Perculanight Posted July 9, 2003 Share Posted July 9, 2003 Hello, I'm sure you've had plenty of posts just like this, so sorry about the predictability, but I had to run my 10-gal nano-reef plan by some people who know what they are doing (hopefully ). I've been researching this tank for several years (I haven't felt ready until recently). These are my tank specs: -10-gal eclipse tank -10lbs live bio-active argonite -aiming for 10-lbs live rock (or more if it turns out budget allows) and about 5-10lbs dead rock -25-watt heater In this tank I'd like to keep a pair of A. Ocellaris, a scarlet cleaner shrimp, a blood red fire shrimp, a few snails (I'm going to see what the lfs's offer), dwarf-blue legged hermit crab, and maybe a few other small crabs. Inhabitants for the tank are stil being decided on, but that is pretty much the general idea! Originally, I was going to keep a mushroom coral or two as first-time corals (I've never kept corals before) but I was (much to my disappointment) advised against it because of my aquarium system, which sadly includes integrated lighting not strong enough for corals. For the time being I cannot afford a seperate lighting system (and I'd like to keep my hood) since my finances are also divided with a new 50-gal lake Malawi cichlids tank I'm working on. Don't worry...I'm not setting them up at the same time...I am setting up a cichlid tank as my summer project and once that is going strong, I will have more time to focus on my nano-reef. Anyway, since I've been deterred from keeping any inverts that rely partially on photosynthesis (:*( ) I can only keep fish and other invertebrates (crabs, snails, and shrimp). I'm still researching filtration systems and deciding on which one would be opt to serve my purpose the best. So I was just wondering if my plan is o-kay. I've done loads of reserch for the past four years in my spare time, reading every book, article and magazine I could get ahold of on the topic. Thanks for your help! Link to comment
Jandree22 Posted July 9, 2003 Share Posted July 9, 2003 Hello and welcome! at least you've done your homework !! Here's some things I would change. Bio Active aragonite.... you don't need 'bio-active'. The live rock will supply all the lil critters and plain ol aragonite will become live with coepods and bacteria after a few weeks. If you already bought bio-active, though, it's cool... no harm Dead rock.... what do you mean by dead rock? Personally I think 10lbs of LR is sufficient, but if you do add this dead rock, I'd say no more than 5lbs extra. Make sure the dead rock is calcium based. Heater.... Get at least a 50watt. I'm running 100w on my 10gal. Hermit Crab.... I HATE em! I *had* 5 in my 10gal til I realized they do NOTHING for the algae growth. I got rid of them! Snails.... they're your friend, buy lots of em! I just made the purchase of 10 Nassarius snails under recomendation from this site and they are WONDERFUL! They'll hide out below the surface of your sand bed and stir it all up for ya. Lighting.... Does your hood have 1 or 2 18" bulbs? If it has two you can probably keep some LOW light corals, like mushrooms. Also, if you're gonna go ahead with that, replace the bulbs with a Coralife 10,000k bulb(daylight) and a 50/50(mix) or Actinic(blue) bulb. Bulb(s) included in those hoods are made for looks only... they won't support freshwater plants or saltwater reefs. If you only have one bulb.... hmm, I still think you can maybe keep mushrooms so long as you place them on the top level of your LR. Just make sure, like I said, that you swap in a 10,000k bulb. Hope this all helps! Overall you have the right idea, just threw my input in;) Very proud/glad to hear that you read up!! Continue to do so, I've been in the saltwater hobby for 3+ years now and I'm still learning so much!! Good luck w/everything! ~Joel:) Link to comment
fishbabies Posted July 9, 2003 Share Posted July 9, 2003 BE NOT AFRAID.... does your lfs sell live sand? in my opinion those packaged sands are $$$ i got all the sand i needed for my 10gal for only $20. my hermits are funny to watch....but i was able to go to a place that literally had thousands to choose from....so i was able to pick ones with cool shells. also IMO....i've owned about 10 different filters and they all do the same thing. some filters are getting more expensive than computer peripherials. WTF?!?! what becomes most important is noise, water-movement, size and ACCESS. i like my penguin bio-mini cuz the top pops off and the media comes out super easy. with live rock you really only need the filter for water-movement and occasional water polishing. and it is super quiet!!! check this page out: http://madhunag.tripod.com/filters.html the bottom of the page has size specs and GPH of many popular filters. Custom Sea Life makes a $50 32W 50/50 powercompact light kit that is designed to fit perfectly into an Eclipse 10"x20" hood. they even have instruction for how to put it into the eclipse hood....i am assuming that is what you have...no need to go all out on expensive lights so early on. ....but even a fish only marine tank will look way better with PCs instead of the stock lighting provided by an eclipse hood... I THINK YOU ARE MORE THAN READY!!! ...and WELCOME TO THE CLUB! Link to comment
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