What did I get myself into...New Nano What to DO?

[scuba-raru]

Ive been reading this Nano site and I think the best way to describe what im feeling is simply...

Ive got no idea where to begin, Ive always had freshwater tanks and that was cake...but this is a different story...
I just bought a 10 gal Aquasystem tank from a friend who was just fed up with the whole "saltwater thing" as he put it. He had the tank for 6 years and sold it to me with the following contents:
1 Percular clown
2 Anemones (1lg & 1 small)
1 bi-color (magenta & yellow) think hes a blenny...
2 snails
Crushed shell and rock substrate
and A BUNCH OF AIPHISTA Ive been injecting with lemon juice and need to get rid of, its a friggin nightmare...
I have 2 bulbs in the top, 1 Mini-Might Daylight 5000k (9 watt) and 1 Mini-Might Actinic Blue (9 watt)
So, ive been thinking of putting in live sand and some new rock but was hoping for some new ideas for the tank, what can I do with my actual set up. Corals? Fish? Inverts? HELP!!! theres so much to take in ...so any tips would be cool:notsure:
So thanks in advance for looking out for a drowning fish keeper.
R.

 

[stevebk]

OK dude, first things first. Go right now, and drink a beer. Two if you're big like me. Remember, it's casual. Better? :yes: Ok. Now...
Alright, I'd stop with the lemon juice- you're looking at possibly lowering your pH, and this will hurt your good anemones and diminish overall water quality. Try injecting them with boiling hot water instead, if it's out of control. This will get them manageable faster if you do it yourself. However, for routine control of them, perhaps think about adding a peppermint shrimp- these are pretty cheap (~10 bucks), and eat the aptasia anemones over the long term. I'm assuming that since your other stuff seems healthy enough, the shrimp should do ok. Your Local Fish Store (LFS) will almost certainly have free water testing, so check your water parameters at the following:
pH: ~8.3
Ammonia, Nitrates, Nitrites as close to undectable as you can get. (Even ***** should be able to tell you if these are too high.)
NO COPPER- it's not in the tank unless you add it, and your stuff is ok, so you're good. Just warning you, don't let anyone sell you copper if your fish get disease- it will kill any invertebrates, including all anemones and corals.
You don't have enough light to keep many corals, but it may be possible to upgrade your bulbs. I'm not familiar with the mini might thing, but I know Coralife introduced a 13 watt PC flourescent bulb that screws in to a normal incandescent outlet. It should be available for like 10 bucks at ***** (I have friends there that hook me up with their discount- sorry, I know their products best). This would get you up around 2.5 watts per gallon, and your options would expand. For the time being though, you have 1.8 watts per gallon, and that's the lower end of the light spectrum. You could, with no problem in my opinion, have coral like mushrooms, zooanthids, or star polyps without too much problem. Again, probably best to try and up your wattage and sort out these aptasia anemones before investing much money.
I'd skip the live sand in an established tank, but you may think about adding live rock. I didn't see any mention of it in your post, but I imagine you may have some already. If not, you can get it in small quantities at your LFS (2-4 lbs at first?). This stuff will help a lot in filtration. From what I found on a google search, your tank has wet/dry filtration built in, right? Make sure there's not a bunch of anything clogging it- your powerheads' impellers and housing should be clean, your bioballs free of too much "sludge", and carbon can be replaced if you choose to use it. All that said, I think you're not in too much trouble.
Keep us posted, and show us pictures if you can get them up. Hope this LONG post helps. You'll be happy with the tank soon, no doubt. :happy: And have another beer, too.