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NEW 10G NANO HELP


thegoldenboymike

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thegoldenboymike

So i am new to the forum and also the hobby and i have been doing a lot of research.

 

I currently have:

10G tank

Marineland Penguin 150 [up to 30G]

530GPH powerhead

15lbs of live sand

12-15lbs of live rock

 

I am currently going through the cycleing process. I bought saltwater from a local fish store and have recently added 2 damsels to further the process. Right now im looking into getting a LED light that will be sufficent enough for just very very basic soft corals lol. Im looking for a very affordable option since i plan on spending the money on upgrading the filtration system. I found some very very cheap led lights on ebay but im not sure if there actually suffient enough so if anyone could tell me if they are or any alternative options that would be great.

 

Also ill be making weekly updates to get some feedback on if im doing everything correctly or if i should change some things. Thank in advance! :D

 

 

http://www.ebay.com/itm/3-Mode-48-LED-Aquarium-Clip-Lamp-Light-For-Fish-Tank-Plant-Grow-White-Blue-/191116973927?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2c7f759767

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thegoldenboymike

The tank is a week old. I went to this mom and pops fish store and they seemed pretty exp and had me get the sea water from them and use stabalizer and with there live rock they said i could get 2 damsels and a week after that bring in my water for a second test to make sure everything was ok. Now as i look through the forums im thinking maybe the fish were a little pre-mature

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that LED won't really do much as its low wattage. for Soft coral, 1 gallon per watt with LED has worked for me in the past. A Par38 Led bulb in the 20-30 watt range will do just fine and is hella affordable. Just remember with smaller systems that you have to be on top of maintenance as parameters change quicker. Top offs are critical as salinity will swing, but overall, a good start....

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Hard to say since every tank is different and there isn't enough information about yours, depending on the condition of the live rock I've seen some people here not have a cycle.

 

Did they give you the results of your water or just say "you're good to go!!" I'm testing throughout my cycle so I can better understand my tank

 

Nonetheless, this is a great community and I've learned a lot in my short time here so stick around

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Cycling with fish is a very out dated method of cycling a tank, and cruel for the fish. Yes, damsels are incredibly hardy and will likely survive, but not without long term damage to their gills and shortening their life expectancy. See if you can return them. Instead use a raw piece of table shrimp to add ammonia. Another old fashioned trick, but its cheaper and the shrimp's already dead :D

 

Not to mention they were able to sell you too mean as hell little fish. And in a ten gallon, you're tapped out on bioload already with fish who will probably kill each other down the road.

 

I'm not sure what stabalizer they are talking about... but from my experience, the less chemicals you add to a tank the better. Especially at the start. Best advice, and hardest to follow, is be patient and let nature run its course. You will be happier in the long run and so will your tank!

 

ALSO, I said the same thing about lighting when I first started out. Oh, I'll just get some cheap LEDS just strong enough to grow soft coral. A few months later I find myself eyeing LPS... then SPS... then CLAMS. you get the picture. Invest in a good lighting system that will be able to generally handle everything.

 

Reefbreeders is what I use now. Check out nanobox or do a quick search on this sight. Lighting a 10 gallon should be fairly inexpensive with you still being able to grow a wide range of coral

 

EDIT: personally, I would think the filter you're running would be fine on the ten with a max of two fish. I would suggest a pair of clowns, pretty and easy keepers. Run some carbon and do your weekly water changes, a 10 gallon tank shouldn't require too much mechanical filtration other wise. I would spend decent money on your light. Why spend money on beautiful bright corals if your light can't keep them that way?

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thegoldenboymike

Thanks for all the advice im going to go ahead and get a decent light i know will deff work for me as far as corals in the future. Also they said i can bring the fish back for credit for the amount i got them at to go towards another fish. I origanally planed on doing 2 clowns and a maybe a goby and a simple CUC. I guess maybe i should stick with the clowns and the CUC?

 

And idk if anyone can give me clarity. I was thinking since i got the seawater from them instead of mixing and doing myself as well as the live rock and live sand that cut down on a lot of the inconsistancies that happen when your cycling from scratch.

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I have two saltwater/reef stores I go to, and neither would ever think to have that sort of policy. Basically leasing fish to ppl to cycle tanks? Find another store, in my opinion. One that will give you better advice.

 

You're going to have inconsistencies when cycling. Not sure how well read you are on the nitrogen cycle.

Ammonia spikes, then after a few days becomes converted into nitrites thanks to beneficial bacteria living in your liverock, then after a few days becomes converted into nitrates. Cycled. Readers digest version. Could take as little as week or two, or sometimes longer. Each system is different. You will experience diatom blooms, cyano, and all sorts of fun algae. Be patient.

 

Since you are just starting out, stick with just clowns. Maybe even just do a single for now, with sand and rock displacement you're looking at 8 or less gallons total water volume, which give you very little room for error. But I have read that it is good to remain consistent with your source of water. Test every day and keep a log of all your parameters. Salinity, ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates for now.

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thegoldenboymike

I have two saltwater/reef stores I go to, and neither would ever think to have that sort of policy. Basically leasing fish to ppl to cycle tanks? Find another store, in my opinion. One that will give you better advice.

 

You're going to have inconsistencies when cycling. Not sure how well read you are on the nitrogen cycle.

Ammonia spikes, then after a few days becomes converted into nitrites thanks to beneficial bacteria living in your liverock, then after a few days becomes converted into nitrates. Cycled. Readers digest version. Could take as little as week or two, or sometimes longer. Each system is different. You will experience diatom blooms, cyano, and all sorts of fun algae. Be patient.

 

Since you are just starting out, stick with just clowns. Maybe even just do a single for now, with sand and rock displacement you're looking at 8 or less gallons total water volume, which give you very little room for error. But I have read that it is good to remain consistent with your source of water. Test every day and keep a log of all your parameters. Salinity, ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates for now.

Thanks for the help...do you think i should take the fish i have out now and let the tank sit for a bit or just leave it? And about how long would you estimate i should wait before adding the clowns or single clown?

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Roshan8768

Take the fish back and read up on cycling without fish. As mentioned above, it will take time... no one can tell you for sure exactly how long it'll take. I would think that in 3 weeks you should be ready to pick up some snails/CUC, and then your first fish a couple of weeks after that

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Yes, take both fish back. These fish were providing ammonia to your tank, so now you need to find an alternative source of ammonia to continue the cycling process to grow beneficial bacteria. This is were the raw table shrimp comes in. Nothing fancy, regular shrimp you get from the grocery store. Wrap and tie it in something like cheese clothe to keep it contained, not totally necessary but keeps from making a mess. OR if you have some fish food already laying around, sprinkle a bit in. I find that a little messier tho.

 

Your tank will be ready for fish when your ammonia and nitrites read 0ppm and you have some levels nitrates, ideally low. Its not something someone else can give you a time frame on, only the levels of your tank. It varies. What test kits do you have? Standard API for saltwater will work for cycling.

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Are you planning on keeping the fish in there? That light will struggle to support anything other than low light softies and even those most likely won't grow much

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This ^ is a much better option although I prefer the coral compulsion brand bulbs if you're going to pay that much

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thegoldenboymike

Are you planning on keeping the fish in there? That light will struggle to support anything other than low light softies and even those most likely won't grow much

 

I was looking to do very basic soft corals and possibly an anomone for the clowns in the future. As far as the fish i was supposed to be swapping them out as long as my water was still good tomorrow....So i will be returning them tomorrow and prob wait an additional week to test and confirm my tank is ready to go. Although i must say the fish have been pretty active and have had a good appetite. Idk if any of that suggest they are doing well though lol

 

I was also looking at the par38 bulbs. Would those work? I would just need to find some type of lamp that takes that type of bulb right??

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I was looking to do very basic soft corals and possibly an anomone for the clowns in the future. As far as the fish i was supposed to be swapping them out as long as my water was still good tomorrow....So i will be returning them tomorrow and prob wait an additional week to test and confirm my tank is ready to go. Although i must say the fish have been pretty active and have had a good appetite. Idk if any of that suggest they are doing well though lol

 

What are the tests on your water reading? I don't understand what "still good" means lol. That rock looks pretty mature, so you may have gone through a very short cycle or none at all. If you're removing your fish and you're still getting high levels of ammonia and no readings of nitrite or nitrate, you need to supply a source of ammonia to keep the beneficial bacteria fed and colonized.

 

Your tank won't be ready for fish until your ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate all read 0ppm

 

Anemones need higher light than very basic soft corals, and not many anemones that will host O. Clowns will do well in a tank as small as 10 gallons. The link BigRed provided is a full spectrum par38, so yes.

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They are hardy fish, so by the time you notice anything they will be on the way out. Just take them back ASAP like you are currently planing to do :)

 

A PAR38 would be perfect, and they screw into normal sockets so a lamp will work. You don't want a big cover/shade around the bulb though as it is the heat sink and it needs to have good air flow over it to avoid overheating and shortening the lifespan of your LEDS.

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thegoldenboymike

UPDATE:

 

So i took the damsels back and got my water tested. Ammonia and nitrites are 0 and also have low nitrates. he did say to keep an eye on pH though since it seemed just a tad low. I decided to still wait a couple days or another week and test to make sure. The guy there also said one reason it wouldnt and didnt take so long to cycle was due to the fact i had the mature live rock from already setup and running tanks.

 

Do you guys think im in the clear or should i hold off a little and keep testing. I dont want to act to hasty and end up killing my future clowns :unsure:

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UPDATE:

 

So i took the damsels back and got my water tested. Ammonia and nitrites are 0 and also have low nitrates. he did say to keep an eye on pH though since it seemed just a tad low. I decided to still wait a couple days or another week and test to make sure. The guy there also said one reason it wouldnt and didnt take so long to cycle was due to the fact i had the mature live rock from already setup and running tanks.

 

Do you guys think im in the clear or should i hold off a little and keep testing. I dont want to act to hasty and end up killing my future clowns :unsure:

 

Whats wrong with waiting? You don't have a light, correct? Get your self a source of light, I used Par 38's with great results and I'm currently using Current Orbit Marine LED. Start running your tank with lights. Let your tank bloom with diatoms (trust me it won't take long) get your CUC, and then a week or two later add your fish. Don't rush cause then you're going to regret it.

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It looks like you are running a basic glass aquarium like I am in which case this light would work perfect for what you are trying to do. It will support a wide variety of corals from softies to lps. What I like about this fixture is that it also comes with the 24 hr ramp controller. Its not the "best" controller out there per se but it will still give you your basic day/night cycle along with cloud cover, thunderstorms etc. These effects can also be triggered on demand with a wireless remote as well.

 

FYI if you wanted to go fluorescent you could also just rock a coralife dual High Output T5 of a similar size. I ran that setup with led stunners for moonlighting for months and it worked great.

 

Hope this helps.

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thegoldenboymike

Thanks guys ill deff be getting a decent lighting setup this week.

Tested the water today and still got the same results and nitrates a little lower.

Also have a 530GPH powerhead that will be here tomorrow but i was looking around and I'm starting to think thats a little much for a 10G.

Do you guys think its okay or should i get something a little less powerful?

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