10gal Reef Advice - 2x18W 50/50

[scuba-raru]

Hello Reefers, I have a 10 gallon tank w a 12" coralife Aqualight fixture w 2 50/50 18W bulbs. I have plenty of flow, 1" sandbed, hungry cleanup crew and plenty of nice Florida LR...
I've previously kept FOWLR tanks and some mushrooms & Zoo's nothing more complex than that but I'm ready to move on to reef.
So my question is, what kinds of corals can I keep w this kind of lighting?
Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

[nycbob]

perhaps leathers like toadstool.

 

[scuba-raru]

Thanks Bob, I'll check out the leathers, I got some GSP's this weekend and a rock w some really nice neon green shrooms, I'll post some pics to see if anyone else has any ideas

 

[katsafados]

https://forums.saltwaterfish.com/t/356965/katsafados-first-ever-10g-sw-tank-nano
Start reading lol.. have similar lighting and its a 10g tank also.

 

[scuba-raru]

Thanks, I was looking at your thread last week...lots to read, good pics...the tank is looking great.
What lights are you running?
btw, on your coraline turning white, watch your calcium levels, if you dose too much it will burn off the live CA and turn white.
Do you have access to natural SW at your LFS? I'm in Miami so we have it available everywhere. I get a couple jugs every few weeks and I don't have to hassle w the salt mix. Tap water is the DEVIL...
I'll post some pics soon

 

[katsafados]

current 2x40watt pc lighting w/ lunar..
The calcium levels are fine.. and my LFS doesnt have natural SW, I live in Canada lol.

 

[btldreef]

I have a 14G with 25watt lights. I've successfully kept zoos, mushrooms, ricordia, torch coral, various polyps, red lobo, blastomussa wellsi, kenya tree coral, various leathers and even a Maxima Clam and a Rose Bubble Tip Anemone without any issues. Obviously keep your corals that require higher lighting up top. In these small tanks you can keep a lot with stop PC's because there isn't much places where the lighting is low. I just wouldn't recommend SPS. I could not keep a birdsnest under the stock lights.
What I noticed to be more important that lighting was water quality. Obviously you can't keep high lighting coral in the darker spots, lol.
Just a reminder, keep in mind how fast corals grow. My torch outgrew this tank and I didn't want to frag it. Most leathers will outgrow the tank if you don't trim them back as well.

 

[scuba-raru]

Thanks for the post, that's cool that you could keep a Maxima w those lights. That's one thing I have always wanted to keep in my tank.
question, what do you dose your tank with? (As far as trace elements, food etc.) Since I only have LR now I've only been dosing w purple up for the coraline and I do a 10% water change every week w natural sea water a bit of Prime and that's about it.
Are trace elements as critical given i'm not keeping SPS?

 

[btldreef]

Originally Posted by scuba-Raru
http:///forum/post/3181780
Thanks for the post, that's cool that you could keep a Maxima w those lights. That's one thing I have always wanted to keep in my tank.
question, what do you dose your tank with? (As far as trace elements, food etc.) Since I only have LR now I've only been dosing w purple up for the coraline and I do a 10% water change every week w natural sea water a bit of Prime and that's about it.
Are trace elements as critical given i'm not keeping SPS?
I used to use Purple Up. It's okay when you're first starting out, but a lot of people have had issues with it. My husband still uses it in our 155G when we add new rock to boost coraline growth. Don't dose the full amount and you'll be okay.
If you're not keeping SPS, weekly water changes should be enough. The salt mixture will have all the trace elements you're going to need unless you venture into SPS and clams. If you ever plan on keeping SPS, you can't keep leathers as well, just something to keep in mind. That being said, I do dose my tank with Brightwells two part Calcium/Buffer mixture, however, I only use about 1/3 the recommended amount. I do add live plankton once or twice a week, although its really just for spot feeding for the coral. Other than that, my fish get fed small amounts twice a day.

 

[scuba-raru]

Thanks again, I did notice a drop off in coraline growth w the Purple up, it kicked growth into hyper drive for the first few months but now its tapered off. I think I'll try the Brightwells for a while and see how my coraline responds. Is that the one called Reef Code A/B ?
I added some GSP's and mushrooms on Monday. I'm feeding Dr.G's phytoplankton 3xweek and cyclopees 2xweek. hopefully they will get happy w that.
Thanks for the tip on the leathers too, I'm going to try my hand at raising a Derasa since they are hardier. If I do that then I'll need to supplement the trace elements but propbably wont do that for another few months.
Thanks for the help

 

[btldreef]

My comments are in red inside your quote:
Originally Posted by scuba-Raru
http:///forum/post/3182449
Thanks again, I did notice a drop off in coraline growth w the Purple up, it kicked growth into hyper drive for the first few months but now its tapered off. I think I'll try the Brightwells for a while and see how my coraline responds. Is that the one called Reef Code A/B ?
Yes. Just be careful and don't start witht he full dose. My tank can't handle the recommended dose, some can. It depends on your water quality, so start small.
I added some GSP's and mushrooms on Monday. I'm feeding Dr.G's phytoplankton 3xweek and cyclopees 2xweek. hopefully they will get happy w that. Might actually be too much for water quality.
Thanks for the tip on the leathers too, I'm going to try my hand at raising a Derasa since they are hardier. If I do that then I'll need to supplement the trace elements but propbably wont do that for another few months. Derasa's are definitely easier to keep. Your water changes should supply enough trace elements. My suggestion, do not dose anything that don't test for.
Thanks for the help