maintenence

Question
I have a 10g acrylic SW tank running, currently cycling.

So far, theres 3lbs of live rock, whisper filter, 2 powerheads, and a all-glass light with a marine-glo bulb, and crushed shell substrate


Once the tank is finished cycling, what maintenance is needed for the tank? water changes at all?

Ill be stocking the tank with a goby, oscellaris clown, and a anenome

Answer
hi chris, the maintenance on the smaller tanks needs to be more regular than on the larger tanks, this is due to the nastys not being able to dilute so much in the small volume of water. this being the case it will not be suitable for the anemone, they have very specific lighting and water quality requirements which is near on impossible in a nano reef. in the wild they live for thousands of years, the oldest nem i have ever heard of in captivity only lived for 18 months.

also the clowns will do best in pairs, they should host any number of diffrent soft corals, anemones are not essential to keping clowns.

as far as the maintenance goes, test the water weekly and do a partial water change. also the more liverock you have the better your tank will be at getting rid of phosphate and nitrite. the ideal ammount you will need in your tank is 5Kg's, thats 1Kg per 2 galls of water. if the filter you are using has conventional media like sponges and things, ditch them and run carbon or phosban instead. the filter foams only collect waste and this excretes nitrates into the water, your live rock should be your only filter. make sure you have plenty of flow through and arround your liverock, this brings the food to the bacteria in the rock and effectively filters your water.

hope that helps
paul.