10gal Reef????

[JEEP9783]

Ok this is my first post certainley not my first time here. I have had fw tanks all my life currently have a 55gal with 2 oscars. Ok this is what i have, power head for 15-30 gal tank, the little wisper 15 filter and an extra air pump hooked up to a large air stone that stretches the length of the rear of the tank, I want to setup a small reef/coral tank, i also have 2 regular flourcent screw in bulbs in the lid, tonight will be picking up the salt but now i am lost, every time i read a tread on this it is always left open to the many ?'s that new salt water people have, what to do first, add live sand after first week then live rock or what please do explain in detail what i should do, and if u are tired of reading these 10gal questions then u don't have to say it just don't read this and please dont use short words and stuff for i am new to sw and i do have patience to please be patient with me.

Chris

[YLChik]

Morning Chris and welcome to TRT!!!!!!!

This thread will get viewed more if ya post in GRD ( General Reef Discussion) and that way you can get more answers

IT is possible to start a reef with a 10 gallon tank, and you have come to a great site to get good friendly answers

THe first thing I would suggest is figuring out what types of corals you want to keep before you add anything to your tank.

You corals will determine your lighting and your flow.

For what it is worth sometimes it is easier to start in SW ( saltwater) with a larger water volume until you get use to maintining water quality.

If larger is not possible I would read and ask questions in the general forum and the Nano forum, a lot of folks here have nano's too

I think the bulbs you have on your tank Normal out out ( NO) lights the ons that came with teh tank right?

If so you will need stronger lights for most of the corals out there.

I hope that helps you some, keep posting away and well help get you on track

[JEEP9783]

Well I bought the flourcent screw in bulbs, not the regular ones like a house light but the uv flourcent ones? Not sure on which type of coral though...my girl has just always seen them and say i want one like that, the colors every were and how nothing seems alive till u look and then every thing is really alive, have any suggestions on which types, i mainly just want alot of coral maybe a sea horse n a starfish but other than that just coral

[Chef Choy]

I would look at the different types of corals and decide what group you like......there are hard, soft, sps, lps.......everyone has a different opinion.

[Chef Choy]

look into soft corals. They take a less intense light, and you don't have to worry too much about calcium

[jenajet]

Welcome to trt. As far as setup go ahead and get your liverock and sand and get the tank going. During this cycle period the filter will help with clarity but once the cycle is done, the liverock and sand will really be all you need for filtration. You could keep the filter running with just some carbon but you dont have too. I would go with 2 30 gallon rated powerheads cause the more flow the better. Those lights will not keep corals tho. I trying keeping some mushrooms and xenia in a tank with just normal lighting and they did not do well. I would save for a good power compact light since you got about 2 months at least before the tank is ready for critters. One of these on a 10 would do well.

Coralife 20 Inch Aqualight With 28 Watt 50/50 Lamp Square Pin Base Item Code: ES53000 Price: $38.99 (3) Write a Review

Aqualight Deluxe Series - Single Linear Strip 28 watt 50/50 square pin base compact fluorescent lamp On/off switch Built-in ballast Sleek aluminum housing Highly-polished reflector Acrylic lens cover Dimensions: 20in x 5in x 2 1/2in If you have any questions about the Coralife 20 Inch Aqualight With 28 Watt 50/50 Lamp Square Pin Base or other Aquarium Supplies, please call us at 1-714-385-0080 or e-mail us at customercare@marinedepot.com.

[JEEP9783]

A Madussas Head Is That A Soft?

[jenajet]

Is there another name? I can find info on madussa's head worms but nothing on a coral by that name. Maybe one of the experts will chime in. Sorry no help on that one.

[JEEP9783]

Ok So Tonight I Will Be Adding The Salt To My Tank That Has Been Running For About A Week With Lights On, The Next Step After Putting The Salt In Would Be?

[JEEP9783]

And What Should I Want My Salt Salinity To Be For Soft Corals?

[tims]

you shoudl research each coral to see what is best for each. but tunning around 1.025 is about good for everyone

[JEEP9783]

Can someone send me a chart for diff temp for sg, i was at 82deg and showing 1.022...so i took the only chart and guessed that i was at about 23-24

Update just added LS, got a question what is the ideal temp for your everyday coral, my tank stays between 80-83...live n ga hard to keep it cooler dealing with the expensive electric bills

[tims]

you asked.............


The difference each degree of temperature makes to the SG is not constant, however very approximate corrections are:

• For every 5 degrees the sample is above the hydrometer's calibrated temperature, add 0.001
• For every 5 degrees the sample is below the hydrometer's calibrated temperature, take off 0.001

This is sufficiently accurate for temperatures between 0oC and 40oC, but should not be used outside this temperature range. A more accurate formula is:
Correction (to add on to raw hydrometer reading) = 0.00000359 temp^2 + 0.00006971temp - 0.00151687
If you wish to convert uncorrected SG directly to total dissolved solids (TDS g/L), use the chart below for SG’s up to 1.050. Outside this range, please refer to specialist texts, or report as a temperature corrected SG only. The SG is provided down the left column. The temperature is provided along the top row. The intersection provides the TDS in g/L.

[tims]

the charts....

[tims]

5.0 6.0 7.0 8.0 9.0 10.0 11.0 12.0 13.0 14.0 15.0 16. 17.0 18.0 19.0 20.0 21.0 22.0 23.0 24.0 25.0 26.0 27.0 28.0 29.0 30.0 31.0 32.0 33.0 all degrees C!!!!!!

tomorrow i will give the conversion chart from F to C and Back again