10 Gallon for College

[Ryan98720]

Hey, I'm Ryan and I will be going off to college in about 6 months. Anyways I will be staying in a dorm and will only be allowed to have a 10 gallon tank in the room max. From what I've read other places, I know this is very small and can be hard to keep, especially for a first tank. I have had a freshwater tank in the past, but it was when I was really too young to understand or really care about taking care of the tank, and to be honest I don't think I would really care to take care of a freshwater tank again. I just don't find them to be as pretty as saltwater tanks. I have ALWAYS loved saltwater tanks, and my dad used to own one when I was really little. He passed away about 10 years ago, so I need someone to really guide me in this process as I am clueless. I still have some stuff from my freshwater tank but I doubt any of it is adequate for a saltwater system. I've tried to read other forums and sites for information but there is so much information, jargon, and abbreviations that I just can't follow along. Anyways thanks for taking the time to read this and any information and opinions are greatly appreciated!!!!:thumbsup:

 

[The Reef Addict]

Hey, I'm Ryan and I will be going off to college in about 6 months. Anyways I will be staying in a dorm and will only be allowed to have a 10 gallon tank in the room max. From what I've read other places, I know this is very small and can be hard to keep, especially for a first tank. I have had a freshwater tank in the past, but it was when I was really too young to understand or really care about taking care of the tank, and to be honest I don't think I would really care to take care of a freshwater tank again. I just don't find them to be as pretty as saltwater tanks. I have ALWAYS loved saltwater tanks, and my dad used to own one when I was really little. He passed away about 10 years ago, so I need someone to really guide me in this process as I am clueless. I still have some stuff from my freshwater tank but I doubt any of it is adequate for a saltwater system. I've tried to read other forums and sites for information but there is so much information, jargon, and abbreviations that I just can't follow along. Anyways thanks for taking the time to read this and any information and opinions are greatly appreciated!!!!:thumbsup:

I am not an expert. But I will say that less than 10 gallons is hard to work with, especially for salt water. I currently have 2 active tanks, one of them being a 6 gallon fluval with only a clownfish pair (other is a 75g reef).. They seem to be doing real well. (only had them for a month) Live sand, and about 10 lbs of live rock helped get the cycle going. You have to understand that a small tank cant handle big bioloads.. So don't expect to be able to do too much with it. A real good filter, decent flow, and decent light might allow for some of the simpler corals/anemones, but dont expect anything too crazy. Always be prepared for water changes with pre mixed salt water, and have a master test kit on hand! And from personal experience I recommend staying away from ammonia detoxifiers and other related chemicals. Even if you only have a pair or clowns it will still be enough to impress the ladies :thumbsup: Trust me, its the only reason I have the 6 gallon fluval in the first place, my girlfriend loves them!!

 

[The Reef Addict]

Also get things going slowly, establish the tank with the proper PH/Salinity.. Clowns are usually a recommended first fish for a new tank as they are very hardy. It will take a while to establish a bioload via the sand and live rock, as well as your filtration.. Be patient and moniter your parameters on a regualar basis, and do not overfeed. I only feed my clowns once a day, and its less than 1/4 cube of mysis/brine shrimp. Good luck! Keep gathering as much info as possible!

 

[Ryan98720]

Thanks Reef Addict!!! I'm a little nervous with it being a smaller tank, especially with it being my first tank, as I have heard about it being hard to keep the parameters in check! I have also read that it is hard to keep the salinity in check and have seen people talking about an auto top-off. Do you think that this is necessary??? I know I will really have to limit myself in the amount and type of things I put in it, but this is my only option right now! I want to "get my foot in the door" so to speak with this tank and then maybe move to an off campus housing when I get the chance and get a bigger tank. Are there any recommendations about fish that would have an easy time moving into a larger tank at a later time. I have read about damsel fish being somewhat territorial, for example, so I didn't know if this would be a problem moving later and adding more fish. I really like the look of Clowns and would love to have some of my own if possible in a 10 gallon. I will definitely keep gathering as much information as possible on this subject and people like you, who are willing to help out and give out information, make it a lot easier! Thanks again for such a quick reply!!! I hope that your tanks prosper for a long time!!

 

[The Reef Addict]

Personally, I would never get a damsel. A majority of them are just to aggressive, even the smaller ones.. They do not care if they are smaller than other fish in your tank, they will become aggressive and nip them.. Which could lead to their death. A clownfish pair is nice, and under the right circumstances they can breed fairly easily. My and my girlfriend got a pair of "snowflake" clowns, and by themselves they are quite entertaining. Clownfish are pretty easy to transfer into a bigger tank, but be aware.. If they do start breeding in a smaller tank they will become very territorial, which can become bad for other inhabitants. For a 10g I would not worry about a skimmer, ATO, etc. But you should have premixed salt water for water changes, and fresh RO/distilled water for topping off your tank from evaporation. I have this ready for my 75g reef/6g fluval at all times. If I were you, I think I would get a 10g with some decent lights, filter, and maybe even a small powerhead.. And see if you can get a nice looking pair of clowns (theres so many kinds out there!!), that will potentially host out of an anemone. Along with some snails/hermits/other inverts, thats probably the most you can do. Right now my 6g fluval only has the clowns and a few snails, once I get a small powerhead and some strong lights I plan on getting an anemone for them to hopefully host out of.

The best advice I can give you is to take it slow. Get the proper equipment, and the hardy fish you want first.. Let them establish your bioload before you add any corals/anemones, or other sensitive fish/inverts.. A dying coral/anemone is definitely enough to nuke your tank if your paramaters arent right. Ive learned this from experience in tanks much larger than a 10g. Its hard knowing what is/isnt too much for a tank, and its easy to get too excited and get in over your head.. So take it slow at first, and you should be okay. For regular maintenance I recommend Kents part A/B system, of Seachems 1/2 system. Good luck!!

 

[MMacro]

Personally, I would never get a damsel. A majority of them are just to aggressive, even the smaller ones.. They do not care if they are smaller than other fish in your tank, they will become aggressive and nip them.. Which could lead to their death. A clownfish pair is nice, and under the right circumstances they can breed fairly easily. My and my girlfriend got a pair of "snowflake" clowns, and by themselves they are quite entertaining. Clownfish are pretty easy to transfer into a bigger tank, but be aware.. If they do start breeding in a smaller tank they will become very territorial, which can become bad for other inhabitants. For a 10g I would not worry about a skimmer, ATO, etc. But you should have premixed salt water for water changes, and fresh RO/distilled water for topping off your tank from evaporation. I have this ready for my 75g reef/6g fluval at all times. If I were you, I think I would get a 10g with some decent lights, filter, and maybe even a small powerhead.. And see if you can get a nice looking pair of clowns (theres so many kinds out there!!), that will potentially host out of an anemone. Along with some snails/hermits/other inverts, thats probably the most you can do. Right now my 6g fluval only has the clowns and a few snails, once I get a small powerhead and some strong lights I plan on getting an anemone for them to hopefully host out of.

The best advice I can give you is to take it slow. Get the proper equipment, and the hardy fish you want first.. Let them establish your bioload before you add any corals/anemones, or other sensitive fish/inverts.. A dying coral/anemone is definitely enough to nuke your tank if your paramaters arent right. Ive learned this from experience in tanks much larger than a 10g. Its hard knowing what is/isnt too much for a tank, and its easy to get too excited and get in over your head.. So take it slow at first, and you should be okay. For regular maintenance I recommend Kents part A/B system, of Seachems 1/2 system. Good luck!!

Clownfish are a type of damselfish. A six gallon tank seems small for a pair of clownfish, or any fish for that matter.

 

[ryeguyy84]

Not sure if things have changed from when I went to college but my dorm room was a sweat lounge in the summer (first few weeks there). I'd worry about temp swings and of course someone putting something in the tank when they are drunk.... Or sober.

 

[The Reef Addict]

Clownfish are a type of damselfish. A six gallon tank seems small for a pair of clownfish, or any fish for that matter.

Well, they are only about 1" in size, and thats all I have in the tank. They are doing great! I have a small heater that hangs on the back of my 6g, cant be seen at all with my liverock. Since its small, they are probably the only fiah I can put in there... The whole tank is their territory!

 

[lou the reefer]

what freshwater equipment do you already have? Becuase I converted my 10 gallon freshwater to saltwater about 7month ago and used the same filter and heater I just bought rock,salt and powerhead.

 

[CuzzA]

Ryan, obviously I don't know much about your social life, but I know when I was in college one of the last things I would want to take care of is a pet or fish tank. I was rarely ever home and I wanted the least amount of responsibility outside of class and work. The rest of the time I spent partying, attending sporting events, traveling and then of course there's the whole issue of Spring, Summer and Winter Break. I certainly wouldn't want to be handicapped by a tank.

Just some food for thought. I'd wait until you've settled in at college and then reevaluate whether you really want to have a tank during that time.

 

[CafeReef]

I have had a 7.5 gallon mr. Aqua cube for 4 months now at my office. I havnt found it to be to much work at all and has been extremely stable.

Recommendations: water! I have about a pint a day of evaporation. I bought a zerowater pitcher and it works great for me getting 0 tds, I am filling it using culligan water so it's getting me pretty decent water. If you wont have access to, or be able to make true rodi, zerowater can work with some conditoners.

Decent water movement. My water movement is solely from an aquaclear 20 that I converted to a refugium. The refugium keeps my phosphates in check.

Lighting, I am using the wavepoint 6" blade led, this helps keep evaporation down but still giving me decent growth. With some lps and softies. I go lights out every weekend and only run lights for 9 hours a day.

Best advice, water changes weekly. I do a 1 gallon water change every week.

Small tanks are not difficult as long as you do things right

 

[The Reef Addict]

+1 cafereef

I got a small powerhead, and led light strips for mine. May end up adding a small anemone for the clowns. The tank has stayed real stable..

 

[zachfishman]

I did a 10g reef in college one year. It had a HOB filter, heater, and small powerhead. I kept a pair of clowns, a goby, and a bunch of bulletproof coral like shrooms, GSP, and zoas.

 

[Ryan98720]

Thanks again Reef Addict. Yeah I have heard that about damsel fish too and was just using them as an example, but you said that clownfish would do well if in the future I decided to get a bigger tank.

@ryeguyy84 Thanks for the advice!! You do have a good point there. I guess I will just have to wait and see what its like, but I just wanted to get it started while I was still at home and had a bit more space to do things in! For how much housing costs, you would think they would have decent air conditioning, but who knows!! Thanks again for the heads up!

@lou the reefer I thought I had a lot more stuff than I actually do! I went looking in the basement today and apparently my mom has gotten rid of a lot of the stuff I used to have.:sad1: What I have currently is the 10 gallon tank, a Regent 20HFH-I hood and an Aqua-Tech Model 5/15 HOB Power Filter. I know that most of this stuff probably won't be usable in the tank, but just figured I'd try and see what I could salvage!

@CuzzA That is a very important concern that I haven't really thought about yet! In high school I was never really the "party type"; however, I am not sure how much that will change in college! I only live about an hour and a half away from the university, so how hard do you think it would be to transport over breaks?!? Thanks again for bringing up a very important decision that I had overlooked!

@CafeReef I'm glad to hear that you've got a tank that is working out so well, and that its possible to maintain a small healthy reef tank with the right methods! Thanks for the tip on the water! I just assumed that there would be some aquarium stores with the campus being a pretty big campus but a quick google search says otherwise! It says that there is a PetSmart there, do you know if they sell RODI water? I will have to look into that lighting! Is it fairly cheap? Thanks again for your encouragement and reassurance that it CAN be done, even though the odds aren't really in my favor!

@zachfishman Thanks! Like I've said, I'm glad to see/hear that it can be done. Did you encounter any issues with keeping such a small tank while in college that you wouldn't mind sharing? The more information I can gather the better I can do to make the correct informed decisions for my situation!

 

[zachfishman]

@zachfishman Thanks! Like I've said, I'm glad to see/hear that it can be done. Did you encounter any issues with keeping such a small tank while in college that you wouldn't mind sharing? The more information I can gather the better I can do to make the correct informed decisions for my situation!

My two biggest issues were getting and transporting RODI water (not difficult just a pain), and winter break. I left my tank in the care of my roommate buuuuut it didn't turn out too well (inadequate top off, burned up powerhead, salt creep everywhere) but hey nothing died. The key is to pick organisms that don't care about the parameter swings of the small tank. Just because the tank is half GSP and red shrooms doesn't mean it can't look good! Having organisms you can ignore is also good because you'll need time to party er.... study!

 

[thegrun]

On a side note nearly every lab on campus will have RO/DI water available so you should be able to use it to mix your saltwater.

 

[The Reef Addict]

If you can avoid it, I wouldnt move the tank back a forth a lot. It can cause problems.. If you can maybe just have someone top off the tank for you and use an automatic feeder? This would also depend on how stable your tank is too though.

Ive moved 55/75 gallon tanks a bunch of times, moving a 10 would be cake! When I move a tank I try and save as much water as possible, and leave your sand put in the tank while you move it. Its also a good idea to get a small styrofoam container to house the fish/corals in. (pick one up from a LFS) Styrofoam holds heat well, and will reduce road noise/bumps.. And for a 10g tank it should hold most of, if not all your tanks water for the move.

When you go to add everything back in, I recommend putting a plate/bowl on the sandbed in your tank, so when you add your water the plate/bowl can displace it and prevent disturbing your sand bed. Make sure any excess water you may have in buckets are the same temperature of the water your fish are in before adding it to the tank.

 

[CafeReef]

Unless your location is different, petsmart does not sell rodi, 12 years ago when I worked for petsmart we just used tap and conditioned. Since freah only, there was less need for perfect water I guess.

A smart micro ato and a gallon of RO will get you through a week. If you wanted to buy distilled water from walgreens or make some. You could probably pretty easily build a mobile rodi system you could hook up to a bathroom sink.

 

[Ryan98720]

@thegrun Thanks! I didn't know that! I will have to check into that when I get there! I have heard that places like Walmart sell RODI water. Is that true and is it reasonably affordable?

@The Reef Addict Being that I live relatively close to the campus I will be attending, I don't think that I should have to move the tank too often because I can just go and do the regular maintenance every so often. And an auto feeder would probably be a good idea anyway! I agree that I should move the tank as little as possible because I'm sure it would stress the fish and coral.

@CafeReef I would love to look into a mobile rodi system, but I will be somewhat limited in space and also depending on what floor of the dorms that I get put in I could possibly have a community bathroom, so that wouldn't really be feasible I don't think, but thanks for the suggestion!

 

[Ryan98720]

Thanks again everyone for your advice! Its really nice to know that there is a whole community of people out there willing to help out beginners like me get into the hobby! So far I have a couple questions and I will list them below. I am leaning toward maybe a clownfish or two (the smaller species of course) and I would like to maybe get a few corals at some point. I just love the vivid colors that corals can add to the tank and I also like the movement that some add. I don't want to spend an arm and a leg on a light, so I know I am going to have to limit myself to the soft corals. I was looking at maybe some kind of zoanthids, Xenia pulsing coral (Do these spread too much for a 10 gallon?) and maybe a Kenya tree coral, and maybe eventually an anemone for the clownfish to host! Do you have any suggestions for some easy beginner corals that would do well in this size tank?

1.) I've heard people say that for this small of a tank you don't need anything like a HOB filtration system, but I just don't like the idea of no manual filtration on a tank! What size minimum filtration would you suggest for this size tank? Also, I've heard people suggest to convert a HOB filter to a refugium. What does that entail? I also don't think I will need a skimmer, but what do you guys think?

2.) What sort of lighting would I need to grow some of the above-mentioned corals? As I've said before, I don't want to spend a fortune on lighting. The current lid I have says that it is a 50 Watt and I've read stuff about watts per gallon and stuff like that, but I am still pretty confused! Also is there a special kind of bulb to use? Also how long do you need to leave the lights on a day? With it being in my room I don't want to have to run the lights all night and keep myself awake.

3.) For those of you who already have a small reef tank, what is the kind of upkeep that it requires and how ofter? From what I've gathered some say to use a magnet glass cleaner and clean the glass about once a day. I've heard to do a partial water change once a week, but how much. I've also heard to do a larger water change about once a month. How often do you need to clean out the filters?

4.) My final question is on how much flow do I need in my tank! What size powerhead would you recommend for this size tank and the types of livestock I'm thinking about putting in it?