10gal. nano reef

[pat713]

I'm thinking about converting my 10gal. freshwater tank into a reef tank. I want 2 clowns, a cleaner wrasse, and a lawnmower blenny (maybe 1 more, i'd love an angel but they get too big). I'd like a few inverts as well, with either a hammer coral or a bubble tip anemone for the clowns to host in.
This will be my first saltwater tank, I've had freshwater tanks most of my life though so fish aren't new to me. Odds are, I'd buy all my fish , inverts, and corals from this site. Only 2 pet stores around here, one is ***** (over priced), the other is Petland (no salt water fish).
Should I even bother with a reef tank? or would it be worth trying?
We asked someone at ***** and they said a Saltwater tank should never be under 30gallons. But seeing all nanos here, I figure it'd be worth a try.

 

[nano_nut]

For a first timer it generaly is better to start a little larger but if you feel confident enough, a 10g can be very fun. However your stocking list will overwhelm a 10g very quickly. I'd say the pair of clowns would be the absolute maximum assumeing they are just percs. As far as an anenome most will tell you it cant be done in a 10g. I succesfully kept a condilactus in a 10g a couple of years ago but thats a cheap, hardier type that clowns most likely won't host. And if you want any kind of coral or light craveing inverts you need to make sure you spend plenty of $$$ on good lighting. Im working with a Coralife 20" 96W quad lamp. It seems perfect for a 10g, though some have managed to get VHO's and even Metal Halides over 10's.

 

[pat713]

I was also thinking about a non-reef, that way I won't have to buy anything other than what I already have. I do want to have at least 1 filter feeder in the tank, just to be able to clean the water some. I might just buy 10 lb of live rock and call it a day, then get the clowns.
But, 2 clowns is the limit for a 10gal? I figured 3 maybe 4 could work fine in it.

 

[chipmaker]

deleted what amounted to a double post that I managed to somehow make.sorry.

 

[chipmaker]

YOu have too many "wants" in the line of fish for a 10 gal tank.......I started off with a 1.6 gal pico tank as my first saltwater setup.......nothing to it. I eventually went up to a larger setup but it was not really what I wanted........I have since broken down al the larger setups or converted them to freshwater tanks, and have numerous 2 gal or less tanks all around the house. Each tank is its own diverse environment.....all have at least one fish and shrimp plus hermits and snails........I even got more out of a small 10 gal tank I call my undesireables tank. It is a typical 10 gal tank with standard 18 watt lighting usuing a 50/50 bulb and contains allthose thinkgs foks normally pick out and flush.......Its ufll of bristle worms, assorted shrooms, lots of aipstasia and manjano anenomes.......runs rampant with valonia (Green bubble algae) and it has a few camel shrimp and a yellow watchman goby in it. It is perhaps the easiest keeper for a tank, and also the most unique and interesting..If its color your after, its not in that tank,, but diversity thats the one to look at. I have 4 different colored aisptasia......with quite a few of them being flourescent yellow / green, and some white as well......That tank looks awesome under UV leds.
Use a Aqua Clear filter hob type to provide additonal water capacity and turn it into a fuge, and it also provides current inside the tank without needing a powerhead. The AC110 works perfect on a 10 gal tank..........A coralife 1 x 96 watt quad bulb PC fixture is more than sufficient for lighting and will enable you to keep a good selection of softies......I persopnally wold not keep any anenomes in a small tank as such, as they are prone to wandering, and a 10 gal will soon be outgrown by most any anenome..

 

[pat713]

How about this? Pair of clowns, hermit crabs, maybe 5 - 10, and 1 shrimp. I'd use the Hammer Coral and hope the clowns host in it, then 1 more coral and 12lbs of live rock and some live sand.
By the time I save enough for this setup though, I will be able to have my 125gal tank. But, the wife might just let me go nuts and buy stuff all at once.
How much would a sufficiant lighting/filter setup be for a 10gal. reaf tank with corals?

 

[pat713]

Also, a friend brought up a good idea. A Seahorse tank. Get a 2, maybe 3, Black Seahorses, some small plants and corals, then the rest would be inverts.

 

[nygel]

seahorses i've heard arent much fun to watch. Here is my livestock (current, and before accident).
1 false perc clownfish, 1 javanese damsel, 1 3-stripe damsel.... like 4 hermits, 3 snails, 2 feather dusters, 1 frogspawn, probably 10 lbs of live rock and 15 lbs of live sand. It was great until for no reason (really... we can't figure it out unless my frogspawn killed everything) all the fish died, so now im restockign with currently i have 1 false perc clownfish, and am expecting to get 1 or 2 small goby fish, but i dont know what kind yet. But yes, i am upgrading soon and recommend a bigger tank sort of, i love my current tank, but just want to have a bigger one cuz i think i've learned enough to maintain a bigger one

 

[nano_nut]

Hey btw how big does a scooter blenny get? Would one of them be OK for a 10g??? Ok yeah anyways i guess just as referance my current setup has 11-11.5lbs LR and 15lbs aroganite sand. A Whisper 20-40 HOB and a cheaper 80gph hob for flow. A glass canopy with the 20" Coralife quad with legs. as for livestock as of right now one lil umbrella shroom with a baby one growing out from underneath. 3 blue legs and 2 green legs along with two turbo/astrea snails. Tryen to decide what kind of fish I want...

 

[nano_nut]

Ok so I did some quick re-search and a Scooter Blenny is NOT ok for a 10g.

 

[pat713]

How does that other setup look though?
Pair of clowns, hermit crabs, maybe 5 - 10, and 1 shrimp. I'd use the Hammer Coral and hope the clowns host in it, then 1 more coral and 12lbs of live rock and some live sand.
And I'd still like to know how much lighting/filtering I'd need for this setup, if indeed, I'm able to put it in a 10gal.

 

[mebanesox7]

make sure u let the live rock stay in there for a couple of weeks before adding the fish...and i'm going to change my 10g freshwater into a sw setup...i wan't to get 10lbs of live rock...4-5 astrea snails...couple hermits...1-2 strawberry shrimp...1 maroon/or percula...maybe one fredmani dottyback/orchid dotty back (same thing...different names)...couple shrooms...and a few feather duster worms...sound good... :happyfish :happyfish

 

[nygel]

Ok, this might help, here is my ten gallon... i have a rather large piece of live rock soaking in another bucket for a while before i put it in there (little accident with a rather large bristle/ red worm...) So all my rock isn't in it, and i am still adding fish/ inverts/ another few pieces of rock, i just took these pics while the tank was clearing up from me moving some pieces around cuz i wanted a tunnel.



I have 2 small feather dusters on that big piece of the left, and 1 big one on the middle rock thats the top of the tunnel. Also i have 2 big mushrooms that have since made two more small ones (i've only had it for 3 weeks). The clown is a false percula and its beside/ working its way to hosting that frogspawn. I have 1 blueleg hermit that hides in a burrow in the back and 2 snails, 1 margarita and 1 that i keep forgetting its name. My current lighting came with my hood, its full-spectrum and thats all i know, i will be upgrading it in a month or so becuz thats when i believe the bulb will start to wear out. For filtration i use a penguin bio-wheel. and i have alot of algae building up, i know... i'm working on it...it looks worse in photos.

 

[bojik]

Originally Posted by Nano_Nut
For a first timer it generaly is better to start a little larger but if you feel confident enough, a 10g can be very fun. However your stocking list will overwhelm a 10g very quickly. I'd say the pair of clowns would be the absolute maximum assumeing they are just percs. As far as an anenome most will tell you it cant be done in a 10g. I succesfully kept a condilactus in a 10g a couple of years ago but thats a cheap, hardier type that clowns most likely won't host. And if you want any kind of coral or light craveing inverts you need to make sure you spend plenty of $$$ on good lighting. Im working with a Coralife 20" 96W quad lamp. It seems perfect for a 10g, though some have managed to
get VHO's and even Metal Halides over 10's.
nYgel I also have a mini biowheel on my 15g it working as well for you?
Pat713
I use 3 20inch T5s on my 15 gal quite effectively. @ white 1 blue. Though i only have a metalic green star, red musshroom, tree coral, and clove, for corals, no stonies.
The penguin/emporer (same brand diff model) mini filters with the biowheel should be adequate if not over stocked and you keep up on water changes. Later at 4 months? (correct me if i'm wrong guys) you could add a skimmer. Current makes a nice nano power skimmer. I have not tested them yet, though, i have one for my new tank one i get it set up and the usual routines heh. I have not heard anything bad about them as of yet.
Firefish do rather well in small relatively stable tanks. At least from my experience. I also have 3 firefish (probably should go down to 2 of em) and a colored tubeworm relatively happily in a 5gal rena hex. Well that and a few cleaner inverts. The tanks been stocked this way for 6 months now i think. I had damsels in it at first.
I did not have to do much in the way of modifying either. I just modified the filter a little by adding a small pond sponge on the lift tube. I also made a custom basket for carbon out of plastic cavas. (far cheaper to use good carbon in that than use those filter pads they make for em) And all I have for light on it is the stock hood with a 50/50 flourcent screwed into the incandescent socket, made by current. Which also runs cooler than the stock bulb. I aslo have a cheap heater in the tank. A relatively low cost setup. That was my test tank to see how hard it was to keep the water chemistry right on our water. Nice thing is the water here has such a huge buffering capacity and all the other thigns all you have to do is add sea salt and keep the water clean :joy: . Might be an idea for you as well. Though I did get this rena for free so it was realy low cost Best of luck.

 

[nygel]

yea, it works pretty sweet, especially since i got one for a 30 gallon and i have a 10...haha... alot of filtration!

 

[pat713]

I would definately get a skimmer. That with the LR should be good for filtering right? (at least some say it is)
Would your 15g. lighting setup with on my 10g? Since I will have corals and in need of a medium flow, I'll need good lighting. What would I get for the flow I need though?

 

[bojik]

Originally Posted by Pat713
I would definately get a skimmer. That with the LR should be good for filtering right? (at least some say it is)
Would your 15g. lighting setup with on my 10g? Since I will have corals and in need of a medium flow, I'll need good lighting. What would I get for the flow I need though?
The lighting should work sufficiently, however, take into account i do not have any stony corals. I'm not sure if its enough light for them. Someone more experienced with T5's can tell you that better. Low-medium light corals seem to like it well enough. I did not get a fancey hood for this tank i bought 2 nova 20" satelite fixtures one white 10k and one 460 nm blue. All i did was take the stock hood and gut it out and screwed them up inside it. I took one of the power cords and wired it to the stock switch and cord and used the piggyback conector to the other. I went cheap but effective. I should have probably used a reflector and made a scratch hood. Cost was an issue at the time. Later i added a daylight helios 20" to get more light when i needed it. I'm not sure if its 10k or what. Though i'm sure the standard LFS style hood is way diff than the hood on those things. You might end up buying one of those hoods that has the bent in half tubes. Ask you LFS what he has available to look at and see if anything fits on your tank nicely. IF its the one i think it is and has a twin incandescent top, you might try two of those 50/50 screw in flourescent bulbs with the built in 10 watt balast. Then buy small low cost frags, starting with lower light ones working up, and see what lives. Might be an easier cheaper rout to start out with. As well as cleaner looking., not to mention they run cooler than the incandescents. :joy: I have one on my rena 5g hex. THOUGH no corals just fish and LS LR.
Figure what water flow your corals require and the output of your filtration. If all you want is low current then only the filter and maybe a small P.H. If you want any med/highflow corals a biger flow PH and direct it in the genral direction fo the ones that like that kind of current directly on them. Ask around for what is advisable there i've not much experience with that. I'm not sure what the built in filter on that has for power. But if its gota biowheel thingy in it like the rena hex it should be decent filtration.
Though for polyps and stars the penguin biowheel i have is sufficient current. I put an elbow connector on the end and use and extension tube to get a circular flow in the tank.
I had a 170gph powerhead in it going reversed through the undergravel plate and up the other side where the fitler was mounted with a custom nozel thing on the other lift tube. I think the motor might be dead now though i need to tinker with it. (might not want to try that idea)

 

[pat713]

I'd rather just buy a new hood than to do all that work.
The corals I want all need medium/strong current and good lighting. I'm thinking about going with a frogspawn for the clowns. Too bad the closest LFS is about a 30 minute drive from here, or else I'd be there daily.

 

[nygel]

yea, frogspawn are pretty sweet, its wat i got. I kno how u feel abotu the LFS's though, i live 30 minutes from one decent one, 30 minutes the other way to two not so good ones, and then 1 hour away from an amazing one.

 

[bojik]

Originally Posted by Pat713
I'd rather just buy a new hood than to do all that work.
The corals I want all need medium/strong current and good lighting. I'm thinking about going with a frogspawn for the clowns. Too bad the closest LFS is about a 30 minute drive from here, or else I'd be there daily.
My friend/LFS is about 15 but i'm there semi daily though i have to be about 5 minutes from that area of town regularly so yea. The great ones for salt that i know of are like a lil over an hour away from where i live. Advise research some other stores that might have some other options for you Phone book an exploration how i found the ones i go to when i make a day of going to the city they are in. Secondly if you order any live or cold goods online for anythign save the styrofoam container or invest in a cooler you don't mind smelling fishy/salty that is realy well insulated to transport stuff home safely.