Is 50 watts enough for a 10 gallon.

Is 50 watts enough for a 10 gallon? How much should I have for a 20 gallon? I dont know where to start, 10 gallons or 20, what should I pick for a first tank?

Thanks a lot.

Phish:

Try using the Search button and see what others are using for the type of animals they keep. If you are just now setting up your tank you need not worry about lighting for the first few weeks. A cycling Tank does not require intense light. Standard NO tubes my be best for the Cycle.

Read this thread: http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/showthread...&threadid=14642.

What types of animals do you plan on Having?

I plan to have a small reef, with fish, the whole works.

But I am not sure wich kind I am going to purchase. But how many gallons should I get, 10 or 20, keep in mind I am just starting.

Phish:

The Larger than tank the more stablity you have. The larger the tank the more money it costs. If you plan to keep fish I would go for a 20 otherwise you limit the amount you can(you still are limited, but less so. Some like the 20L(12x12x30) while I prefer the 20H (12x16x24) for Aquascaping purposes. You can expect to spend 1 1/2 to double the amount of money to set up a 20gallon. Let me know which you choose, and what type of coral you plan on having, and I can give you some direction on lighting.

well, I dont really know much about coral at all, Dont know names, size, color, I just know I want some. If you had to go for a 20 gallon with $150 what would YOU buy? (the tank alone is $50) If YOU were to go with a 10 gallon what would YOU buy.

If you can, give me some good links on corals and anemone, (which I hear is a bad idea period, let alone in a 10-20 gallon)

Thanks a lot.

First off you could get a 20G at Petsmart for about $28.

But I had $150 I would:

10 gallon tank- $10

10-15 LBS of Live Rock - $30-50 depending on price per lb.

5 LBS of Live Sand - $10

10 LBS of Dead Sand(the Finer the better) - $10

50 Watt Heater - $15

2 AquaGlobe 150(?) Powerheads - $25

1 HOB penguin Filter (biowheel removed) - $25

Box of Salt - $15

You don't need the HOB, but it is nice to be able to run carbon when needed. You will not need specialized Lighting during the Cycle, but a 50/50 NO Bulb will help make LR watching nicer.

Then when done Cycling:

Now we can talk about lighting, your original quesiton.

To make it cheap and easy and still have lots of coral options (it is best to stay away from anenomes unless you have a bit of experience IMO)

96watt Powerquad - $100 Hello Lights.

If you want to go all out on your lighting I will elaborate, otherwise for $250 without live stock there you have it.

20 gallon:

20 gallon tank- $30

20-30 LBS of Live Rock - $50-100 depending on price per lb.

10 LBS of Live Sand - $20

15 LBS of Dead Sand(the Finer the better) - $15

100 Watt Heater - $25

2 AquaGlobe 225(?) Powerheads - $25

1 HOB penguin Filter (biowheel removed) - $35

Box of Salt - $15

Lights, once again simple and easy yet with good coral variety:

2x65 Hello Lights $131

And so for about $350-400 unstocked you have a 20 gallon.

So if I only had $150 I would go with a 10 gallon.

Thank you, This is beyond helpful, I am having a hard time finding help. And I have decided to go with the 10 gallon, I looked at a bunch of pics of 10 gallons and they look really good too, I just really dont like the fish selection, I dont like damesels, or cardinals, they look too boring. I like the little pygmie angels, and other small fish. And I also dont like everyones favorit (clownfish)

well thanks again.

Phish:

There are many fish that could go in a 10 gallon. There are lots of Gobies that are nice, Firefish are okay if you have a top (jumpers), Chromis are always good. PsudeoChromis and dottybacks are nice as well. If you can create a 10 gallon as refugium as well, you could easily have three fish in there, without problems. That's not including shrimp. Otherwise once your tank is established you could easily have two of your favorite fish (sans Pigmy Angel) or even a school of three chromis.

People usually add fish last and 1 at a time to ensure the water quality is kept up and the bioload is not to high.

People usually add live stock in this order:

1. Clean up crew (right after cycle, 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites, less than 20 PPM Nitrates

2. Corals (Less than 10 PPM Nitrates)

3. fish (after all is doing well and Nitrates are easily kept to 5-10 PPM or even undectable.

Fish are the biggest bioload in a tank. It is good to be sure your tank is resonalby established before adding fish.

Wow, I was always told that any angel needs at LEAST 55 gallons to survive. Thanks, I was looking at the only 5 fish I found on this website and I wasnt thrilled.

If it isnt already too many questions, could you tell me some good angels to purchase.

Thanks a lot.

Sans Means without. I am sorry, but an Angel would not work in a 10 gallon. Maybe a 40 gallon. Check out Dr. Foster and smith. They have a list of fish. Go for two that top out at 3-3.5 inches or go for three that stay less than 2 inches. Stock last and stock slowly.

Keep reading and researching as tastes change as you learn more.

Yeah, I know what sans means, (I have studied Graphic arts for years and that means we have to know all the writing styles, san serif is one example) but when I read it the first time I didnt see it, all I saw was, (pigmy angels)

I usually come to this site around 12:00-3:30 a.m. so sometimes its hard to read clearly.

Depending on where you live, you can use live rock and Southdown Sand. I have done this personally twice, both times very sucessfully. I would also tell you be be sure and look for the best quality LR yuo can find, it can make or break the whole process. Also, if you are a patient person, dead rock can be seeded with live rock, you cycle will be longer but you can save a lot of money by going 50/50 live/dead rock. There are no clear cut rules, but the advice in this post has been dead on, IMO.

I think they sell 'dead sand' at my local petco (not my lfs) 'cuz my lfs only has live sand, $25 for 20lbs of live sand is good but if I got this sand and 3lbs of the live sand it would all turn live and that would only cost me like $15, and $10 would really help me right now.

Petco's LS is not that live. It only has Bacteria. It is okay, but it will not have all the goodies such as pods, bristle worms, and other living fauna. It will help to cycle your tank, but the rest will have to come from your live rock. I wouldn't spend the 25 bucks on it. If you are in Westminster just take a drive to Jeffs exotic fish and get your rock and LS there. Cheap and good quality.

NO you got it all wrong, My lfs is called Tongs, tropical fish, It Specializes in saltwater reef aquariums, but they dont sell live sand, so I thought I would just get 'Dead sand' From a petco and put a few pounds of live sand from my lfs to save money.

Yes, Buy the Dead Sand (not Crushed coral) and Seed it with Live Sand from another aquarist (www.SCMAS.org) or buy live sand from Jeff's exotic fish. Sorry for the Misunderstanding.

dude go to jeffs in l.a. www.exoticfish.com the live sand is $2 a pound and rock you cherry pick is $2.50, they have awesome prices esp on the corals there prices are so good that no lfs can touch it. 9 corals for $99 you can't go wrong esp if you pick them out. you'll get the ones you like, check them out i recommend them.

I'm heading there Saturday, hope they have rocks left for you Phish!

At $2/ib, definitely getting live sand. Only a few more months now...