Newbie 10 gallon Nano

[brooklynfish]

So, today I decided to try to live the saltyer side of life. I pulled a 10 gallon tank from the rubble (I mean storage), and I am now going to try a nano. Because its my first saltwater tank, I''l need some help on fish and whatever. My graduation is coming up so I'll have some extra doe(I hope).

So, here are some ques:
1-I'm looking at a single 28 watt 10000k fixture form coralife right now. What would this be able to sustain?
2-live rock and live sand. I'm not sure weather to go with the rock or sand or both.
3-powerheads. any ideas?
4-salt. why is it so expensive?!
5-fish/clean up crew/corals?. I was thinking of 2 clowns or 2-3 damsels. Maybe some gobies instead.

Well,thats it.........for now. thanks

[1979camaro]

First, I am going to move this to the nano section.

Your plans look okay.
1) Light should be fine for some low light corals (discosoma, etc.)
2) Live sand is pretty much a waste of money...eventually the rock will seed the sand. You can also use a scoop from another reefer's tank to seed dead sand.
3) I would look for nano-specific powerheads as they are small in size but move a lot of water. I have heard good things about Azoo.
4) Salt is expensive because it is purified and enriched for specific use in salt tanks. Buy it in the big buckets for the best deal.
5) Two percula or ocellaris clowns would be a good option. Damsels will not be a good option. Cleanup crew should go in first.

[jumpfreak26]

good luck with tank, cant wait to see it start! you in highschool or college? '08!

[Fishmonger70]

You should check out the sticky in the Saltwater Nano section. It is is a step by step guide on setting up a nano tank and it is based on a 10 gallon tank. A very good post.

I started a 20 gal a few months ago so I can relate to some of the questions you are having. You should put both live rock and substrate in the tank. I used regular aragonite and not live sand. Also with the light you are looking at, you are not going to be able to have any corals with that low of a wattage. That won't really even support mushrooms. I currently have a coralife 130 Watt PC fixture. As far as critters go, I have 2 Percula clowns, 1 Peppermint shrimp, 8 small blue legged hermit crabs, 4 astrea snails, and a small zooanthid. Planning on getting a couple more small polyps and maybe a mushroom in the near future.

But I would definately check out sticky the Nano forum

[brooklynfish]

What wattage would you reccamend? Please note that I refuse to spend $100 on lights.

thanks

[brooklynfish]

So, I found a current usa 20" 1 x 40w bulb. Its a bit expensive though.

[Lotus]

1. You could probably grow some low-light corals. It's probably a better idea to get some mushrooms and see how you like corals.
2. Get live rock and dry sand.
3. I have a Koralia 1 in my 10g, it seems to work OK.
4. It's not really expensive. It will probably cost you a dollar or less in salt a week for changes.
5. Get some snails, but don't get hermits. Get a mix of snails... astrea, nassarius, cerith. A pair of gobies would be cool, if you could get them. Maybe a shrimp goby and shrimp pair would work for you. Clowns (percula or ocellaris) are a great beginner fish. Damsels apparently get pretty ugly as they age.

[Cichlid-Man]

If you refuse to spend a chunk of money on lights, lower your coral choices. Lights are the most expensive part of the setup IF you want coral. The fish don't use it to grow.

I use a Maxijet 400 in my 10gal, works really well. You might look into 1 step up from that, 600 or more maybe?

Defiently go for the Live rock if nothing else. Just makes a better tank, provides some extra filtration and life. Not to mention can host pods which are food for fish.

[jumpfreak26]

Yeah, you dont have to have corals just yet. But remember, saltwater is expensive. Thats why you dont see beautiful tanks all around, because it does take some money to get it right, and lots of time. Just lettin ya know before you get too far into it.

[Airborneguy]

Hey Jumpfreak... I just saw the name of your Yellow Angel... that's my name!