Coral and 10 Gallon?

[Rxblade123]

Can you grow healthy corals in a 10 gallon? I was surfing the net and decided to read some things about Corals and LR and started to get more and more interested in this stuff. I only have a 10 gallon to use though. So do think you could have a tank with LR and Corals? and maybe some fish? or inverts?

 

[Jonathan G.]

you need special lighting for corals, but my friend just set up a 10 gl saltwater tank and has either an emperor or penguin bio wheel filter and everything is going cool. He's cycling it out and about to put a clown and an orange/green mandarin in it.
I am about to set up a 75 gl salt water in about a week. And after i get that set up im gonna set up a couple 10-20 gl tanks and get some of these lights and i was either gonna get a pc kit or one of these upgrades http://www.aquacon.com/smallaquariumlighting.html In which you still wouldn't be able to grow hard corals but you should be able to grow soft corals. Im still a beginner so dont take my word for it but i am pretty well informed with the aspects of salt water tanks

 

[Rxblade123]

What kind of special lighting?

 

[Jonathan G.]

for hard corals and clams you'll need Metal Halides (MH) but if you just want soft corals and things of that such power compact flourescents should do the job. I know if you just wanted to keep fish in it regular flourescent bulbs would do the trick.

 

[EL Diablo]

you do not have to have MH lights to keep many Hard Corals and can keep plenty of LPS with PC lights.
3-5 watts per gallon should be fine. more is better

For a begginer I wouldnt recommend a 10 gallon for my first SW set up.
too much room for error while you are learning. not saying you cant do it.
just more challenging.

If your dead set on a small set up check out the JBJ Nano-Cube DX. with 48watts of PC lighting you can keep plenty of LPS corals. Frog spawn, brains, Candy Canes just to name a few. I would do a ton more research.

Good Luck

Jonathan G.
Your buddy will more than likely lose his Mandarin if he keeps it in a 10 gallon.
way too small a tank and not even close to enough LR to support one.

 

[Jonathan G.]

yea i think he just threw that idea out there but idealistically he is gonna put in an anemone and a pair of clownfish

 

[Rxblade123]

Would 9.6 Watts per gallon be too much for a Coral Tank? I went around on Hellolight and they have a 20" Lighting Hood that gives off 96 Watts. And also do you know some good sites that have lots of info on setting up a SW tank with LR and corals and such. I tried google, but usually found how to cycle the tank.

 

[Jonathan G.]

They're two good books out that are very informative when starting your tank, The New Marine Aquarium and The Conscientious Marine Aquarist. These are both good books but a trip down to your local library wouldn't hurt, just make sure everything you get is newly printed as equipment and information on how to keep a marine aquarium is constantly changing. As for other websites ill send you a PM with some links that should help you out. If you have anyother questions just PM me and i'll try to help you out.

 

[Jonathan G.]

As for the lighting question i believe that should be suffiecient to keep most corals, however i would stay away from hard corals. just make sure you dont overcrowd and that you know how to take care of a small tank cuz the smaller the tank the more apt it is to have dramatic spikes in ph and other harmful things that will kill your marine life.