Are my parameters okay for coral?

[pakora]

Finished testing my water just now, I was wondering if my parameters were okay for adding corals to my tank.
Date: 8/27/2007
PH: 8.2
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 10
Hydrometer: 1.024
Calcium(ppm): 300 (15 drops)
Kh(ppm): 250 (16 drops)
10 gallon Tank
6 Green Chromis
4 Emerald Crabs
1 Goby
1 Starfish
1 Porcelein Crab
Handful of Blue Legged Hermits
Handful of Astrea Snails
3 Pieces of Live Rock
2 Penguin Filters (Each filter is made for 20 gallon load and has biowheel and bioballs in both)
40 Watt Smartpaq (10,000K/460NM Actinic) Lighting System
Thanks as always for the great help I find in this forum!

 

[big-fish]

yep,,,sounds good to me,,,they r like my per. and all of my corals are fine,,,if i wear u start with somthing not so $$$,,, and make sure its hardy,,,,then let is sit for a couple of weeks and see what happens

ps and feed it

 

[nereef]

what kind of corals are you looking at? Ca is a little low. what salt mix are you using?

 

[gregghia]

Cal is "suppose" to be around 400 which is the concensus on the boards. Depending on what salt you use the Cal level should not even be an issue. I have cal at 500+ at times and I add nothing to the water.

 

[barchtruong]

10g is not enough water vol. to support corals.
Try mushrooms and some of the softies first to get a feel of how's like.
And don't get any xenias yet. They don't like new tank condition and small tank with fluctuating temps and chem. in water.

 

[ophiura]

IMO, a 10g tank with 7 fish is not a suitable tank for any corals. There just is no room in there (assuming, of course, the fish do grow). What kind of starfish is it as well? How old is this tank?

 

[pakora]

The tank is seven and a halfmonths old. its a sand sifting starfish. I am using this as a learner tank so that is why its a 10g. I know a 10g is difficult to keep and thats why i chose to do so. Ive been doing excellent with everything imo and the water is crystal clear also. I would like to dabble with corals and then if all goes well invest in a proper sized tank (75g+).

 

[ophiura]

The sand sifting star will almost certainly die around a year or so after introduction. Not a sure bet if you have one that eats...but the probability that it will die is very high. Most do, even in much larger tanks.
If you had one, maybe two fish in there...things would be OK. But if those chromis have not outgrown a 10g tank in this time, I am concerned that things are not as ideal as they appear to be.
This hobby takes patience, and sometimes a whole lot of self evaluation. Just about everyone has said "oh my gosh!" to your stocking list, and I would suggest you take that to heart and reconsider what you have before adding even more to the tank.
People don't say it just to rain on your parade...they say it for a reason.
I started with a 10g tank and put a whole bunch of stuff in there....and ended up with one damsel in the long run. I learned a LOT of lessons from that tank, and am not proud of what I did. People are trying to help you get to that bigger tank...in part by being responsible with this one. I'm not trying to be mean, but many people never make it past a year in the hobby due to overstocking, deaths, etc...

 

[pakora]

I completely understand and I agree. I know its overstocked.
Im worried about the starfish now; im not trusting the people at the LFS because I specifically asked three times if it would be okay to keep it in a 10g. I see the star float all around my tank and then embed itself under the sand and then come back up and float around more. I hope it doesnt starve.
I feed flakes twice a day and I have sinking pellets for any bottom feeders that arent eating enough.
What is a safe way to transport the fish so I can take them back.

 

[reefkprz]

bags 1/3 water 2/3 air tie tightly. place inside paper bag to reduce temperature drop or sun shock.