New to salt 10 gallon reef

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jill530

jill530

Aquarium Advice Regular
Joined
Jul 24, 2009
Messages
68
Location
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
I want to start a ten gallon reef tank and after doing alot of research and talking to some friends that have salt tanks I think I have mostly everything figured out about starting it. I do have a few questions though and figured that I would get clear answers here. First is filtration. How necessary is filtration on such a small tank as long as there is alot of live rock? Im under the impression I could probably do without if I have enough water flow. Is this correct or would I need a basic hang on back filter? Another is lights. Ive been looking into 2x18 watt.Coralife Aqualight Deluxe Double Linear Strip Light Fixtures
Would this work on a standard ten gallon? And would that keep my options opened for most easy to keep coral? Everything else I pretty much have figured out I think...
http://www.lnt.com/show_product/48109/?utm_source=gan&utm_medium=k76919&utm_term=affiliate
 
Sorry Im using different posts but i keep forgetting to add things...As for flow would a koralia nano be good for a ten gallon? Or is that not enough?
 
I can answer a few of these but wait for someone more experienced to answer before making any big decisions.

In my opinion, I think you could get away without having any mechanical filtration if you have enough live rock and sufficient flow. The lights you linked to should also be fine. T5 lights are usually recommended but those power compacts seem to have enough wattage for a 10 gallon. It really is dependent on which types of corals you want to keep.

As for the nano cube, it is sort of based on your preferences. The good thing about them is that they require relatively little set-up, and if you really want to, you can modify them in certain ways.

Hope this helps at least a little :)
 
I have a pump from the filter and a koralia nano for my 14 gallon...not sure if same rules apply, but I would guess you should have flow in two areas if your not going to have a filter....just my opinion..not sure how right that is
 
I have a 10 gallon nano and I have a 170gph marineland powerhead for flow in mine... I also have a 10 gallon (whisper I think...) filter with no carbon for added flow too... I'll probably take that out once the tank is more established and I figure out if I really need it or not... Right now I'm running carbon through it for a few days cuz I had quite a bit of nutrient issues but it's fixed so I'll be taking it out... no need for it.If you have enough live rock you shouldn't need any mechanical filtration. Once I take my filter out, I'll just have live rock for mine. You'll need to make sure you have enough though. For my 10g I have about 20 lbs. of live rock and about 2 inches of sand. (About 10 lbs.) So in all I have about 30 lbs. of live sand and rock...As for light, yes that light will be sufficient for easy coral. I'm a newbie too so I'm still learning... but I've only got 30 watts of light over mine and I have lots of zoas, mushrooms, frogspawn, green star polyps and even an acro thriving under that much... I believe in a 10 gallon since they're closer to the light, you get away with having less watts per gallon... If I were you though, I'd get the 20" 1x96... I'm probably going to switch out my light for that one soon. :)As for having flow in two areas, you might not need it in a 10g... I've turned off my back filter and still notice quite a heavy flow with my 170gph powerhead throughout the whole tank... I may even have too much... Fish aren't complaining though so I guess it's just right...
 
Ok. I will start with one power head for now and see how things go. As for lights I think im sticking with the one listed. If I am right, it should give me all the light i am going to need and its pretty cheap for a light.
 
jill530 said:
If I am right, it should give me all the light i am going to need and its pretty cheap for a light.
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It will be enough for lower to medium lighting. You will not be able to have high end lighting corals with those lights. When you say it`s all the lighting you`ll need I dont want you to think it will cover all corals. You`ll need T5HO system for that.
 
SLove1104 said:
... but I've only got 30 watts of light over mine and I have lots of zoas, mushrooms, frogspawn, green star polyps and even an acro thriving under that much...
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The acro is thriving? How long has it been in the tank? I'm just having a hard time thinking that any acro is "thriving" under 30W of normal fluorescents. I'd hate for someone else to go down the same road if your coral has only been in a few months and really hasn't acclimated to its new environment yet.

I believe in a 10 gallon since they're closer to the light, you get away with having less watts per gallon...
Click to expand...

No. And that's why the watts/gallon rule breaks down on smaller tanks. Corals need a set amount of light, regardless of tank size. If you look at most big tanks, you'll find the SPS up high in the tank, even with Metal Halide lighting. That's because even with Metal Halides, you're still not really supplying all the light they normally get on the reef.

Think of it this way - if you had an acro in a quart jar of water, by the watts/gallon rule you should be able to have enough light with a night light. But we know that's not right.
 
Kurt_Nelson said:
The acro is thriving? How long has it been in the tank?...
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Never mind... answered my own question when I looked at a post you made a week ago! :rolleyes:

I've had a tank up for about a month and have been having problems... I won't get into that as it's in another thread already...But it's a 10g nano with a few corals and the corals don't seem to be doing so well.

I have two zoa colonies, one won't open and the other, I've had up to 90% of it open but since a recent bloom of algae, most won't open now. I have a small frag of GSPs that won't open as well... And a couple shrooms that are shrivelled too...
Click to expand...
 
Kurt_Nelson said:
Never mind... answered my own question when I looked at a post you made a week ago! :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

If you'd have given me a chance to answer, you'd know that the acro and corals I'm speaking of is not in MY tank that I speak of in my post asking for help, it's in my boyfriend's tank... and his has been up for about 9 months. Granted, his has a 2x18 t5, still only 38 watts. It's high up in the tank, and yes... thriving. Was bought as a small frag and has grown considerably. If your definition is thriving is different from mine, then I'm not sure what to tell you...

As for my previous posts asking for help, they were help on MY new tank. My boyfriend's tank is doing very well. I started with the same corals as he did so I might learn from his tank but came across a problem that even exeprienced reefers don't come across... hence why I had to seek help everywhere I could... I've solved the problem with my tank with much thanks to my local guy. It wasn't a common every day problem, hence I came online to seek answers as one, I have nothing better to do for 8 hours a day at work... two, I'd rather not burden my boyfriend with my tank as he's got two to keep up with himself... AND I'd rather learn on my own... and three, just merely trying to get different opinions. And well, four... I'm bored, and this is what I do... go on forums and chat. So if by me asking questions on this forum proves me a newbie, great, cuz I am... As I'm sure you once were. But searching through my posts to see what I know and throwing it in this post to prove it is just petty (as is this... :rolleyes:) . I was merely stating my experiences for a fellow newbie. Sorry I'm not a know it all when it comes to reefing yet...
 
Kurt_Nelson said:
No. And that's why the watts/gallon rule breaks down on smaller tanks. Corals need a set amount of light, regardless of tank size. If you look at most big tanks, you'll find the SPS up high in the tank, even with Metal Halide lighting. That's because even with Metal Halides, you're still not really supplying all the light they normally get on the reef.

Think of it this way - if you had an acro in a quart jar of water, by the watts/gallon rule you should be able to have enough light with a night light. But we know that's not right.
Click to expand...

I'm sorry to hear you don't agree, but there are differing opinions on the watts per gallon "rule". I tend to rely on experience (whether mine or those I know of) rather than online opinions, as the internet is full of know it all scientists... A person obviously has to take everything with a grain of salt and use common knowledge to differentiate between the right and wrong answers/opinions... I don't expect this person to agree with my opinion as the next person. I personally don't have much experience but I have plenty of friends and acquaintances that do on top of very experienced LFSes I frequent. I'm lucky to have knowledgable guys in my area... And even at that, they ALL differ in opinions in this hobby, proving no single opinion is correct. So I appreciate your opinion differs from mine, but I was merely posting what my opinion was based on reefers I've spoken to and my own experience.

Your quart of water example was extremely exaggerated. We all know that it would also depend on the kind of lighting, not just the wattage. It also depends on the distance from the light... the par... many other factors. Not that I've tried, but I'm sure smaller aquariums CAN have harder corals given that they are provided the correct specs and environment. I have no further opinion on it, as like I said, I haven't tried it. Since of course you seem to have more experience, it's possible you've tried it and proved this theory correct so I apologize. I'm not sure about SPS or LPS corals but yes, I have seen soft corals thrive in a 1/2 gallon of water. My LFS around the corner from my house has a 1/2 gallon nano with zoas and a few other softies under a 3 watt fluorescent. Not quite a quart, but you get the idea... Yes, I know... huge difference between a zoa and an acro but just saying...
 
Okay. Well I plan to keep the lower light LPS, corals similar to mushrooms, and polyps that dont require too much light. Whats your recomended way to cycle? I plan to just get some live rock and let the die off be my source of ammonia. Then after its cycled add a clown goby or something similar in size.
 
SLove1104 said:
If you'd have given me a chance to answer, you'd know that the acro and corals I'm speaking of is not in MY tank that I speak of in my post asking for help, it's in my boyfriend's tank... ...
Click to expand...

Sorry. I was just going by the words you typed...

but I've only got 30 watts of light over mine and I have lots of zoas, mushrooms, frogspawn, green star polyps and even an acro thriving under that much...
Click to expand...
... and the reference to needing help with YOUR tank. Yeah... it's just semantics, but if the wrong words are used, then the wrong assumptions are made!

You made the recommendation to the original poster that a 2x 18W compact fluorescent fixture (what they were originally asking about) would be enough to grow many different corals, including an acro. I disagree. And I said so.

As far as searching through your posts to find "what you know", sorry... even though you think I'm petty, that wasn't the purpose. I was just trying to see how long your tank had been up because as I said... I was having a hard time believing an acro was doing well under the lighting you implied.

Sorry you decided to take offense, and I was definitely a little snippy in my response - sorry about that. But don't jump on my case for just reading the words you wrote and not knowing that you really didn't mean what you wrote!
 
No harm no foul. I don't separate between mine and my boyfriend's tanks, therefore when I say mine, I can be talking about any of our 9 tanks. I hadn't expected anyone to think that when I say my tank is doing great, that one would assume it was the tank in question that I was having a problem with.

And yes, you are absolutely correct, I should not have stated that it was ok, as newbies will try anything and everything they hear. I was merely stating that it works for one of my tanks... but yes, you are correct, I don't actually RECOMMEND it. So an apology if it seemed I was recommending it. I would not recommend it at all.
 
Even if you think you are limited by low light lps, that is still a lot of selection. You will be very pleased.
 
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