two questions...

[tcarola154]

So i had several extra 10 gallon tanks laying around (my mom is a biology teacher... enough said) and i decided to have a little bit of fun. I set one up next to my 45 gallon and linked it to my fuge with a diy prefilter/syphon box kinda thing (managed to put about 1/2 gallon of saltwater on my carpet in the process) So my overall goal is to make this a little reef tank because im perfectly happy with my 45 being a fowlr. right now I have a little tetra wisper 10 HOB and two 10w CF lights in the hood. I know im going to need to upgrade the lighting so any suggestions there would be helpful... and i was thinking that a little powersweep powerhead might be good for it as well, but other than that do you think its a good idea/ will work?
I figure, if i have it linked to the rest of my system it wont be as delicate as far as changes in chemistry go, and I already have plenty of biological filtration so i dont really have to cycle it. Right now the tank has like 4 lbs of liverock and a few hermits i tossed (not literally) in... which leads to my next question...

Stocking it... i was thinking about some type of mushroom polyp and a few other softies... as well as a goby/shrimp combo to keep it a little animated. Any suggestions?

 

[tcarola154]

Bump

Im curious about the current light setup... I have 2 of these lights in 10 watt blue- http://www.franksaquarium.com/coralife_mini_compact_fluorescent_lamps.htm
should i base my watt/gallon estimates off of the 10w each or 50w each? in which case i would have either 2 watt/gallon or... 10 watt/gallon.

I want to get this- http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Display.cfm?pCatId=2316 coral pack and i just need adequate lighting for it, whether or not my lighting is enough/too much/ or i need to purchase something else, is my main question i guess.

 

[BillyZ]

a 10 gallon SW system can be a challenge if you're not prepared for the maintenance. This small of a system is typically refered to as a "nano" tank. search the forums here and google for nano tanks you should probably find some good info. I haven't personally run one so anything I could offer would just be what i've read here from others.

 

[MarineFlake]

When you say 'linked' it..What exactly do you mean? Was that to faciliate getting water into it or are you planning on leaving it 'linked'? Nano's in general (I have a 10G with a pair of the self ballasted 50/50's as well) are a little tougher chemistry wise. Maint wise, they are a breeze. Top off with a pair of the 10W 50/50's will run about 4 cups/day depending on your lighting cycle. In my 10G I run 24Hr on 24Hr off. All thats in there are pods, 1 crab, lr w/shrooms, ls and some chaeto. Anyway salinity, ca, alk/ph can be a challange in a 10G depending on if 10G is your total volume, hence my 'linking' question. Don't let anyone deter you, sounds like you got a good plan, starting with some basic polyps and lr would be a great way to go. Once you get the hang of it, you could consider some 'real' lighting and step in to some lps/soft corals like brains, leathers, etc. The only flow in my 10 is the HOB filter. With a 10G you can blow the shrooms right off the rock, so don't get too nuts with a big powerhead. A little yellow watchman or fire goby would be great or pep shrimp/fire shrimp (Though they like to hide...) maybe a skunk. Again, sounds like your on the right track. Do post photos if you can once you get it cooking!

Peace.

 

[tcarola154]

when i say linked i mean i literally have the tank connected to my larger system through a syphon, and a pump for the return. Realistically im dealing with about 65 gallons worth of water... so the chemistry shouldnt be too much of a problem, i keep on top of my salinity levels and everything else is fine. The small tank itself has about 15 lbs of liverock in it, and my 45 gallon tank has more. Im not worried about chemistry really, I have a lot of experience with it, im just worried about lighting...

 

[tcarola154]

heres a photo that i took a couple weeks ago.

the clear tube is the syphon running to a syphon box behind it, that drains to my fuge underneath. It now has 8 lbs more of lr.

As for water flow, the 10 gal hob is only really creating flow on one side so i wanted to maybe get this: http://superfishstore.com/waterworld/nfoscomm/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=378 i wouldnt put the flow directly on the corals, but i figured this could do a better job of generating alternating currents.