Getting Started, Need Advise

[srt80]

Hi everyone! Ok, I'm new, but this is a hobby that I really want to take serious and get into. I always loved reef tanks. All the corals just look amazng. But, I always thought you had to have a 100+ gallon aquarium for marine. I have seen some with a mini bow 7 and 10 gallon. Well, I was wondering how I could set up a mini reef tank. I would like to stay in the 10 gallon range. I would like to get a couple clownfish. I've read that the Ocellaris are good for the beginner. But, i think I read that only one clown could be placed in a 10 gallon. Which would be fine if the clown would be alright as a single fish. If not, I could move up to a 20 gallon to hold more. I just want the fish to be happy. Any suggestions on the setup like lights, corals, cleanup crews (snails, etc.) would be appreciated. Thanks --Steve

 

[aarone]

A 20 would be better but if at all possible go as big as you can.
Smaller water volumes are more difficult (not impossible) to keep water chemistry in check. Patience and dilligence will help alot.
Two False percs (ocellaris) can fit in the 20 gallon.
Dont skimp on anything in this hobby.
Get the best ights you can afford. Lights will determine what kind of corals you will keep.
PC
VHO
MH *best
are just come of the setups you an use.
Good corals for begginers are Mushrooms, Leathers, Zooanthids, Polyps of various types...No anemones.
A good clean up crew is a must. This will consist of snails and hermits. There are many different types of snails...some glean rocks and glass and some clean the sand bed.
Most hermits are all the same...just more aggressive than others.
I hope i could anwer most of your questions.
One more thing....WELCOME TO SWF.COM! :happy: :happy:

:happy:
aaron

 

[harlequinnut]

Welcome to the board!
From reading your post, I can sense your enthusiasm in this hobby. But I must advise anyone new to this hobby to take it slow and not rush into it too quickly. A ten gallon for a mini reef(nano)tank is a good size but should be reserve for the experienced. Reason being the bigger the tank, the more room for mistakes and believe me, you will make them in the beginning. I would suggest that you start with a bigger tank and start with fish with live rock only and after you've had some experience and success with that(like a year or so), then you can think about making that switch from fish only to reef. If you need help with anything as far as getting started, we're here to help 24/7. HTH :happyfish

 

[srt80]

Hi, thanks for the info. Space is what is keeping me on a small tank. A 20 gallon will probably be as big as i could go. Not much space. When doing this, there is no need to buy an aquarium that comes with the lighted hood, or the starter kits because those are for freshwater right? I should go ahead and buy the aquarium, then buy all the accessories seperate? And when you say fish only, would that mark out the clownfish, wouldn't they be in a reef?
thanks again --Steve

 

[aarone]

FO means fish only. No corals...inverts are allowed

Go ahead and buy everything seperate.
aaron

 

[ivanfj]

My tank is a 20 gallon FO right now, but I am soon turning it into a reef. Here's my current setup and hope this would help you to have some ideas:
65watt PC
20lb LR
25lb LS
Maxijet 600 and 900
Prizm Skimmer
Carbon Filter which I run bi-weekly for a day.
This setup allows me to have some kind of stable water condition with a 5% water changes every 2-3 weeks, depending on the time I have. If you wanna keep a wider range of corals, you may want to go with 2-65watt PC or even more. I am quite limited in my choices right now with only the 65w PC. IMO just buy the tank itself and build the canopy and the stand yourself. I did it this way and I guess a lot of people did theirs this way too and it saves some unnecessary bucks for other upgrades. I didn't go fancy with my stand and it only costs me like 5 bucks of wood and a few hours of work. Good luck!!!

 

[aarone]

You could always do a set up like mine as well if space is limited.
28 gallon bow front.
20 gallon sump/refugium W SCWD return
130w PC
180# LS
45# LR
Berlin airlift skimmer
No filter except natural filtration.
The only really costly thing was my lights, which were 265.
aaron