Wanna do 10 gallons reef tank... Please HELP ME

[solarnailspa2007]

Hi guys,

I wanna do a 10 gallons reef tank. I am so new to this so please help me with this........

*Light: what kind and how many watts
*Skimmer: Please let me know which one is the best for 10 gallons
*Filter: is xP1 is good enough? If not please help me

I do have about 15 lbs of live rock
small fan and i turn it on 24 hrs

Please let me know what else do i need. thanks guys

[Kingumar]

i am a newbie myself, but is this your first reef tank?

[OneDummHikk]

Originally Posted by solarnailspa2007

Hi guys,

I wanna do a 10 gallons reef tank. I am so new to this so please help me with this........

*Light: what kind and how many watts

The lighting depends on what you want to keep in the tank. Softies, SPS, LPS, a mixture. As different corals have different light requirements. My 10 had PC lights on it and I ended up with a 150MH on it before I broke it down. Now, I want to run two 70W MH'es on a 20 gallon breeder tank.

Originally Posted by solarnailspa2007

*Skimmer: Please let me know which one is the best for 10 gallons

For a 10 Gallon tank, look at an Aquaclear 10-30 hang on filter. It isn't a true skimmer but they do about as well as anything else on a tank that small.

Originally Posted by solarnailspa2007

*Filter: is xP1 is good enough? If not please help me

I do have about 15 lbs of live rock
small fan and i turn it on 24 hrs

Please let me know what else do i need. thanks guys

What is "xP1"? A google search turns up nothing on it so I am not sure what you are asking about.

With it being your first reef tank, I would seriously consider trying to get a larger tank for your first. The water parameters get out of whack a lot quicker and a lot easier in a 10G tank than in a 30 or a 55 gallon tank. And the larger tank is more forgiving if you miss a day on maintenance.

[solarnailspa2007]

Hi Onedummhikk,

So, the light for 10 gallons is about 70 wattz? I do have AquaClear 50-70 gallons hang on with the tank.... "xP1 i mean Rena xP1"

***
i am a newbie myself, but is this your first reef tank?

Yes, it is my first reef tank... I have a 10 gallons leftover so thats y i wanna use it for a reef tank... I think its gonna looks good for my spa...

I will try that 10 gallons first after i know how to deal with it i will move on to 55 gallons later... thanks

[OneDummHikk]

There is no "watts per gallon" rule. Any that you ever hear of, forget it as it doesn't mean anything. How much light you put on a tank depends on salinity, substrate, inhabitants and some other things. What works on an SPS tank is too much for a softie tank and vice versa.
Don't use a canister filter on a saltwater tank. They cause more problems than they solve.

As for "trying the 10 first", that is backwards. A 10G tank is a lot more work than a 55 is just because of its small size. Try to get something larger and make it easier on you during the learning phase.

[scoop]

I have a 10 gl that has been set up for about 5 yrs. I use a Current USA 2 x 20 T5 light and no skimmer. I do 1 or 2 gl water changes every week. I have an aquaclear 10 that I put a little carbon in and I use it for circulation. (I also have a little surface skimmer thing that feeds the aquaclear) I have a mini jet 404 for additional circulation. The lighting would not work for any sps type corals, but it's fine for most lps and for softies, zoa's, mushrooms ect. I have a pair of Rod's Onyx clowns in it and 1 hermit crab and a few smails (need a few more) Here is a picture:

[Loverotties]

Originally Posted by OneDummHikk

As for "trying the 10 first", that is backwards. A 10G tank is a lot more work than a 55 is just because of its small size. Try to get something larger and make it easier on you during the learning phase.

This is so true!The bigger the less it going to get out of wack as fast.

[solarnailspa2007]

nice tank Scoop... It looks great for that size

[aquawolf]

Nice example of what can be done with 10 gallons. Good job scoop.

[scoop]

Thanks! It's actually pretty easy to take care of, the key is keeping the right stuff in it - only easy corals and 1 or 2 hardy fish. I think it would be very difficult to keep any type of sps in that size tank because of the fluctuations in the conditions. When i started it was a 6 gl, then I moved it to a 5 gl tank, it's been in this configuration for just over a yr now. I think the lights were the biggest improvement, they don't have ind. reflectors, but that fixture is only aout $50 and the stuff I have in the tank has really flourished since i added it. Xenia, frogspawn, mushrooms, some zoas, green trumpet coral, and the spaghetti leather.

[jenajet]

You know, I don't use a skimmer on either of my nano's. However, I added livestock to it slowly and did water changes religiously the first year of the tank. Now 8 years later the tank pretty much cares for itself. I do water changes once a month now but I only feed the fish about every 4 days. I have never considered caring for the tank difficult. Now my large tank does run a skimmer and has more frequent water changes but it has a larger bioload on it. I guess my point is that the tank will be as easy or as difficult to care for as you chose to make it. If you plan it out and go slowly, they can be just as easy as a large tank. If you rush it and don't do your research, well it can be a real pain. If you ever have doubts just ask!


I love the tank scoop!

[swnoobie]

wow..your gonna try a very small tank for your first sw tank? wish you all the luck..keep us updated on how it goes..and even some pics

[aaibillinair]

I just started a 10 gallon reef my self. I seen a few videos on google on how to convert a 10 gallon wall mart tank into a reef. I almost did it step by step. The only diff is I used live Fuji rock in stead of the fake stuff. The tank is a week old and already I see a bunch of lil amphipods crawling around at night. I am going to what at least a month before I even think about putting any living critters in there. What do you think??