2witchy Posted July 11, 2003 Share Posted July 11, 2003 Hi there! I have never had a saltwater tank before and have MANY questions! I was thinking about converting a 10 gallon freshwater tank to a nano-reef in the near future and would appreciate some advice! I was planning on using my current HOB filter which is made for a 20 to 30 gallon tank and has an adjustable water flow. I have an incandescent light fixture, which i know will need to be replaced. Looking for suggestions.... Also as for what to put in the tank I was thinking of a red hawkfish and a yellowtail blue damsel (I believe was the name). I have been told by Drs. Foster and Smith that these would be fine. I have no clue as to what to put in for corals and such. I was planning on using live rock and sand for a so called base and cycle the tank with that. I am also clueless as to cleaning crews. Sorry for the long post, and I'm sure there will be more to come! Thanks in advance! Min Link to comment
T?@7 Posted July 11, 2003 Share Posted July 11, 2003 Min, Your HOB sounds good, and youll also wanna get a powerhead. You roughly wanna have 10x your tank volume in flow. You will also need a heater. A good one is less than $20. A hawkfish AND a damsel might be semi heavy load for a 10g, in my opinion. Id go for the hawk over the dam anyday. Opinions differ from person to person on cleanup crews. Mine is pretty heavy, I have a 5.5g: 7 Blue Legs 1 Scarlett Hermit 5 Turbos 2 1.5" cucumbers 2 tiny emerals 2 tiny decorators 2" Brittle star I think its perfect, but different strokes for different folks. You will also need LR, roughly 10ish LBs and Live sand, a 1.5" bed is preferable. If youve got more questions dont hesitate to ask! Link to comment
dickwayne Posted July 11, 2003 Share Posted July 11, 2003 http://www.nano-reef.com/info Link to comment
Mnesarchus Posted July 11, 2003 Share Posted July 11, 2003 For lighting I would reccomend a dual 36 watts Powercompact System from www.hellolights.com, one bulb in 10000k and one in Actinic 03. Good luck. Link to comment
Crimper Posted July 11, 2003 Share Posted July 11, 2003 Hey, Welcome to the hobby! I would say the Power Compacts are a good choice. As for ur clean up crew u will need some snails, crabs, and even a shrimp. But what I would recomend is that u wait a bit with your LR in there to see what came with it. I have found Crabs, Snails and small shrimp on my Rock! Link to comment
rklutts Posted July 11, 2003 Share Posted July 11, 2003 Welcome to the group. Stick with the LR and LS for now and wait for the fish and clean up crew. Add a power head and the PC lighting will work great! Happy reef-n Rob Link to comment
onthefly Posted July 11, 2003 Share Posted July 11, 2003 Flames and shrimp don't mix, unless you have a big shrimp (like a big coral banded) and a small hawk. Anything small will be lunch for him! Link to comment
2witchy Posted July 11, 2003 Author Share Posted July 11, 2003 I had read that the flame would take out crustasions (sp?) so I was a little undecided about him as of yet. I was planning on doing a powerhead but forgot to put that in. I will check into the lighting and see what I can find. Any ideas on hearty corals and such? Thanks to all! Min Link to comment
2witchy Posted July 11, 2003 Author Share Posted July 11, 2003 As I have been complained at another site about my choice of fish, I thought that I would add this!!! At this point I am more into the research stage of things. The only thing that I presently have is the tank which is used for freshwater and the HOB filter. I am more trying to decide what to do for corals and such so that I can fit my lighting to them. As for the hawkfish, I have read since they aren't true swimmers, get to be appx. 4 in long and a great reef fish it may be appropriate. As for the yellowtail damselfish, they only get to be appx 3 in and are hiders for the most part, making them suited for a nano-reef as it is a smaller enviornment with plenty of hiding spaces which makes them more secure to come out and be seen much more than in a larger tank. Going from memory, I believe both to be reef safe. As for the LR & LS, I was planning for the most part to cycle the tank with that and then very SLOWLY add corals, etc and finish with the fish. I am in no way wanting to rush this, I really don't care if the tank sits for two months or longer without fish. Thanks, Min Link to comment
onthefly Posted July 12, 2003 Share Posted July 12, 2003 that is correct! They lack a swim bladder and "pulse" around the tank. they are very acrobatic and appear to fly thru the LR and coral. Don't get me wrong.....my hawk is the best fish in my tank. Comes out to see me, "flys" around the tank, perchs everywhere (including upside down), and has the chameleon eyes going! They don't seem to bother hermits (although, if they get one in a molt or between shells....C-Ya!), but my hermits have done fine. The worry is shrimp! Since my guy is huge 4-5", anything I put in there will proly be toast. Link to comment
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