What should I be expecting to set up a 10 gallon reef tank?

[Runsoncoffee]

I’m new to saltwater, but work in a exotic pet store where I do take care of saltwater fish and corals. I want to get into the hobby without a huge tank or massive expenses, so I’m choosing to start with a significantly smaller tank size.
I plan on having a few hardy corals and at most one fish and a pair of inverts
What should I be expecting in terms of equipment needs? What are the best options for fish in a nano tank?

[RedLeggedHermit]

Pistol shrimp and gobies are fun to watch. But the smaller tank size will make for more maintenance

[Runsoncoffee]

Originally Posted by RedLeggedHermit

Pistol shrimp and gobies are fun to watch. But the smaller tank size will make for more maintenance

I’m okay with more maintenance, I’ve got a 5 gallon fresh that I try to clean 3 times a week. Some websites say that a pair of clowns (no bigger than percula species) what’s your opinion on this? Would it be too much bio load?

[BigRedsReefs10]

I wouldn’t do a pair of clowns in a 10, but 1 and a shrimp goby, or other small perching goby would be doable. In terms of maintenance there’s really no difference between a 10 and a 100 other than the importance of daily top offs which take 30 seconds, 10-20% or more weekly water changes and I like to give my rocks a good blasting with a turkey baster 10-15 minutes before I do the change and I’ll turn my flow all the way up to keep it suspended in the water column and most of it will get trapped in my filter floss. Toss that with the change and I’m done, total time on my 20 is 30 minutes start to finish doing 5gs.

As far as equipment goes that depends on a couple of things, how much your looking to spend and what kind of coral your interested in. For a standard 10g tank I’d get a aqua clear 50 and a small power head or 2, fairly impressed with the hyger mini I’m using, and a heater and a light, options there depend on budget, and some rock and sand. I’d say 7-12 lbs of rock should be ok, more importantly than weight of them is the ability for water to flow through and around them, so build your rock work in a way that’s it’s not just piled in pthe center. This will eliminate dead spots and allow more surface area for biological filtration

[Runsoncoffee]

Originally Posted by BigRedsReefs10

I wouldn’t do a pair of clowns in a 10, but 1 and a shrimp goby, or other small perching goby would be doable. In terms of maintenance there’s really no difference between a 10 and a 100 other than the importance of daily top offs which take 30 seconds, 10-20% or more weekly water changes and I like to give my rocks a good blasting with a turkey baster 10-15 minutes before I do the change and I’ll turn my flow all the way up to keep it suspended in the water column and most of it will get trapped in my filter floss. Toss that with the change and I’m done, total time on my 20 is 30 minutes start to finish doing 5gs.

As far as equipment goes that depends on a couple of things, how much your looking to spend and what kind of coral your interested in. For a standard 10g tank I’d get a aqua clear 50 and a small power head or 2, fairly impressed with the hyger mini I’m using, and a heater and a light, options there depend on budget, and some rock and sand. I’d say 7-12 lbs of rock should be ok, more importantly than weight of them is the ability for water to flow through and around them, so build your rock work in a way that’s it’s not just piled in pthe center. This will eliminate dead spots and allow more surface area for biological filtration

Thank you! I knew I couldn’t do a whole lot with fish, but I wanted to double check because there’s a few articles that say otherwise. I’ve got one more question, will anemones hurt fish that I put in the tank? The only non-beginner coral I want is a rainbow bubble tip anemone, there’s some at the store I work at and it’s gorgeous, but I do t know if they’d try to eat any fish I put in there (outside of a clown)

[bribo12]

I’d say a 10 is to small for a bubble tip. It’s doable but they get pretty large and need higher lighting requirements. They will also sting corals as they move around a tank and in a 10 that’s not much room. You’re gonna spend more on lights if you want a nem.

[Runsoncoffee]

Originally Posted by bribo12

I’d say a 10 is to small for a bubble tip. It’s doable but they get pretty large and need higher lighting requirements. They will also sting corals as they move around a tank and in a 10 that’s not much room. You’re gonna spend more on lights if you want a nem.

Alrighty thank you! Might wait on that then

[BigRedsReefs10]

You could look into flower men’s, they stay smaller and usually don’t bother corals and are less demanding. They won’t host a clown obviously but mine do host a porcelain crab, and would probably host anemone shrimp.

[Autumnsky]

A couple of my favorites are Anemone shrimp and Rock Flower anemones! Great fun and a smaller tank with some macro algae (just skip the Caulerpa). One cute little buddy I have really enjoyed and love is my Yellow Clown Goby about 7/8 years old at this point.

After the tank is cycled and stable, get the critters. Pom Pom crab