[Reefer769]

hey!

right now in my 10 gallon tank i have this fake rock with some fake blue/orange/purple coral and it, and i was just wondering if i should get rid of it, and go out and buy some real live rock and re-arange my whole set-up, or keep what i have and maybe add some live rock in the corners, it wouldnt be much but the fake peice i baught was around 20$, thanks for whoever cares to comment

[Leddy]

I would toss the fake piece, or use it as a paper weight. get about 10 to 15 lbs of live rock, or 5 lbs tufa/base rock and 5-8 lbs of live rock. Get a skimmer and that should be all you need. Let it cycle with the LR for about 4-6 weeks, being sure to test your water at least 2-3 times a week. your only going to be able to put like 1, maybe 2 fish in there, but make sure your tank is completly cycled before you introduce it/them. also, see if you can get about 5-10 lbs of live sand from your LFS, this will help your bio-filter along with the LR. Its gonna be really difficult to keep such a small tank healthy and clean, be prepared for weekly or even daily maintenance. good luck, and i'm sure other people on the site will give you great advice. if i forgot anything, (which i probably did) someone let me know. cool

leddy

[Reefer769]

thanks leddy, but i need to say that i have a small damsel in there now, do you think that would be a problem? and one more thing, whats a paper weight haha, sorry im new at this, and i need all the adivce i can get, and aslo about the live sand, if i already have a kind of mixture of rock/crushed coral on the base, woudld i just get rid of it or just put aside a little spot(5x5) and put sand there. thanks again

[Leddy]

even if you get just a little bit of live sand, you can "seed" you crushed coral. just be careful when you vacuum your tank, try not to vacuum up all the sand. the damsel should be okay, they're pretty hardy, but very territorial. he might be a problem if/when you introduce another fish. as for the paper weight, i saw a picture of your tank, you could leave it in there since you spent 20 bucks on it, but def. put some LR in there to create more hiding spots for another fish if you decide to get one.

leddy

[Reefer769]

thanks again leddy , but like i said before im new at all of this, so if you could please explain more about what you ment by: "you can "seed" your crushed coral," that would be great, haha, thanks a lot. oh and by the way, since youve seen my tank pics, do you think i could get a small tank-raised clown fish later on after the tank has cycled?

[Leddy]

to seed you crushed coral just means that the live sand will help to reproduce your beneficial bacteria that lives in the substrate. this bacteria is what makes up your biological filtration which will feed on ammonia, nitrites/nitrates. the live rock is also a plus/must, because this too is loaded with these nitrifying bacterias. in my tank, i have crushed coral with a bit of argonite sand, and i used some crushed coral from my 29g tank to help with the bacteria reproduction. the live rock would be the best for your biological filtration, in fact you, wouldnt need to get live sand, as the bacteria in the rock will eventually spread to the substrate. if you can afford it, get LR that is already cured, meaning it has been sitting is a saltwater tub at your local fish store for a while, this will help on cycling your tank faster, and less stress from ammonia on your damsel. basically, i would get some live rock from your local store, set it up in your tank, and test your water 3 times a week for about 3 to 6 weeks, just to be safe. my 80 gal. tank cycled in about 2-3 weeks with 90lbs of LR. since you have less water volume, you may see a large spike in your ammonia and nitrites really soon, but in time, should level out to 0ppm. it all takes patience, patience, patience. good luck, let me know if you have more questions.

leddy

[Leddy]

oh yeah, as for the TR clown, just becareful the damsel doesnt beat him up. In my 80 gal. i got a TR fiji tomato clown with picasso trigger, lunar wrasse, domino damsel, and royal dottyback. they all have plenty of room, so he's been doing fine. in such small quarters, they'res really no telling on what would happen. it might have to be trial and error in your case. once your tanks cycled with the LR and plenty of hiding spaces, get one and see what happens. or get rid of the damsel, and try some less aggressive small fish. ex. royal gramma, green chromis, or something someone on the site might suggest. good luck


leddy