Planning 10g Nano reef

[Dannymartin_20]

Hello, this is my first post here. I want to take the plunge into saltwater tanks. I had a 10g nano reef in mind. I plan to stock with:

• 2 clownfish
• 1 skunk cleaner shrimp
• 2-3 hermit crabs
• 3-4 snails

I plan on using a Current USA Marine LED (18-24 inch) for some soft corals and a few low light LPS corals:

• Button Polyps
• Green Star Polyps
• Toadstool Leather Coral
• Mushrooms (not too fond)
• Xenia
• Hammer Coral (favorite)
• Sun Coral (maybe)

Will that be enough light? This seems to be a good light and it's only $108 on Amazon ($90 used) which is a huge plus. I also like the Ramp timer and programable sunrise/sunset. Any tips? Comments? Suggestions? Thanks in advance!

Danny

 

[Sniperhank]

The light should be fine for low light corals. I'd be more concerned with the clowns in a 10 gallon tank. They just get too big and need a 20 gallon.
Look at liveaquaria's nano fish section. They do a great job of estimating how many gallons fish need compared to other places. It will send you in the right direction.

 

[Dannymartin_20]

Thanks. I have changed my stock accordingly.

• 2 Firefish
• 1 skunk cleaner shrimp
• 2-3 hermt crabs
• 3-4 snails.

I'm worried mostly about the coralas. I think FOWLRs are boring. Is there anything I should know about corals? I've been reading a lot about corals but I'm still intimidated. I'm really good with freshwater plants (they are growing like weeds in my 10g) but I'm not sure about corals.
Also, how long can I leave a reef tank unattended? I leave to Europe every other year for 2 weeks, other than that I do a few short 3-5 day vacations closer to home. I have left my freshwater tanks unattended for 2 weeks while on vacation and everything was fine upon arrival. How will my nano reef fare with 2 weeks on its own?

 

[Sniperhank]

It can. My reef tank survived a 3 day power outage with no lighting or flow. My biggest concern would be keeping up with the top offs during that time. My 55 reef has 1 gallon of evaporation a day during the winter and about a half gallon during the summer. If not kept up with, as water evaporates it raises the salinity in the tank. This can put levels out of range to be unhealthy for both fish and coral.