set up

Question
QUESTION:  I am going to set up a 10 gallon nano reef tank in the next year or so. I have diecided that I will house some photosyntic , im not sure how to spell it, soft corals only so I don't have to add any supplements.I will of course have good lighting and live rock. If you have any suggestions for coral I will gladly appreciate. I also plan to keep around 5 tankmates which I no sounds a little overcrowed but I will have a filter and do water changes weekly. The fish that I plan to keep are a common clownfish, green chromis, firefish, and a yellow tail damsel. Could you please recommend an invertabre that would work in my tank. I was alos wondering if a protein skimmer would be better over a small filter. Anything else that would help me will be greatly appreciated. Thanks





ANSWER: Hello Nick,

welcome and please to talk with you about this as you are planning so far ahead, i can tell you will have great success...

Reccomending corals is tough..what some may like, others dont...

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and this will come into play more times then not when shopping for corals and fish...

But, I do have a favorite...  It is a Neon Green Sinularia.  If you can find one, and i mean NEON green, it will do your tank well, (other then the size, which you can keep under control with a good pair of scissors...

most leathers will grow fast and large so your tank size will be prohibitive in many respects...

Mushrooms are cool but tend to grow fast and overtake everything/everywhere...

Toadstools will grow round and cover things below it, in it's shadow...

The sinularia will grwo UP and will move around alot to let liight shine thru.

Zoanthids are fairly popular and come in every shape/size/flavor, so finding something is pretty easy...

As for your fear of suppliments, you shouldnt be afraid... But dont buy what the lfs sells ya...

and I seriously doubt you could put enought hard corals into a 10 gallon tank to recquire suppliments...

the suppliments i am talking about is calcium/alkalinity/magnesium,  you dont need anything else if you are doing regular water changes...with quality water, (not sub par water)


As for the skimmer /filter question... i would go with a skimmer over a small hang onthe tank filters..

good luck and please keep me posted..


bill



---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks for taking time to help me. I just want to ask one more thing. I want to make sure that my tankmates are all compatible and the corals would do okay with generally low lighting. My tank size iss ten gallons and I am getting a special light that has one 10000k dalight that i think said it was 9 watts and one acintic bulb.  My tank is roughly about one foot deep. My plan for stocking it is
         1 common clownfish
         2 green chromis

         1 firefish
         1 scarlet hermit crab
         1 peppermint shrimp
         my corals will be
         zooanthid polyps
         differnet variations of ricordea mushrooms
         
I know you recommened not getting the mushrooms but my tank won't have much coral so I was wondering if that would be okay. I would just like to hear what you think about my setup and how well it would work. Thanks again.

p.s im not sure if that one 10000k bulb is a 9 watt. I know for certin that it is a 10000k though.

ANSWER: Hello,

Color is somewhat subjective.  Although it is true that the 'whiter' the bulb the more usable ratdiation is avaliable,  (the lower the K the whiter / yellower the color)

Most reefers prefer BLUE colors and Actinic and UV-440n colors... those colors tend to make colors inthe corals and fish POP.

You might want to consider suppliment lighting with actinics or low spectrum LED/moonlights

Also, 9 watts aint nothing...  You may have difficulty with that low wattage bulb...But I guess it is a good place to start.

I suggest going slowly, (WHICH I THInk yo uwould probably do), and see how one or two zoas / ricordias react to that lighting, (give them a 2 months)

If they do okay and dont melt, and hopefully grow, then you can get more, but again, I have never heard of anything in that low of a wattage before...

If you have T5 lighting, it could and should be in the 34+wattage range,  if it is powercompact then as powerfull as you can find, as powercompacts arent as efficient..

You might want to look at the VIPER lighting.  It is made by JBJ, and they have a 70wat metal halide.  It is an attractive fixture and can be mounted pretty easily to most tanks...

Anyways, I wish the great luck and welcome to my world of reefing... Please keep me posted.

You can log onto my new forum at www.thelittleocean.com and blog about your setup and get more feedback from me and all the other members of the forum...

Hope to see you there..

bill


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks for telling me about the light. I have diecided to ditch that one and get a hood that is compatible with a 10000k or 20000k bulb. I will try to get a bulb with a wattage of around 30. The hood that im looking at only can fit one long fluorescent bulb. I was also thinking of getting some moon LED lights. Do you think that that would be neccesary for my zooanthid polyps and ricordea mushrooms? Thanks for all your help. You have been my best source so far in my research.

Answer
edited to respond to comments left on feedback:

T5 is a great choice.  Lots of choices on bulbs, so you can mix and match different 'colors'/spectrum to get the right balance and POP from your corals...  I know it might seem like a little waste to go out and buy different colors, but you can always use those bubls as your favorite bulbs wear out.

Also, my earlier comment about mushrooms.... I have mushrooms, several different colors ...  I was just givng you a heads up on what you might expect if they really like your tank..

I keep mine in check by giving some to friends... great way to start a pay it forward attitude/relationship...

And dont forget about getting a fan or two to blow right across the water surface.. And dont forget that this will increase the amount of evaporation each day, so please make sure you have lots of extra FRESH water on hand to replenish that evaporated water...  The goal is to minimize the amount of water you replace at anyone time to reduce the Salinity 'swing'.  But the more important/critical factor is the heat... Although T5s are efficent and all that, they still get warm/hot... The radiant heat will increase the tank temperature, the fans will probably counter-act abought 5degrees cooler.

good luck, andplease keep me posted...

Please log onto my new forum at www.thelittleocean.com and I will create a sub forum for you so you can post info and 'build threadss' on your tank...




Hoods are definatly restrictive.  Not only for the type and size of light but also with heat and temperature control.  You may find yourself propping the lid up and using a fan...

The moon light will do nothign for the corals except make them look good, especially at night.  I spendmost of my time looking AT NIGHT


Good luck and please keep meposted..

bill