College 10g newb reef

[bucknellreefer]

Hello everyone,

I have been lurking for a few months now trying to gather and absorb as much information as possible before school ended. Now that summer is here and I have some money to spend I decided to take the plunge into keeping a nano reef tank of my own.

 

Following what I have learned here and from various other books, websites, etc. I have put together a basic 10-gallon setup over the last couple of weeks. I am waiting for my 70w MH retrofit from illuming.com (hopefully here this coming week) and until then I am just using the 18w coral life mini compact fixture that will eventually be used to light the AC110 filter that i converted into a fuge. The live rock is 13lbs that i purchased from Dr. Macs on the eastern shore.

 

 

I am looking to house a pair of false percula clowns (let me know if you think this is too much, I know its a bit of a stretch bioload wise but the idea of having a pair of fish that will interact with one another is something that I would really like to have) and initially just some hardy beginner corals like zoas, and eventually maybe a few more difficult things. I decided to go with a Halide fixture and build my own hood because i figured i would want to upgrade eventually and i might as well start with something i can use for awhile.

 

With that said here are some pics of my setup which has been up and running with the rock for 2 whole weeks now haha

 

Questions and comments are more than welcome!

 

FTS

 

The left side

 

The right side

 

Some of my hitchhikers, a group of small feather dusters?

 

edit for pics

[crrichey]

I really like the aquascaping!

[MagElvs]

I'm guessing some people will disagree with me or say you have to sell your clowns back after they grow too big, but I think two clowns will be fine in a 10g.

 

Also, I love the two island rock placement--nice work.

[bucknellreefer]

Also, I love the two island rock placement--nice work.

 

I really like the aquascaping!

 

thanks! the rocks just seemed to fit together perfectly that way and i am pretty happy with how it looks

[bucknellreefer]

My light finally arrived from illuming.com and after spending awhile thinking about how to attach it to the hood i just used some wood screws and washers. It seems to be well attached and the tank looks a lot better with the new light. I will post up some pics later today.

 

I also picked up a dremil the other day and will be cutting a big, square hole in the lid of the AC110 and replacing that with plexi so i can be ready to start my fuge up when the cycle ends (soon hopefully, ammonia is 0 and nitrites are falling).

[shortstack]

tank looks nice so far and so clean! From the pic those hitchikers look like hydroids. They shouldnt be a big problem as long as they dont spread. I think youd be fine with the 2 clowns as long as you keep up with tank maintenance.

I noticed you are from baltimore. There are a couple of decent LFS around the area, so you are in luck.

[bucknellreefer]

From the pic those hitchikers look like hydroids. They shouldnt be a big problem as long as they dont spread.

Hmm...I was wondering about them. Assuming they are hydroids what should i do if i think they are spreading? Are they going to be a real pain to remove?

 

 

I noticed you are from baltimore. There are a couple of decent LFS around the area, so you are in luck.

Yeah, I am about 15 minutes from Exotic Aquatics. They have some very nice stuff there although their prices are a bit high and they don't have a lot of things in sizes that I would be able to use. I have been meaning to check out Marine Dreams out in Belair but thats a bit more of a hike. Are there any other good stores that you recommend?

[debbeach13]

love your aquascape

[bucknellreefer]

Here are the new pics i promised earlier:

 

Here is a shot of the 70w Metal halide retrofit from illuming.com installed in my home made hood:

 

I seem to be having a bit of a diatom explosion going on:

 

and last but not least here is the new FTS showing the hood and light, which i believe is about 8 inches off the water, no temp problems so far (probably due at least in part to the open back design i choose)

 

On another note, my nitrites are still pretty high, like 2mg/L according to my aquarium pharmaceuticals test kit, about how long should it take for the bacteria to start getting the upper hand?

[CollegeReef]

10g college reefers rock. ive moved mine to and from school SEVERAL times. you will enjoy seeing things grow in your tank, its very fascinating to watch nature progress right in front of you.

[shortstack]

Hmm...I was wondering about them. Assuming they are hydroids what should i do if i think they are spreading? Are they going to be a real pain to remove?

Yeah, I am about 15 minutes from Exotic Aquatics. They have some very nice stuff there although their prices are a bit high and they don't have a lot of things in sizes that I would be able to use. I have been meaning to check out Marine Dreams out in Belair but thats a bit more of a hike. Are there any other good stores that you recommend?

 

 

i have a small patch of hydroids that dont seem to be growing or spreading so i havent had to remove em. If i remember correctly i think joes juice would work (someone please correct me if i am wrong).

 

I am also about 15 mins from exotic aquatics. i agree some of their prices are high. Their 160 gal buckets of salt are about the same prices online so I pick mine up from them. There is aquarium center off of the beltway. It is probably the same distance to belair.

[audiocontrol]

Yeah, I go only to exotic aquatics now. Even though the people working there (especially the foriegn looking woman at the counter) are a bit stuck up, they have nice frags none the less and it is a 10 min. drive from my workplace. So I go there on lunch break.

 

The aquarium center....Dump, but you may be able to find a few nice pieces ($25 acro colonies)

[bucknellreefer]

The aquarium center....Dump, but you may be able to find a few nice pieces ($25 acro colonies)

 

yeah, i have been out there a couple of times and everything just looks so sickly it would make me nervous to putting things from there into my tank. i guess i am figuring that with all the money i am spending in trying to get everything set up right it would be a shame to introduce something nasty into my tank by trying to save a few bucks.

 

i do wish Exotic Aquatics had more small zoanthids colonies, most of what they have seems to be bigger and kinda drably colored. if anyone has any suggestions for where to get some nice zoas i would be interested to hear. i was toying with the idea of buying from people here on n-r.com but all the scams going on are making me a little reluctant to do that.

 

thanks for all your advice and interest!

[bucknellreefer]

Well, after much waiting, my ammonia, nitrites and nitrates are all at zero!

I will be looking to pick up a clean up crew this weekend hopefully, wish i could do it sooner but i am busy until then.

 

i am probably going to get around 10 assorted snails, astreas, cerith etc. (not sure what numbers of each yet, got to do some research before i go) as well as 3 or 4 hermits.

 

if anyone has any suggestions for specific numbers of different snails i would appreciate it.

 

Thanks!

[bucknellreefer]

Well, i finally added the first animals to my tank, I ended up going with 4 Nassarius Snails, 2 Ceriths, 2 Astreas and 2 scarlet hermits. Right now i am planning on adding the fish next week some time, i think i am going to get a pair of ocellaris clowns from Dr. Mac's.

 

Here are a couple of pictures I took of the new additions:

 

 

[zmckenzie]

Your tank is looking amzing. I too researched while at college and am strating to take the plunge. I am buying lr and sand this weekend. I love seeing other college students on here. We are allowed 20 gallon tanks. Anyways, nice work and can't wait to see your tank progress.

 

Zmckenzie

Student @ UWSP (Go Pointers)

[bucknellreefer]

Your tank is looking amzing. I too researched while at college and am strating to take the plunge. I am buying lr and sand this weekend. I love seeing other college students on here. We are allowed 20 gallon tanks. Anyways, nice work and can't wait to see your tank progress.

 

Zmckenzie

Student @ UWSP (Go Pointers)

 

Thanks for the compliment!

I thought about going with an all-in-one like you did but in the end i decided that i would like a little more freedom in equipment and i wasn't crazy about having to tear the thing apart to get enough light and flow when i wanted to upgrade.

I actually don't know of any tank size limit at Bucknell, we are allowed to have "non-carnivorous fishes." I simply decided to go with a ten because it was the largest tank i thought i would be able to move 4 times a year without killing myself.

[bucknellreefer]

I made a trip to Exotic Aquatics and made a few purchases. i switched out the carbon in the AC110 for chemipure, i am using about half of the bag which i transferred to a new media bag, the remainder i sealed in a ziplock for future use. i also bought some fish food pellets and frozen mysis so i am ready to feed the clowns after i pick them up on thursday. i am very excited to add my fish, although the hermits and snails have been keeping me entertained.

[CollegeReef]

my tank has been up for a year and i am still finding new hitchikers. that is the most interesting part to me, not the stuff i buy but the stuff that "came with."

 

as for getting your tak stocked, if you have ood success with your first few animals you should get a frag pack from somewhere. i ordered one from seacrop and got 12 frags for 100$ when all was said and done after shipping. thats my college kid budget stocking tip. but if youve got plenty of dough then you should be very selective, there is not a whole lot of room in a 10g.

[bucknellreefer]

my tank has been up for a year and i am still finding new hitchikers. that is the most interesting part to me, not the stuff i buy but the stuff that "came with."

 

as for getting your tak stocked, if you have ood success with your first few animals you should get a frag pack from somewhere. i ordered one from seacrop and got 12 frags for 100$ when all was said and done after shipping. thats my college kid budget stocking tip. but if youve got plenty of dough then you should be very selective, there is not a whole lot of room in a 10g.

 

I agree about the hitchhikers, I have a at least one, maybe two stomatella snails and i think i spent far too much time searching for them during the cycle. Part of me wishes I had gone with uncured rock for this reason, but I am still pretty happy. The algae is going nuts at this point though I finally added the chaeto to the ac110 so hopefully this will slow it down a bit. As of this morning all of the snails and hermits were still acounted for and I will be headed to Dr. Mac's tomorrow to get my clowns. As far as stocking goes I think i am leaning more towards taking my time and stocking a little at a time with things i don't think i will get tired of. With that said i am not exactly rolling in money, but my summer job should be able to get me at least started in stocking some nice corals provided I can find some locally or online that i want.

 

I have considered purchasing a frag pack but not getting to pick the corals out personally bothers me when i have so little room to use. I guess i will see how my wallet is feeling when it is time to start putting in some corals.

I am still planning to start with some zoas, I just wish my local places had more interesting pieces and in smalled sizes... oh well, i guess i will cross that bridge when i come to it.

[bucknellreefer]

well, the big day has come.

today i drove out to dr. mac's and made my first big livestock purchase, a pair of Ocellaris clowns. They made the trip home well and they seem to be doing ok, although i guess time will tell. I got a pretty good deal on them, i think it was $29 for the pair. I also bought a small zoa frag for 10.

 

Without further ado i present my clowns, harry and lloyd:

 

here is the zoa frag, still mostly closed:

it did open up but it wasn't attached to anything so i kept blowing around the tank, i finally just used some super glue gel and attached it to a piece of rubble from my fuge, they have opened now but the lights are off so no pics. they are a really nice redish orange around the edges with light green centers when open.

[zmckenzie]

i like the pictures and you did get a good deal on the pair. Are they a mated pair or just two from the tank? I can't wait to start adding livestock to my tank but that is still prob a month away. By the way i like your signature. Very good idea..

 

zmckenzie

[bucknellreefer]

i like the pictures and you did get a good deal on the pair. Are they a mated pair or just two from the tank? I can't wait to start adding livestock to my tank but that is still prob a month away. By the way i like your signature. Very good idea..

 

zmckenzie

 

they were just 2 out of a large number of small ocellaris in the tank, i would guess that the larger is just a little over an inch long. they have been swimming around together since they were added and no sign of fighting so hopefully they will be a happy couple.

 

Waiting for all the parameters to hit 0 was hard for me, i started to get impatient after a couple weeks of high readings but thankfully they finally came down.

[bucknellreefer]

Here are a couple pics of the zoas i took this morning:

 

With Flash:

 

No flash:

[zmckenzie]

Whats your plan for moving your tank? I was thinking on getting a couple coolers just for moving my tank the 4 times a year between school and home. One for the lr and water and one to put the bags with my livestock.