Hey Vibe. First of all congrats on the 10 gallon, and the lighting upgrade you are looking at for Christmas would be a good one IMO. Mine is indeed a 2 x 36 watt PC fixture with one actinic and one 10K bulb, mounted very close to the surface of the water. Most of my time lately has gone into my new system I've setup so I haven't been on the boards much, but I noticed you've been looking for some advice from me in some threads so I'm happy to help you out with your 10 gallon. Nanos are a mystery to even some experienced aquarists, so I'll shoot you my input.
Much of the advice you've received is pretty good so far. To sum up my opinion (and I'll elaborate later on
), I think you should get the lighting upgrade if possible, but stay away from sps and clams for now. I say this not because you wouldn't have the lighting for it, but more because I don't think you have the experience (a little over a year you mentioned). I don't mean to discourage you, but keeping sps and clams in a larger system is tough enough, much less in something as small as 10 gallons. I set up my first saltwater aquarium in middle school, and now I'm 26, and my 10 gallon I could tell you has tested every bit of experience. This of course is not to say you cannot have an awesome reef. There are thousands of species and varieties of corals that will do well in your 10 gallon.
My new 65 gallon went up this past September, and despite that having 800 watts of light, a calcium and nilsen reactor, 20 gallon frag tank, and many other gizmos I still spend more time on my nano making it tick. The reasons for this are many. One big one... levels are all over the map and change very quickly. My calcium and alk fluctuate much more than any larger system I've had, which results in frequent testing and altering of dosing. I am now to the point where I am dosing a half gallon of full strength kalk per night, and about 20-25 mLs of B-ionic daily. Due to this, I have to dose the B-ionic in both the morning and the night at 5 mLs a dose, because beyond that causes a rise in my pH of more than .2 (ex. 8.0 to 8.2). Adding this much B-ionic has now resulted in my salinity rising steadily to the point where I do my water changes with slightly diluted IO. I moved a couple of my corals to the big tank, but still with each passing week the inhabitants grow more and take more from the water, and replenishing has become a pain. I'm getting into details here, but suffice it to say that keeping sps and clams in a 10 gallon is no easy task and should only be attempted by those with many years of experience in my opinion. My wife and I have purchased our house and it's being built with delivery scheduled for November of 2004, in which case I'll be breaking down the nano and moving things to my 65, 180, and a larger tank that's in the works in the 300-500 gallon range. I will miss the nano, but not many aspects.
You seem very interested in clams. As I said I don't recommend you keep any for a long while until you gain much more experience. Down the road I would first try a small squamosa. Mine has flourished on my sandbed in my nano. I was a little skeptical at first, but it has shown good growth and I have therefore left it there as it seems happy. My oldest clam, my purple max, I have now had for over 14 months (since 9/02) and he continues to do well. One of the prerequisites for many of these organisms (especially clams as you cannot frag them) is a larger system. The old "I'll give it back to the store" or "I'll just buy a bigger tank" is actually done probably once for every 1000 times it is mentioned. In 14 months it's grown and continues to do well, although I am always looking closely as I know there is a point where the 72 watts of PC will not satisfy it's needs. That point is not close yet, but we'll see. I have my 65 with DE 250s waiting, but I suppose it will survive another year in the nano until the big move. Luckily these two guys have survived an introduction of parasitic snails that killed two of my other clams. Here's a thread with details.
clam link
Another result is warfare, which goes on in large tanks and of course the ocean, but moreso in a nano. Here's a thread where I detailed a major fragging...
fragging link
Regarding sps, once again stay away for a long while (in the order of years), but when you are ready for a try, I'd recommend a hardy montipora. The digitatas are always around and any local reef buddy would be happy to help you, as many of them prune these guys like shrubs and don't know what to do with the pieces.
For more info on my setup I have a thread over on NR that should help. If you have more questions just ask and I'll give my opinion.
progression and experiences with my nano
As I said Vibe don't be discouraged. There are many people who will simply say "no you can't do that" without offering an explanation. IMO many things can be done with experience, know-how, and passion, but at the same time should not be attempted by everyone. You're off to a great start, and use boards like SWF.com to help. Unlike other hobbies we are dealing with living animals, so we should always take careful steps when progressing through different skill levels in the hobby. Good luck and enjoy sunny Coral Springs (my Mother lives right off of Sample Rd there
)
Johnny
