Macroaglae

[pph_2ppr]

I have a 10 Gallon take cycling with damsels, and was wondering is this tank large enough for any macroalgae of my choice?

If it isn't too much trouble I would like to hear about the best macro(in your opinion)and what care it requires, lighting(is expensive lighting needed), water conditions, ect.

When the cycle finishes I heard That they keep nitrate levels low but need to be pruned back every so often.....Feel free to share pictures of yours, anything will help me at this point.

 

[fijiwigi]

I think Chaeto seems to be the most popular. the light doesn't have to be extreme just your basic plant grow light... Ever think about spending the money on a larger setup its a lot of fun and so much more you can do with the extra space>>>

 

[roka64]

Typically, folks will put macros in a sump/fuge, since I believe it needs light 24x7.

 

[melosu58]

Esp if you are using Calerpa as a macro. They need lighting 24/7 and frequent pruning or they will go sexual and cause your water to be milky looking. I use grape caerpa but I use it in my refuge where I can keep the lights on all the time. I`m also thinking that 10 gallons might be too small and might overun that size tank.

 

[Ziggy953]

My fuge is 20g and a week after trimming my macro it is slam full again. 10g with macro in it? I don't think that is a good idea at all.

I sure do wish you hadn't listened to who ever told you to cycle your tank with damsels. They gave you some poor advice!

 

[melosu58]

I sure do wish you hadn't listened to who ever told you to cycle your tank with damsels. They gave you some poor advice!

I second that. Read this for next time

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/articles/articles/3/1/Cycle-your-salt-tank/Page1.html

 

[pph_2ppr]

hmh sounds like i am going to have some lonely fish? is there anything that would grow in an aquarium this size.....anythinggg? Money is too large a factor in upgrading..

 

[Kurt_Nelson]

I don't understand... you keep saying this about upgrading, but in another thread, you talk about having a 55g that's been full of water for a year. What's to upgrade?

Also... in his/her defense, I don't think pph_2ppr actually intended to cycle with damsels. They were put in a tank that was not cycled, not realizing that it needed to be.

 

[Ziggy953]

That's fair enough. I'm confused too. Are you talking about a 10g tank or a 55g? There are a lot of options for a 55g and very few for a 10. A 10g with proper lighting and filtration you can have an awesome little nano-reef. A couple of small fish such as a Clown goby and maybe a neon goby.

Also since you have fish in the tank already I would be checking those ammonia, nitrItes and nitrAtes pretty regular.

 

[pph_2ppr]

I had the 55 tank filled with plain ro/di water but realized the prize of replacement salt and live rock would handicap my lifestyle. I bought lighting for the 55 though and was wondering if i could turn it into a mangrove forest containing a FEW small fish. The thing is i have about 120 lbs of sand in it, how much sand would i transfer to the 10 gal to get a deep sand bed(how deep in inches) I did get a saltwater test kit and have been checking ammonia and nitrite. Its been a week and a half and ammonia is only reading to be 1 ppm, In the book ConscientiousMarine aquarist it said it should have maxed out at five and started its way back down.

 

[Kurt_Nelson]

In the book ConscientiousMarine aquarist it said it should have maxed out at five and started its way back down.

I know what chart you're talking about and I think it's more meant to show what a typical cycle looks like. The actual numbers, in my opinion, don't really mean much. It all depends on how you cycle your tank, how much ammonia source you put it to start with, etc. When I first cycled my QT tank (10g), I threw in a whole raw shrimp. That was waaaaaay too much! Stunk like crazy and my ammonia shot up above 6ppm, if I remember correctly. The second time I cycled it, I got smart and just used fish food. Ammonia only went up to 1ppm. It just depends on how you cycle it.

I now understand the "upgrade" issue. From your other post, it sounded like you were going to put that fish that's in your QT in the main tank only after a couple days. I guess I assumed it already had live rock, etc. Yeah... that stuff can get pricey. I have no idea about mangroves, so I'll let someone else tackle that.

Regarding the deep sand bed (DSB), technically, DSBs are normally considered 6" deep. That's going to take up a fair amount in a 10g. My sand bed is minimum 4" in places, and it seems to work OK as a DSB. Even then, that's still a lot of space for a 10g.

 

[pph_2ppr]

right now i continue to add sand but am at 2". since Live rock is so far out there would anyone be willing to sell a pound or 2 of live rock to help seed my tank? This would greatly help the quality of life for my fish, my aquariums life, and my problem of being "isolated". In gas i would spent over $50 just to get these couple lbs.

what is the reccomended wattage of a 10g nano-reef?