10 Gallon

[CAC]

Well, the tank i was going to get has fallen through, so im now planning on setting up a brand new 10g (US) tank, and keeping some softies, LPS and possably some SPS, and fish and inverts
The tank will be 18x12x12", with a 50w heater, maxijet 600 powerhead to give me a turnover of just over 15x. I will be using halides (not sure weather they will have actnics, but will be 150w, which should be great in a 12" deep tank) so it will be open topped. My stocking will have to not be jumpers, and id like to get a pair of false percula clowns if possable (some say yes, others no regarding size. Mainly jumping is the issue...)
Ill be using a refractometer too.
5Kg of LR, and some extra when corals come attached to rocks...

Corals wise im thinking of getting one open brain for the centre, some zoos for one side, which should hopefully spread all along that side (how long would that take???) and then the same for the other side, but with mushrooms. Think i could fit a hammer or anchor coral in the aswell? Oh, and may get some caulerpa for along the back, or some finger leather or something.

Now the questions. I will be getting an API SW master test kit, so i can do ammonia, pH, nitrate and nitrite test, will i need any others?
How thick of a layer of sand? And what type?
What about a clean up crew? I was thinking of 1 cleaner shrimp, 5 scarlet hermits, but with snails i kinda get lost...What would you think would be good, and how many?
With fish stocking, would i be better with a pair or a single clown, and what are the advantages and disadvantages?

Sorry if i missed anything out.

Thanks alot, Mikey
EDIT: Spelling

 

[SkiFletch]

Well, if you ask me, thats overkill lighting for the corals you listed. You might even burn your mushrooms with a halide in a shallow tank such as a 10g. zoos and an open brain would do great in there, as would a hammer. If you want something to encrust, you might want to go with a favites brain for an easy one, or if you want something a little more difficult, blastomussa or acanthestrea

If you want to keep any LPS corals in a nano, you'll NEED calc and alk test kits and you'll need to dose longterm. When the tank is young your aragonite sand should buffer the corals' uptake of calc/alk but as the tank ages it'll deplete calcium and alkalinity.

Sand should be around 1.5" deep and no deeper than 2"

Snails, I'd add 2 cerith, 2 nassaurius, and 1 trochus to the 5 scarlets and 1 cleaner

If I were stocking I'd use a single clown and a goby/pistolshrimp pair if I were to make a 10g (and I've been considering it )

 

[CAC]

Ok, well what about if i had the lighting, say, 40cm from the top of the tank, and had the shrooms in a shadyer place?
Id really like some mushrooms, so id love to do it...
Would the single clown be happy and still active, or would it hide more?
If i got the goby/shrimp (watchman and pistol ) then would they be out, or hiding, and would the shrimps get along?
Never heard of trochus snails, so i doubt id be able to get them....
By calc and alk tests, do you mean calcium and alkalinity tests??

Thanks, Mikey

 

[SkiFletch]

Elevating the halide would also be somewhat necessary to keep the heat out of the tank in the summer and it might work for the shrooms to.

Clowns are pretty much always open water swimmers unless they're scared into rocks by predators.

The goby shrimp would hang near their burrow entrance most of the time and I dont know if the shrimps would get along since I'm not familiar with how pistols behave.

Trochus snails are somewhat tough to get a hold of, but are great grazers if you can find them.

Yeah, calc and alk means calcium and alkalinity

 

[CAC]

Ok then, what height above the surrface would you reccomend then?

I think ill stay away from the gobies/shrimps for now, and might get a clown and a fire goby or yellow clown goby.

What sand would you surrgest, and how much?

Thanks, Mikey

 

[Redstratplayer1]

if I were to make a 10g (and I've been considering it )

Is ski going to start a nano tank ?That would be awsome do it . You could help use nano noobs start are tanks with another of you awsome threads.

PLease please please
PLease please please
PLease please please
PLease please please
PLease please please Do it start a new tank!!!!
PLease please please
PLease please please
PLease please please

hey i know what you could do it for cheap ,.

Tank

 

[SkiFletch]

Lol, omg that guy who built the 55 stole all my hood ideas... Mine's allready 3/4 made and it looks just like his. Anyways, my diabolical nano plans are on complete hold until I finish my hardware modificatoins to my 45. Prolly be at least a couple months, so dont hold your breath

 

[Redstratplayer1]

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr ski grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

A well i shure that when it is up and running it will be awsome .

 

[CAC]

What do you think about getting some T5s for it? How many bulbs (would have to be 2ft, nothing is made any shorter) would you think id need to keep LPS, mainly brains, both open and closed and also hammers etc.

Thanks, Mikey

 

[SkiFletch]

3-4 T5s spanning the length of the tank

 

[CAC]

Ok cool, do you think 4 would be ok?
Its mainly the fact that getting the halides are about £40 more expensive, and then £25 for hanging brackets because my mum doesnt want something so heavy hanging from the ceiling etc etc.
Would i still get good growth?
The other good thing about them is, i can have actnics, and i can turn them on separately in the evening and afternoon, so not so much of a shock, and i can night view
I presume i couldnt have any acroporo then?
Id probably get an open brain, some zoas, some mushrooms, a hammer coral, a finger leather and a toadstool, and take it from there...Or might just get some rocks with a mixture of things on them, and see how it goes...

Would be able to have most of the normal LPS' that you get, or just a few easy ones?

Thanks, Mikey

 

[SkiFletch]

4 T5s on a tank that shallow would get you pretty much any LPS you wanted. SPS would struggle and likely loose their color/brown out.

 

[CAC]

What do you think i should do in terms of dosing the tank etc?

Thanks, Mikey

 

[SkiFletch]

First, learn the reef chemistry basics and then learn the two part addative

 

[CAC]

Do you think i should add anything?? I cant really make out what i should and shouldnt be adding from those, or what i should look for in the alk and cal tests!

Thanks, Mikey