agree with my choices, but there are a million ways of doing one thing correctly. I left out equipment like protein skimmers and UV sterilizers from this list because I do not think they are necessary for a setup this small. You will replace both those pieces of equipment with water changes. If you have any comments or suggestions on more guides, please send me an email at atparium@gmail.com. I will have an article ready soon on the steps to setup a reef tank, but for now I have attached a video of the process below!