cvest100 Posted December 10, 2007 Share Posted December 10, 2007 Here is my first shot! I just set this up about an hour ago and snapped my first pic. Will be going back to my LFS and getting a couple more pieces of live rock. They were really limited on selection size and will be getting more in on Thursday. Not sure if I'll keep the rock in this same position or move it to the middle when i get more rock. Lemme know what you think! Link to comment
lilredneckman Posted December 11, 2007 Share Posted December 11, 2007 to N-R! It looks like you are off to a good start. You definitely need allot more rock Thursday. How much rock do you plan on adding? Have you ever had a tank before or is this your first? Make sure to take things SLOW!!Wait for your cycle to finish before adding any livestock. Only bad things happen fast. Link to comment
cvest100 Posted December 11, 2007 Author Share Posted December 11, 2007 This is my FIRST saltwater tank, but I have a 38 gallon tall freshwater. I've been keeping fish for like 8 years, but never dabbled in salt water. I'm still trying to figure out how much more live rock i need......any suggestions? Link to comment
lilredneckman Posted December 11, 2007 Share Posted December 11, 2007 Uhh my guess is that you have about 3-4 lbs right know??? If i were you i would probably get about 9 more lbs of lr and see how it looks, that just my opinion. Link to comment
cvest100 Posted December 11, 2007 Author Share Posted December 11, 2007 It's about five pounds. I also had a question about the lighting. I bought a Coralife Mini Aqualight. It has a 10000K daylight compact flourescent and a blue one as well. Will that suffice for most corals that are acceptable for a tank this size? Here's another pic of the water getting a little bit clearer! Link to comment
cvest100 Posted December 11, 2007 Author Share Posted December 11, 2007 It's 18 watts. 9 on each bulb! Link to comment
Mikec0078 Posted December 11, 2007 Share Posted December 11, 2007 More Light, More light... I would go with like..um.. Maybe 2x24 T5 lights, or maybe 1 40w PC bulb, there are so many options, and it all depends on what type of corals you want to keep. Low light softies, or high light SPS.. .or somewhere in between. Link to comment
cvest100 Posted December 11, 2007 Author Share Posted December 11, 2007 The owner of my LFS said that for anything that I'd really be able to put into this tank, that the lighting is more than sufficient. So that's why I went with this one. Here's a pic of it. What are some examples of the lighting that you recommend? I'm really new at this and if this is what they've given me I don't want to trust my LFS. Link to comment
BKtomodachi Posted December 11, 2007 Share Posted December 11, 2007 As you shouldnt- I used to have that light for a 5 gallon tank and it was nowhere near what I ended up wanting. It is well built, though, and would be cool for most pico systems. Link to comment
dtfleming Posted December 11, 2007 Share Posted December 11, 2007 You should shoot for 9W per gal. of light. Look at the current 20" fixtures. either 40W or 80W PC lighting. You wont be able to get any SPS corals though. I would look at the 16.5" 70w Sunpod light. Link to comment
Mikec0078 Posted December 11, 2007 Share Posted December 11, 2007 It's really tough to say. 40w Compacts aren't bad, but it all depends on how much you want to spend. One easy way is to search 10g systems on this forum, and see what lighting they have and what life they are sustaining. Just search, and research and read some more. I am battling lighting decisions myself, but you have a couple of months to figure it out while your tank cycles Link to comment
cvest100 Posted December 12, 2007 Author Share Posted December 12, 2007 So I've been talking to a few enthusiasts in the area and I'm going to go to another LFS where they seem to be really knowledgable. I've rigged the lighting that I have now so that I can just have something on the tank and not have it start to boil the water. Looks really crude, but it works while I'm cycling. Hopefully I've heard that I can get T5 lights at this other place for about $80 or so....we'll see tomorrow! Also, what are people's thoughts on Protein Skimmers?? Do I really need one with a tank this size? Link to comment
FyrFighter2004 Posted December 12, 2007 Share Posted December 12, 2007 on a tank that small, from what I have read, a protein skimmer is not needed. I would throw in a powerhead for some flow though. Link to comment
shift_9k Posted December 12, 2007 Share Posted December 12, 2007 All you need is a powerhead for flow, and yourself for small water changes every week. 2-3 gallons a week. Link to comment
Smurf Posted December 13, 2007 Share Posted December 13, 2007 Nice live rock you got so far Link to comment
cvest100 Posted December 13, 2007 Author Share Posted December 13, 2007 Ok, so I went to TWO fish stores today and both have said that the light that I bought will be sufficient for polyps, mushrooms and some leathers. I took the box with me and told them my set up and they all agreed...........Now I'm not sure what to do. Cause if this lighting is going to work for my small tank......and it doesn't give off enough heat to cause insane amounts of evaporation......then why can't I just keep it?? Being new to this WHOLE process, I'm just not sure what's right for what everyone has been saying! So I'm going to buy more live rock tomorrow and get it all in place and let it cycle before I move on. Does anyone have suggestions for small powerheads to add for waterflow?? I'll also post new pics tomorrow night of the finished live rock! Link to comment
ReeFur Posted December 13, 2007 Share Posted December 13, 2007 what kind of light did you get? Link to comment
cvest100 Posted December 13, 2007 Author Share Posted December 13, 2007 It's a Coralife Mini Aqualight. It has two bulbs, both 9 watts. One is a 10,000K daytime bulb, the other is an ACT blue bulb. After I changed my cover around and lifted the light, it fills the entire tank with some pretty strong lighting. It's the last pic I posted...... Link to comment
cvest100 Posted December 13, 2007 Author Share Posted December 13, 2007 So I went back to my LFS and got the rest of my live rock. Here is how it sits now. Lemme know what you think!! Link to comment
psychochase138 Posted December 13, 2007 Share Posted December 13, 2007 maybe open it up a little more but thats just me i like a lot of caves and crevices ill get pictures of my 10 gallon and try to get em on here Link to comment
Wiedertäufer Posted December 14, 2007 Share Posted December 14, 2007 Another thing you can do if you find you need more light would be to lower the fixture back down. Or add a second one. That's the approach I'm taking-- I'm starting with a 65w 50/50 bulb on my 15 gallon and might add a second if I see the need. I'm only planning on having the less light needing corals like some zoos and such. Link to comment
0823angeles Posted December 14, 2007 Share Posted December 14, 2007 So I went back to my LFS and got the rest of my live rock. Here is how it sits now. Lemme know what you think!! Great start to your ten gallon. The lights should be fine for a majority of the PC corals. Heres a pic of my 10g Just to show you the diversity you can have. Good Luck cvest100 Link to comment
Pacifique Posted December 14, 2007 Share Posted December 14, 2007 whoa, angeles, that is pretty hot. what do you have in there for flow? Link to comment
shift_9k Posted December 14, 2007 Share Posted December 14, 2007 I think a fish hitched over in your live rock. Link to comment
Cuervo420 Posted December 14, 2007 Share Posted December 14, 2007 I think a fish hitched over in your live rock. Aye is that a Chromis hitch hiker, or is someone moving too fast b/c of what some LFS told him?? Link to comment
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