Thinking about getting a 10-20 gal...

ElMonoDelMar · 10-26-2003, 10:35 PM

Hey guys. This is my first post here. A little background about myself: I work at a pet store (I mainly deal with reptiles and small animals) and my friends there have been pushing me to get a salt tank. They want me to enter into the first annual Petropics Tank-off. We're gonna have a competition with different classes to see who has the best tank. The store owner is even gonna pitch in some store credit for prizes. Anyways... I think I wanna get in to this reef tank deal.

I really think I need to get a nano going since I will be off to college next year and I want to be able to take it with me. I really wanna keep the cost as cheap as possible and I was wondering what the best size would be to go with. I want something that I can put some colorful fish in but all my friends are always telling me that anything smaller than a 30 would mean that you'd have to buy baby fish and trade them in because they'll get too big. I just need some input from you guys to give me a little idea on what size tank to get, an estimate on the startup cost and if i'd be able to put cool fishies in the tank. Thanks for your guys' help and sorry about the ranting and rambling in my message.

ElMonoDelMar · 10-26-2003, 10:48 PM

http://www.efishtank.com/articles/10..._mini_reef.htm

Is this a pretty good sumation on what a 10 gallon reef would entail?

EdgeKrusher · 10-27-2003, 02:27 PM

It's pretty good summation. But your friends are wrong about the fish. There are alot of fish that don't get bigger than 4". You could only keep a max of two fish. Ocellaris or True Perculas are a common nano fish. I have an Ocellaris Clown, and a royal gramma in my 12 gallon. Go to www.nano-reef.com, it's a forum specifically for us nano keepers. You'll find many answers to the types of fish and corals you can keep there. Also do a search on this site for nano reef fish. IMO a skimmer is a must have for a nano unless you are willing to do 2 water changes a week. I change my water once a week.
I have about 1 1/2" sand bed, 20 lbs of LR, those two fish, 8 dwarf hermits, 2 astrea snails, and 3 hawiian strombus snails. I don't have any corals yet due to inadiquate lighting, but lighting isn't a big concern with only fish. And for this contest, sounds like it's comming up quick. One very very very important thing to remeber is that even though it's a nano doesn't mean you can rush through this. It aint freshwater, the water chemistry is way more importanat, the tank will take up to a month to cycle. You have to watch the chemistry of the water closely cuz one mishap and it's done. The best advice I can give you is read read read read read.

HTH and keep us posted

Edge

Casey · 10-27-2003, 02:36 PM

Andrew I would like to Welcome you to TRT

Awestralian · 10-27-2003, 05:57 PM

The amount of fish you can keep will depend on your final tank choice.
I gather you have no experience in salt water at this point.
The two biggest tips i can give you are these:
1) read yo butt off!! read all the articles, forums, sites, books, etc you can! I had been reading hours every night, and even longer on weekends for six straight months before i started my first tank. Go to your local fish shops (lfs's) and pick their brains. Be wary of the lfs though, they will almost always try to sell you the biggest most expensive stuff they can, and stuff that is not always necessary, but you can still learn alot. look at prices while you are there.

2) Take your time! Choosing equipment, setting up and cycling the tank all take time...
As Edge said, there are alot of different fish you can keep in a small tank that wont outgrow it.

If you guys are going to start a comp, aim to make the judging in 12 - 18months time AT LEAST! Other wise you will a) have lost the tank and its inhabitants due to rushing, and b) be broke! or both... :P

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Just trying to keep it family oriented --- Charles

ElMonoDelMar · 10-27-2003, 08:53 PM

Well guys, thanks for the tips. I decided to go out and buy a 20H today and luckily I work at my LFS. lol Please don't hate me for it! My LFS has a couple people that I would consider salt experts. I don't work with them all that much but if I ran into a major problem I know I could count on them to help me out with it.

I'm guessing you guys wanna know what all I got for my tank. I'll even give you the prices (employee discount included) so you peeps can tell me if I got a deal or got scammed.

20H Tank- $32
Glass Top- 17
Tetra Tec PF150- 24
T Tec Heat Capsule- 22
(Ugly) Tank Stand- 24

I also hassled one of my fellow employees out of 20 LBS of LS and a $120 protein skimmer all for $50. Not sure what kind of skimmer it is but this guy is a big spender when it comes to his animals so I'm sure it's a good one.

Tomorrow another fellow employee and myself will be setting up the tank. As you guys can see I don't have a lighting setup or an LR yet so I think I'm gonna let the tank do it's thing while I save up money and slowly build up my LR stash and get some nice lighting. It should be well into January before I plan to put any livestock into my tank. I can't wait till that day comes.

Tell me what you guys think so far. Cheers!

ElMonoDelMar · 10-27-2003, 08:55 PM

Oh I almost forgot...

About the Tank off. It's just something some friends at work are putting on. I'll be in it but I'm not gonna have any livestock yet. lol Wonder what place I'll get? I'm really more interested in seeing my friends' tanks than winning a big prize. I'll try to post a pic of the winner on this forum when the results come back.

Awestralian · 10-27-2003, 09:11 PM

Its definately best to get all your liverock at once, as adding more liverock over time can create another cycle...

Sounds like a bargain if i ever heard one!

ElMonoDelMar · 10-27-2003, 09:14 PM

Sweet. Well I guess I'll save up and get some fish in a couple of months.

Awestralian · 10-27-2003, 09:33 PM

Add your liverock and let it cycle before getting fish dude!

ElMonoDelMar · 10-27-2003, 09:41 PM

Lol, alrighty. I'm gonna make sure to do this right.

ElMonoDelMar · 10-29-2003, 12:25 PM

Is it okay to buy my liverock one chunk at a time as long as I wait till I'm done getting liverock to get a fish?

Also, I've got a basic layout of what kinds of fish I want in this tank. I'm thinking that once I get all the LR in I should go with 2 Tank Raised Percs, 5 Blue Leg Hermits, 2 Snails, 2 Fireshrimp and maybe one other type of fish. Sound good? Any suggestions on the type of fish?

I've been reading. Perhaps a blenny for that other fish? Just a guess. Tell me what you guys think of it.

EdgeKrusher · 10-29-2003, 01:08 PM

You can get one peice at a time, the only thing is that everytime you add a rock your tank will have a small cycle. About the fish two percs would be grrrrreat, and maybe another small fish. Just make sure you research the feeding requirments for a blenny. Some will eat frozen foods such as brine while other depend and will only eat pods, in which case you will need a well stocked refugium to keep the pod population up so that it can feed. In this case I would suggest you wait until you have enough experience to have a blenny. There are also small gobies that you could get. Just remember to research feeding habits. We'll see what others say about that. Good luck and keep us posted.

Edge

ElMonoDelMar · 10-29-2003, 04:38 PM

I was talking to a friend and we thought maybe some type of goby would be nice. I'll have to see what kinds I can get in at my lfs.

salt creepette · 11-16-2003, 08:35 PM

my vote goes for a rainford goby!!! small and very pretty.