10g nano tank setup

[Cody]

ok well parker inspired me, well i want a fish but i was also thinking of sum corals, like polyps or sumthin, wut would b good and how do u acclimate corals?

PS plz dont give me a book to read or sumthing gay like that, i would like to kno YOUR opinions thank you

 

[Navarre]

Before any form of fish or corals are decided upon we need to know a few factors about the tank. Mainly its filtration and its lighting.

You will need at least 10lbs of liverock, a skimmer (if you want fish) and for the lighting you will need as many as you can fit under the hood. (around the 10k range )

 

[parker313]

Cody,

Corals are a personal choice. I prefer the polyps and other softer corals that don't have as heavy a requirement for the super strong lighting, so I didn't upgrade my lighting as far as I could go.

To acclimate my corals, I just did them the same as I do fish - float for 15mins and then put the coral only (no bag water) into the tank. I don't know if that's the "proper" way to do it, but my polyps were all opened back up within a half hour.

Other than corals, you can get lots of movement and action with your cleaner crew - hermit crabs, snails and a shrimp or 2. In such a small tank though, be careful with your shrimp and corals. If you get some of the more sensitive corals, the shrimp could trample all over it or even eat it and the coral may not be able to withstand that.

 

[chkltcow]

I've always heard inverts and corals are more sensitive than fish to acclimation, so you're supposed to do it slower. For the polyps I got, I floated the bag for about an hour and a half, and ever 15 minutes I would go and take a bit of the bag water out and toss it... and a bit of my tank water in. Other people have recommended the drip method in which you put the bag in a bucket and start a siphon from your tank... then tie off the hose so you're getting a slow drip into the bag with your corals or other inverts.

Personally I got a wee bit worried the first night I put mine in. At the store, the vast majority on the crown were open and looked good. After I put it in my tank, even after acclimating it slowly.... some of the polyps looked bleached and wouldn't open. This was taken the night I did it, last Wednesday.

But over the weekend more and more have opened up, some of the ones that were white have regained their color and started to open, and at Navarre's suggestion in the other thread... I even got them to close up on a few pieces of zooplankton! Now they look more full than they did in the shop! This picture is from Monday night.

I'm not sure what's up with the white balance on my camera. I assure you in person they look more purple, not brown like in those pics. I think the flash is throwing the colors off, even on every white balance setting on my camera. I'll try to take some more pics later without flash... maybe of them eating.
Oh, and as for tank setup on mine.... it's in a 20g long with a 65w Current-USA Satellite power compact lighting rig... 50/50 10,000K daylight/Actinic 03. Water temp is a steady 81.

 

[Cody]

i knew that i had to get lr and sand but i dont kno wut u mean by upgrade ur lights? does that mean i should go buy the reef lights?

 

[hyrookin]

yeah, pretty much. for keeping corals, you'll want something
like power compacts or metal halides.

as far as acclimating the corals, I would recommend the drip method,
as well as for fish.

 

[ste2k3]

PS plz dont give me a book to read or sumthing gay like that

Then why do you expect everyone here to help you, if your not prepared to read up on what your about to do? I know that this may not sound very exciting but if you set the tank up with no knowledge of what your doing, then sooner or later something will go wrong .

IMO, your thinking too far ahead, I would consider what your going to filter, light and heat it with first.

ste

 

[Cody]

ok well parker inspired me, well i want a fish but i was also thinking of sum corals, like polyps or sumthin, wut would b good and how do u acclimate corals?

PS plz dont give me a book to read or sumthing gay like that, i would like to kno YOUR opinions thank you

wow did u read any of my first post, i want to kno ur opinions about what the best way to acclimate the fish and coral would b, i already kno what im gonna heat, light, and filter it with. i already have a book and people are telling me how to do it, im sorry i like having opinions before i rush into things

 

[chkltcow]

wow did u read any of my first post, i want to kno ur opinions about what the best way to acclimate the fish and coral would b, i already kno what im gonna heat, light, and filter it with. i already have a book and people are telling me how to do it, im sorry i like having opinions before i rush into things

So then fill us in on the details, please. What lighting are you gonna use? What for filtration? Powerheads and circulation? How much live rock? How much sand? Sump/refugium?

 

[ste2k3]

wow did u read any of my first post, i want to kno ur opinions about what the best way to acclimate the fish and coral would b, i already kno what im gonna heat, light, and filter it with. i already have a book and people are telling me how to do it, im sorry i like having opinions before i rush into things

In that case, like chkltcow said, fill us in on the details. i.e. make/model of skimmer (if your having one) filter type/size, lighting etc etc.

ste

 

[Ed4567]

No offence meant Condy but by the tone of your first post it sounded like you hadnt really got the tank details sorted out- hence the comments above.

If I am getting corals from a fish shop I use airline tubing to drip acclimitise over a period of an hour, or more depending on sensitivity, to avoid getting their water in my tank. If I am getting the coral from a source who's water I trust (hobbyist) then I often just put a small hole in the bag and float it in my tank, allowing diffusion to slowly acclimitise it overnight.

Ed

ps. it also depends on the coral, eg. pulsing xenia doesnt seem to do well when left in a bag for a long period of time so gets a shorter acclimitisation period.

 

[Cody]

wow did u read any of my first post, i want to kno ur opinions about what the best way to acclimate the fish and coral would b, i already kno what im gonna heat, light, and filter it with. i already have a book and people are telling me how to do it, im sorry i like having opinions before i rush into things

In that case, like chkltcow said, fill us in on the details. i.e. make/model of skimmer (if your having one) filter type/size, lighting etc etc.

ste

fine im making a refugium out of a ac500, getting a aquaC remora skimmer, and getting sum 50/50w coralife bulbs well since i have an 18 tall and it is the same dimensions on top as the 10 im gonna get 20lbs of LR, some LS dont kno how much yet, and then the clean up crew will b added after a few weeks, then a madarin goby, and then it depends on wut i want to get after that

 

[Great Lakes]

Time out!!!!

The Mandarin will not survive in anything under a 75 gallon tank.....ever.

Before adding any corals, make sure your lighting does not cause a temp swing of more than a degree. This is one of the largest problems in a smaller tank.

GL

 

[Cody]

ok thanx for the advice GL, ill probably stick with clowns then

 

[Navarre]

Great Lakes is right, Mandarins are stunning fish but they are specialist feeders that eat almost 100% copopods. They can live in smaller tanks but the reason they need large tanks is because it needs at least 75-100 gallons of water to keep the amount of liverock eneded to supply it with these copopods. The fish itself doesnt need this swimming room like a tang does but it does need the room for its dietary requirements.
Also a tank that is less than 1 year old is simply not mature enough for a mandarin as the Pod population is not high enough to sustain it.