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10 gallon reef tank???

12K views 35 replies 6 participants last post by  usmc121581 
#1 ·
Hey i just wanted to know if this is worth it and how much work it will be because when i get my other 10/bigger tank i wanna make my old one a reef tank. I would be focusing on more coral than fish if i had fish i might get 1 or 2 if possible. Also how would you clean it and everything. Tips wanted plz.(maintenance, how to add rocks, what ones to get, what fish to get, equiptment needed, and more!!)
 
#2 ·
Just buy a hob filter and dont use the regular carteges cause they have carbon in them,fill the filter with sponge and some lr rubble or bioballs. then you may want a small powerhead for the corals. for a bottom aragate sand or live sand and i would get dr foster and smiths nano lr pack, its 16 pounds of small peices of lr. then for lighting you have many choices.I would do either the current sattalite 20 inch or a vho or a cp retrofit. For fish you also have many options of fish that will fit in a nano. a clown goby would be a good choice.
To see a nanoreef go the saltwater picks on this forum and check out nicks 10 gallon nanoreef.
I have not set up my saltey tank yet so i cant tell you what the maintenese would be. I would think just a water change one a week.
If you ask me i would deffinetly say its worth it, I am seting up a 20 gallon with the works. But in a 10 gallon it is much cheaper and easier to maintain.
 
#4 ·
Thanks ummm i have an aquaclear filter could i just replace the carterige?

And whats the difference between live sand and racks and normal.

Also dr foster wont ship to canada lol

And i cant see his nano reef i tried :(

Also can someone give me some tips as to inexpensive rocks sand fish and coral for 10g.

thanks

Brandon
 
#5 ·
Oh ok your a canadian. Do you have a local dealer of lr? If so go and buy a peice of lr ir wont cost u very much. the aqua clear filter will be great just either use the ceramic ''noodles'' it cam with or ask your dealer for same lr rubble that you know he has.
''live sand and racks and normal'' I cant understand this that well but i think you are asking us the difference between live rock(lr) and just some rock,Then you are asking the difference between live sand and sand.
The difference is that lr is harvested rite from the ocean and it is shipped wet so all the little algeas,fungis,anenamones.snails,hermits,barnicles,bacteria,and it has a million little critters on it of all sorts thay are small and act as a natural food sorce for you fish,they also clean you tank. live sand is the same its sand with bacteria and litle critters already in it.
the benefits of lr are many. Just by adding a single peace of lr to a huge tank is easily making that tank a much more natural place,you are exposing the tank to all the natural things in the ocean. lr is just a school bus of little ocean people and the rock is just the median. The rock also is great for biological filtration cause it has so much bacteria on it. It is also pretty due to the colorfull algea that lives on it.
''Also can someone give me some tips as to inexpensive rocks sand fish and coral for 10g''
Again i can asure you the lr wont be expensive try you local fish store or a online store,and im sure foser and smith can ship there it will just be a additional fee, For the sand that will cost you 20 bucks for a back of a sand called aragate, You cant use play sand as that will cause constant algea problems, and you dont need live sand.
For corals if you find dr foster and smith can ship there than get there nano coral pack. And again you need to check your lf to see what corals they have and how expensive they are.
For inexpensive fish thats the least of your worrys cause you only need 1 or 2 fish so you can go and buy a pricy fish. its not like stocking a huge tank.
I would still either recemend a mantis tank with some lr sand and a mantis shirmp.
or you could start a fowl(fish only with lr) and have two small fish in there such as a clown goby and a small cling fish. For fish ideas go to saltwter fish species and compatibility and go to my pose''goby compatibiliy'' that no one has answered yet and look at those links cause you can keep almost all of those fish and they are exotic fish.
If you decide to spent the extra mony on the special light you need for coral that go that root.
 
#8 ·
OK let me start off like this I never knew live rock was a school bus, and there were little ocean people. LMAO. I reason for carolline algea is that it will form and whatever it forms on and stuff like hair algea cant grow on it.

Also dr foster wont ship to canada lol
Something to do with costumes I bet.

As for the HOB filter dont need it, let me not say you dont need. because you can use it. You can use it to make current in the tank. But like Trreherd said stick some rubble rock in there. I have a 20 nano that I'm turning into a reef since my 120 is almost done. I have a canister filter on it just to polish the water. and for movement. You can get half base rock, or dead coral pieces and then seed the rest of the tank with live rock. Its cheaper that way if you dont want to spend alot of money. As for the coral do you have any friends that have saltwater or does your LFS sell frags? Frags are a piece of the mother colony that they sell for almost the 3rd of the price that the mother colony goes for. But in order to keep most corals they need a good light. Have you thought about the light, and which one your going to get. The light is the most inportant thing to a reef setup, along with the chemicals thatyou have to put in to matain the health of the coral.
 
#9 ·
I think big als has all of tha stuff. Coral, saltwater fish dont know about live rock or sand. Im gonna get a light and the main reson i want a reef is for the coral. I've seen alot of sites and it says u can get a yellow tang because it grows slow and also maby a clown fish and a few snails or crabs. Also do i need a protien skimmer or whatever?

any more tips are wanted plz...
 
#10 ·
I am not sure where you read that you can have a yellow tang in tank that size. When they are small yellow tangs are still to big for a tank that size, so i wouldnt even bother with looking. You could get away with a clownfish, but only if it is an Oscellaris or Percula. Any other clown would be to big for the tank. And snails and hermit crabs are good too. Although your hermits may eat your snails for the shells. But if you need any other advise just ask.
 
#11 ·
Any fish that can outgrow a 10 gallons even if they are slow growing will still need tank upgrading in the future. Unless you have plans for future upgrade, I wouldn't stick to fish that can outgrow the tank in time.:)

Good luck.:thumbsup:
 
#18 ·
Brandon said:
how do i glue under water though?
You have to glue the decors outside the water and let them dry. Glue is toxic to the fish.:blink:
 
#20 ·
No Blue it is not.

2 part epoxy sold in stick form at the LFS and at Hdepot is non toxic and is commonly used to mount large pieces.

Super glue is in fac so non toxic that it was originally invented to make instant sutures during WW2. After the slaughter in WW1 the Govt. spent money trying to figure out quick ways to stanch excessive bleeding in soldiers. Many soldiers would simply bleed to death from "minor" injuries. Super glue was born. I still use it for that purpose.

To glue underwater is tough. Generally you will pat dry the frag and apply a heavy gob of super glue GEL to the base. Then carefully smoosh it into place in the tank. It's an art because it is easy to damage the coral with to much smooshing. Underwater is possible as well. You only need a bit of patience. The glue tends to want to bubble to the surface. With practice there is nothing to it.
 
#21 ·
Super glue is in fac so non toxic that it was originally invented to make instant sutures during WW2. After the slaughter in WW1 the Govt. spent money trying to figure out quick ways to stanch excessive bleeding in soldiers. Many soldiers would simply bleed to death from "minor" injuries. Super glue was born. I still use it for that purpose.
That is true that is what they train us to do when we are in the field training and get a cut. The only problem is it stings a little. But holds better then any thing that holds wounds together.
 
#22 ·
I must be crazy.:crazy: Problem is the moment I saw the post about glue under water, I thought he meant gluing them under the water.:bluelaugh:
Thanks for that, fellows.:)
 
#23 ·
It almost in possible to glue under water as soon as the glue comes out it forms a skin over it. I tried it and ended up with super glue all over my fingers.
 
#24 ·
usmc121581 said:
It almost in possible to glue under water as soon as the glue comes out it forms a skin over it. I tried it and ended up with super glue all over my fingers.
Yes. I know that.:) But it seems I tend to understand some things in a different way.:)
 
#25 ·
Just to restate. I did in fact say I glue underwater. I have absolutely no troubles doing so.

You can either dry the bottom of the frag and dolop the gel on and then place it in the tank.

Or in fact you can reach underwater with the tube and squeeze the gel out under the piece and then proceed to hold it in place for one minute. It is a bit tricky, not difficult and not impossible. I do this often.
 
#26 ·
caferacermike said:
Just to restate. I did in fact say I glue underwater. I have absolutely no troubles doing so.

You can either dry the bottom of the frag and dolop the gel on and then place it in the tank.

Or in fact you can reach underwater with the tube and squeeze the gel out under the piece and then proceed to hold it in place for one minute. It is a bit tricky, not difficult and not impossible. I do this often.
Thanks for clearing everything, Mike.:welldone:
 
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