Help!

[TheApprentice707]

Hey I wanted to get some corals or something besides just fish and live rock going in my tank.

I have a ten gallon that has a biowheel and a skimmer made for a 55 gallon so the nitrates are like 5ppm or lower and ammonia is ZERO.

I don't have good lights yet but I was going to get something like this:

18 inch Current USA Nova Extreme 2x20 watt T5 HO 10K/460nm (<20in Units )

What would be my best bet for the tank? Any suggestions on what to put in there.

I also have one neon damsel and 2 clowns (both are very small maybe an inch long)

Thanks for all the previous help and that of the future.

-JON

[Bullet]

You could try some mushrooms or zoanthids/palythoas in there with those t5s, green star polyps are a great starter coral, but can overgrow a small tank easily too!

[TheApprentice707]

Sounds good to me. I will check them out. thanks!

[Ninong]

Jon,

Before you start spending a fortune equipping a 10-gal tank, consider switching to something a little larger, even if it's only a 20-gallon. The cost of the tank is insignificant compared to the total cost of the complete setup.

A 20-gal and a 10-gal are both considered to be "nano" tanks. Nano tanks are much more difficult to operate than tanks that are at least 30 or 40 gallons for a variety of reasons and your choices of livestock are extremely limited. For starters, your 10-gal tank is NOT large enough for the fish you have now.

The minimum size for a pair of the smaller clownfish species would be 20 gallons. The minimum size for the larger species of clownfish (e.g., maroon clownfish) would be 40 gallons.

Good luck!

[TheApprentice707]

do you mean for the sake of the fishs happiness?

I really want to get a bigger tank but I am a college student and live in an apartment. I dont know when I will have to move out.

I would need a more live substrate, more rock, RE cycling the tank.

I dont know i really like the truview style acrylic tanks, but what if I have to move? The earliest I would have to move is like 2 years from now.

it would be a big project. maybe I should look into it seriously.

how would i switch it over though with the fish and cycling the tank and stuff?

[TheApprentice707]

I DO like the acrylic style*

[Ninong]

do you mean for the sake of the fishs happiness?

That might be one way of putting it. A 10-gal tank is too small to provide a healthy environment for the fish you have. A 10-gal and a 20-gal both cost about the same once you add up all the equipment.

I really want to get a bigger tank but I am a college student and live in an apartment. I dont know when I will have to move out.

You will have to decide if you can manage something larger than what you have now. A 30-gal may be more than you can handle but a 20-gal shouldn't be all that much more trouble than a 10-gal.

I would need a more live substrate, more rock, RE cycling the tank.

You don't need more "live" substrate. Just plain aragonite sand will do just fine. It doesn't have to be "live." It will get "live" after you put it in the tank. You will want a little more live rock, maybe another 10 lbs. It will have to be fully cured. The tank is not exactly going to go through the same sort of cycle as it did when you first set it up. You will be moving your present live rock (and probably your present substrate) into the new tank. It will be more like an instant cycle. I can't say anything about your present substrate without seeing it but it's probably OK to move it. If not, you would have to simply put in a new substrate in the new tank. That shouldn't be a lot for a 20-gal tank.

I dont know i really like the truview style acrylic tanks, but what if I have to move? The earliest I would have to move is like 2 years from now.

When you move, will it be a long-distance move? In other words, when you move will you be able to take the tank with you or will you have to sell everything?

it would be a big project. maybe I should look into it seriously.

You should if you think it makes sense in your situation. If not, just keep the 10-gal and then stock it accordingly.

how would i switch it over though with the fish and cycling the tank and stuff?

You would make up a large fresh batch of saltwater two or three days in advance of your move.

You would do about a 50% water change the day of your move but save the tankwater you removed from the tank instead of discarding it. You will want to put this water into the new tank along with enough new saltwater to fill the tank. Naturally you will want the new saltwater to match the old saltwater as far as temperature, salinity, pH, etc., as close as possible.

You would put some new aragonite sand into the new tank. You would then take out some of the sand from the old tank (just the top 1" or so) and place it on top of the new sand. I'm assuming you currently have aragonite sand as a substrate. If you have crushed coral, then don't move any of it. Throw all of it away. It's OK if most of the sand in the new tank is brand new sand. It would be nice to be able to move some of the sand from the existing tank into the new tank but, in most cases, you would want to just take the top layer of sand from the old tank and place this on top of the new sand in the new tank.

You then move the live rock from the old tank to the new tank. Then you move the fish from the old tank to the new tank.

All of this assumes that you are sure that the new tank is properly set up and that it will work properly as soon as you turn everything on. It's OK if the inhabitants of the old tank are without power for two or three hours but if it's going to be longer than that (which it shouldn't), then you will need a powerhead or something to provide circulation in the old tank during this time.

A move from an existing tank to a new tank when both tanks are right there in the same room next to each other is not a big deal. A move from an existing tank (especially a larger tank) to a new tank that is a couple hundred miles away is a big deal.

[TheApprentice707]

Thank you! I appreciate all of your information. I am seriously thinking of getting a 20 gallon. I will save up a little and then see what I can manage. Thanks for your info I will let you know what happens and I will save this so that I can follow it when and if I do a change!

Thanks again!

-JON

[TheApprentice707]

Do you think you could give me a ballpark price of what it would cost to switch over to a 20 gallon. I don't think I will be moving THAT far if I do and it won't be for another 2 years anyways so that would be okay.

I will need:

-20 gallon tank. (30 would probably be a stretch financially)

-Lighting setup for the 20 gallon ( I will want coral stuff like polyps or similar easy to take care of types)

-Heater for 20 gallon.

-10 lbs of live rock (I have like 15 pounds of live rock now so maybe 10 more you say?)

-more substrate


Do you think thats all I would need besides water to start her off?


What do you think that would cost and are there many options of type of tank. I like acrylic better, but the price is way more, but maybe truview??

thanks for all your help!

[Ninong]

I'm not sure what you're looking for or what you will need to get in addition to what you already have, but just for the sake of comparisons, check out this fully equipped 30-gal setup for $405 (shpg included). That includes a built-in skimmer, even a built-in refugium, and a light fixture with four T5 HO lamps. (P.S. -- The same setup without the light is $324.)

I have seen some 24-gal setups for about $250 but that was with a totally inadequate single compact fluorescent lamp. The same 24-gal setup with decent lighting ran $399.

The tank itself, if that's what you're asking about, is practically nothing. It's all the equipment that runs up the total cost. However, by the time you get through buying everything you need for a 10-tank, it won't be that much cheaper than a 20- or 30-gal tank.

[TheApprentice707]

well the only parts I would need is the actual tank, heater, more live rock and lights.

I already have a remora protein skimmer set for a 60 gallon and a biowheel for a 20 gallon both running on my 10 so that part is taken care of. I just need lighting, heater, more live rock and sand, and a 20 or 30 gallon tank.

im thinking probably like 300 bucks or so. which is fine especially with the government giving that to us anyways soon

I started out getting a 50 dollar package deal to have a small freshwater tank, but I fell in love with salt and that is why i have a ten. If I would have known I would just started out big. oh well.

I won't get anything more for the 10 gallon. I will save and learn and get a 20 or 30 soon. Maybe I could buy it piece by piece (unless I get a deal with getting all at once)

thanks!