10gal ideas

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WaterPond

WaterPond

Aquarium Advice Addict
Joined
Apr 30, 2006
Messages
3,139
Location
Corunna, Ontario (outside of sarnia)
Well, i'm geting a 55gal FW and merging my 10gal FW into that so i will have an empty 10gal. This would be my very first SW aquarium, but i have always wanted one. I have alot of experience with freshwater so hopefully that will help with setting up a SW. I am thinking it will be a FWOLR tank that i will later convert into reef. I am ready for the chalange i think, lol. I have a few questions...

1)what would be suitable lighting for this?
2)How much flow should i have?
3)livestock ideas?
4)how much LR ?

I wasnt sure where to post this so move it where you want mods.

TIA for any help given.
 
Lighiting first kinda try to determine what corals you will want this will help you choose a light .... I use the 80 watt dual light , I am backing down the bulbs to 36 watts for mine .

http://www.thatpetplace.com/Product...es/T1/F38AA+0434+0055/EDP/44120/Itemdy00.aspx

I use two mini jet 606's in my ten and love em they are spaced high and low to turn the water over and suspend the fish poo .. you want roughly 10-20x turn over I also use the following filter with out the bio wheels which will cause a rise in nitrates , there is a bit of debate on the filters but with proper care they will help keep the water clean and ditrus out and also give some extra movement which improves gas exchanges, it also gives you a place to hide heaters thermometer probes ect ....

http://www.thatpetplace.com/Products/KW/606/Class//T1/F64CX+0062+0100/EDP/1096/Itemdy00.aspx

http://www.thatpetplace.com/Product...rs/T1/F26DA+0221+0192/EDP/11638/Itemdy00.aspx


Live stock 1 or 2 small O. clowns or Perc clowns , maybe a clown goby. But you are pretty limited due to size and water volume
Live rock you will want about 10 lbs but hard to say depending on what you get some is more dense and other more porous, giving you a larger area ... Also if you get corals this will give you more LR . So if it is not in the distant distant future, you may try 7-8lbs LR
HTH
 
I have a 10 gallon FOWLR too....there's a thread in the FOWLR forum somewhere....I have just a stock 10 gallon strip light (15 watts) with a 10000K bulb. Grows Caulerpa just fine and the coralline is spreading too. I got 20 lbs of live rock and it was worth it...the tank is pleasantly full and I had enough rock to make a nice aquascape with a "cave" of sorts. I also have 20 lbs sand. I have no filter; just 2 ~100 gph powerheads and a nano-skimmer that has yet to skim anything (still working on that). I have one large and a zillion small feather dusters (particulate filtration!), and the Caulerpa takes care of any excess nutrients. I have 4 Astraea snails and would like to get some hermit crabs once I finally evict the two remaining hitchhiker crabs that came with the LR. And I have one fish, a 6 line wrasse (I know, he's little now, I won't keep him in there forever) who is the coolest little fish ever.

With no "powered" filtration the tank is as clear as can be. I do regular water changes, of 2 gallons, every week or two. I think getting the skimmer going will help, I just haven't had time to work on it. The wrasse is a messy fish and eats a LOT.

Here are some pics...more in the thread in the FOWLR forum, too.

P1020488.JPG

P1020480.JPG
 
I agree, the 96 watt aqualight rocks...I even keep SPS under it(make sure you choose species wisley if you ever attempt to do this!)

I would go with a skilter 250, one rio 50 or 90...why have two powerheads and ruin already limited viewing in a 10 gal!...this will give you 33.5X per hour turn over.

Modify the skilter like this.....http://www.aquariumadvice.com/viewtopic.php?t=82083

And this...http://www.aquariumadvice.com/viewtopic.php?t=84000


I like the 150W visitherm stealth heater...it is in the back right corner of my tank, can you see it?! not with a black background!

and get a coralife digital thermometer and powercenter to time you lights!

Here is my one year old 10 gal nano...Roughly 180$ in equipment......
PA110004_1.jpg
 
the stock lighting is crap!! If i buy a new hood with flourecent lighting would this be ok for a FOWLR tank? I love your tank newfound!! that is awsome, i want to do something exactly like that now. I don't really want corals now! lol. I have a aquaclear 30 HOB filter, will this do? lol probably not, but worth asking. And could i just get a powerhead aswell to add a little flow? I don't really want to spend more than 100 bucks on this.
THe hood will cost 20 bucks.
LR 20 bucks
do i really need sand?
salt mix and chemicals(what will i need as far as chemicals go?) 40 bucks
heater (already have one) What do you think?
 
Walmart has a 10 g allon tank set up that uses two incadescant lights. The lights stink, but you can replace the lights with two 20 watts 10K lights that wal-mart also sells in the lighting section. This is what I use, it is not enough for corals, but for a FOWLR tank it really looks great.

Sand is good for certain creatures, I would recommend it honestly, and it looks alot better under nice lighitng, almost solid white.

For equipment, I think it cost me 20 bucks to go from FW to SW, (all I had ot do was buy one more powerhead, I have spent a good buit more, but that was all on live rock, sand, snails and crabs.
 
how much live rock do you think i will need?

Can i used my already cycled FW tank water and add salt to make it an already cycled SW? lol

(i'm sorry for my SW noobieness)

My LFS does not sell sand and i really don't want to spend money on something i don't nesessarily need. is that ok?

What about livestock (besides gobies)

So will it be ok to have:
img_718823_0_88dc40957eb3da2b1005811d63d36700.jpg

Notice the powerhead on one side with a HOB filter on the other. Is this alright, lol. I'm an artist!

:)
 
salt mix and chemicals(what will i need as far as chemicals go?) 40 bucks
Click to expand...

No chemicals, just salt mix. :)

Heck, you don't even need a power filter, but I do agree they are good for flow. I'd take out the sponge part though, and just put some liverock rubble in there. Sponges *usually* can cause nitrate problems, they did for me.
Can i used my already cycled FW tank water and add salt to make it an already cycled SW? lol
Click to expand...


Unfortanetly not. :) Different bacteria and stuff. A raw cocktail shrimp is a good method to cycle with, or buying uncured liverock.

Sand is optional. If you opt to not go with sand, make sure if you get a goby, that it is not a sifter. I like sand, and you can get a bag of regular aragonite sand around here for about $12 for 20 lbs. It's relatively inexpensive. Again though, it's all up to you. If you don't get sand, I would put down some sort of layer for the rock to sit on, so it doesn't move. I can't think of the name of it right now though... Do a search for barebottom tanks, and you may find it. Else I will look later. :)

Livestock, I believe Sadielynn already mentioned a few options. :)
 
another possibility to do liverock with no sand is to put silicone on the bottom tips of the LR that will be in contact with the galss. (you do this by suspending the rock upside down in teh water to keep the rock alive while the siliconing areas dry. Not as easy as putting some type of mat down though.
 
I have a 15 watt fluorescent strip on my 10 gallon...I inherited it from my boyfriend's mother, which made me think what I could put under it....hence the FOWLR.

I also do not have a filter, just 2 PHs and a lot of live rock. I got my LR from Tampa Bay Saltwater and am quite happy with it; it came in with all the caulerpa and also some cup corals that do not require light and are now spreading all over the tank.

Good luck!
 
personally, i don't like clowns, lol. Iid like an easy to care for fish, but one that is different. I like clown gobies though. I would rather get some more questions answered bofre i think of livestock actually.

Could i just cut some type of foam to fit the base of the rocks?
 
The problem with foam, I would think, is that gunk would just seep right into it. I think the stuff I'm thinking about is called Star-Board, or Starboard. Something along those lines.

You can make a pretty sweet looking nano with a clown goby and inverts. Inverts rock.
 
i am thinking of doing this also. could u not just use regualr pool filter sand? u should be able to get that near waterpond. any pool supply store will have it. if i do this i will go extream and go full corals and all that but i think i may just start cheap and go with FOWL. the fish store near me has some really nice figi liverock. 8 bucks a pound sucks but it nice. i am going to use black sand though. always have to be different.
 
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