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Interested in something very low maintenance


tmnturner

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Hello.

I keep hermit crabs, and I am undergoing a new tank build. I won't be making any steps toward everything for AT LEAST a month.

I want to put a 10 gallon saltwater aquarium inside my new giant tank, and I would like very much to do a nano reef tank. I am hoping to be able to keep a few beginner-friendly coral as well as some invertebrates.

Is it possible to keep a reef tank with no "livestock," other than invertebrates?
I am interested in being able to cultivate small aquatic lifeforms like plankton and stuff that the crabs can walk up and munch on from the edge of the water. Is this something that aligns with the concept of a reef tank, or would I just be needing to do a still-water saltwater pool? Does anyone have any information regarding keeping something like a tide pool, or anything like that?

I am just trying to be able to have something to look at from the side of the tank, as crabs are nocturnal, having something to maintain and look at in the daytime would be nice in the long run. I do not intend to delve into anything larger than a 10g with beginner coral and beginner life forms (such as snails and other small organisms)

Thanks for any sort of guidance you can provide to help me figure out if this is something I am truly interested in maintaining, or if I need to adjust my thought process as I plan my giant tank. =]

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I got this list of beginner coral from reefbuilders.com, and I am curious as to which of these might be the easiest to keep. I keep a UV light in my crab tank, and I wanted to know if any of these could survive with something like that turned on for 12 hours a day, as the crabs require a 12/12 light cycle.

 

Do I need to obtain a blue light specifically for keeping coral?

CoralPoster.jpg

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6 hours ago, tmnturner said:

Is it possible to keep a reef tank with no "livestock," other than invertebrates?

Sure, you can keep anything you'd like.  While feeding fish and fish wastes are often utilized by other livestock, they are not necessary.

 

6 hours ago, tmnturner said:

would I just be needing to do a still-water saltwater pool?

You'll need some form of water flow (a powerhead).  Filtration is also a plus.  From your description, I'd think that an internal filter (in addition to the powerhead) would work best.

 

6 hours ago, tmnturner said:

Do I need to obtain a blue light specifically for keeping coral?

I would think you'd need to supplement a reef light.  Maybe a PAR38 LED reef bulb hung over your corals.  Some of those corals will do alright with weaker lights like a PAR38.

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I don't think land hermit crabs catch plankton out of the water. They don't have anything to catch it with. 

 

You should look up how to keep a small reef tank, and do basically that. Yes, you're going to need an additional light. 

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Inverts are livestock, is the thing. You don't need fish to have a tank do well, though you can run into some problems with too many amphipods or too few free nutrients. One tiny fish, like a trimma goby, wouldn't really increase your maintenance any, and would help keep pods from being trouble. 

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Apologies for the wording. I should have said without fish.

I am just looking for something that doesn't require countless amounts of time to maintain.

I am just trying to learn. I suppose I could have a tank with nothing other than coral, as well. I may wind up going that route, I just wanted to kind of gauge what everything was going to be like before I started making any commitments.

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Simple inverts should be as easy to maintain as coral. A personal favorite are porcelain crabs. The anenome ones will be out visible and the others are a fun game of hide and seek.

 

I would stick to soft corals and inverts. I would still do water changes. As the tank ages it actually requires less work so keep that in mind.

 

I am not sure if the UV will be damaging to the corals or if it's directly overhead or what not?

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