Starting a nano tank!?

willieturnip

I want to start a small reef tank because I want a salt water tank but a small tank will be easier to manage.

It will be 10 gallons.

I only have $50 but I already have everything I need from my old tropical tank.

I already have a t8 light which is about 3000ks I think so it's REALLY bright! The CRI is about 135 I think.

I got rid of all my tropical fish and used a kilogram of table salt to every 30 litres of water because I found out thats how much salt you need from the back of a salt packet I found at my LFS. The tank had already been running with tropicals for years so the tank was already cycled.

I put in a nemo yesterday and he is lying on the gravel with his fins clamped. Is this because I didn't float him in the bag for 15 minutes? The temperature felt the same so I thought it would be alright? What an I do to make him happy again?

By the way I'm only 9 years old!

wake49

Willie, I see your point. Unfortunatly I don't think that the people you are most trying to communicate with will see the satirical nature of this thread.

I know its frustrating that as we get one person to correctly set up a tank, three more join posting a thread very similiar to yours.

All that we can do is offer the good advice and hope that the ones that follow it are listening...

onefish2fish

you say you want to start a reef tank but then you say you went ahead and added a clownfish, which indicates you already started. i could be wrong but my gut tells me your using aquarium salt and not a marine brand salt which needs to be pre-mixed atleast 24 hours in advance and then measured with a refractometer or at the very least a hydrometer however i always suggest the refractometer because it is much more accurate and not much more money if you look around. ive seen them on ebay cheap. you cant skip pre-mixing salt without running into problems before you even start. honestly i feel the best bet for the clown, atleast for the time being, return it to the store you purchased it from. if the tank previously was freshwater and "mature and cycled" adding salt doesnt convert it into a marine enviroment. you are going to want to start with an empty tank, reverse osmosis water or atleast distilled water, a marine salt, a small powerhead, 10 or 15 pounds of live rock, and either a less then 1'' sandbed or in between 4'' - 6'' as any other depth will cause problems down the road. i personally am not a fan of crushed coral or gravel in a marine tank as the large cracks allow food and detritus to settle and get trapped, breaking down, decreasing your water quality and raising your nitrates and phosphates. i personally like the 4'' sand bed because anaerobic areas where denitrifying bacteria can breakdown nitrates into harmless nitrogen gas. HOB filters, canister filters, even wet/dry filters, any filter sponges, un-cleaned filter socks, or anything that can collect debris, detritus, un-eaten food will quickly degrade the water quality in a saltwater tank, esp. one of this size. This is a big difference in filtration on a freshwater tank. In saltwater you want to keep these things in the water column long enough for fish/corals to eat, a protien skimmer to remove, or a water change performed. It is possible to use a "freshwater filter" but i dont suggest doing so, or at the very least keeping it clean frequently.
since you say you want a reef, the lighting you have now isnt going to be able to support corals. i suggest reading and asking as many questions that you can for awhile, which will better prepare you for what your looking for as well as allow you to save some more funds to support this. i must say i admire and respect your interest in fish, let alone the marine hobby. remember good things will come with patience.
-OF2F

willieturnip

Thanks for the advice OF2F, all right on he money.

Don't worry, the tank doesn't exist. I was actually just joking about a bit, making a bit of a point. Though as wake pointed out, the people I'm trying to communicate with will never read this (or more to the point understand what's being conveyed).

NC Frank

Best thread ever. :)

molliefan09

lol.....good one willie!! my eyeballs almost popped out of my head in astonishment as i read your original post AND hearing some advice you have given others really surprised me you were only 9!!! lmao