nano reef tank lighting

barton_steph · 10-29-2009, 05:37 PM

Hi! I am wanting to set up a nano reef tank in a 10 gallon aquarium. I talked to the local pet store and they sugested using a T5 current top I think with dual lights. I was wanting some other opinions to see what my options were. I don't want anything too expensive, but I also want to set the tank up correctly. I'm not really sure what I want to put in the tank exactly; I just know I want coral and a few fish. Any suggestions are welcome!!!!

Loverotties · 10-29-2009, 05:48 PM

Welcome to TRT!You need a plan to know what to do and when.

jenglish · 11-01-2009, 07:26 PM

There are some nice T5 setups but a 10 gallon can be a little hard to find equipment for. 20 gallons are usually much easier to find T5 lights for. The tank is generally a pretty cheap part of the total set up. I think most folks with 10 gallon end up using either Powercompacts of metal halides (which are expensive)

ibanez2k · 11-11-2009, 12:59 AM

Well, T5s would be a good choice, you'd be able to keep a good range of medium to medium-high light corals under them with few problems in a 10 gallon since the tank's only 12 inches tall. Do some research and get a plan together of what kind of corals you would like to be able to keep in this tank and, as was said above, it will be much easier to determine the equipment you will need to get started.

Phishnoob · 11-12-2009, 09:14 PM

I would get a 20g 24" long tank if you had an option. It will be easier to keep, with lots more options for cheap stuff. We did a super nice 28g bowfront with a 2 x 96W 24" PC light and kept an anenome and tons of softies no problem (after the tank matured enough for the other factors to not come into play).