i accedentally posted this some where else so ill now post it here

ok i was wondering about salt water tanks. what temperature would the tank have to be? i would set up a 10 gallon tank and i was wondering what would be a good fish for a begginner since i have never had a salt water tank. and i was also wondering if it would be ok to have a bare bottom tank so i could clean it easier and would i need to do a weekly water change(25%) and when i got a filter would i have to get a special filter for salt water tanks or do all filters do the same thing? actually anything you can tell me about salt water tanks would be great.
thanks alot

Ideal temp for a saltwater tank would be about 80º. In the summer mine goes a bit above that, though. You could do barebottom, definitely. I prefer sand though as you will eventually get little burrowing worms and creatures in it which will eat all the detritus (crud!) on the bottom. I prefer to use live rock as my biofilter, and then just a regular power filter on the back. You could do a 10 gallon set up this way.

Live rock is basically pieces of rock and coral reef which contain beneficial bacteria and organisms which keep your tank cycled. In a sense you can "instantly" cycle your tank with it, if you have a very low bioload.

I recommend using bottled water as opposed to tapwater, as the bottled water is pure and you don't have as many algae problems. You also want to make sure you have good lighting. I have a 50/50 power compact on my tank.

There is a lot of equipment involved in setting up a saltwater tank, so you may want to have a look around at sites like www.reefcentral.com or www.wetwebmedia.com as they will explain some basics straight off. A 10 gallon tank will be more difficult to keep up than a larger tank like say a 55 gallon. The water will evaporate quicker, causing the salinity to rise faster, and things go wrong much more quickly in a small tank than in a large one.