New Tank - 10g

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iconpyro

New member
Hi everyone I am a newbie here at Reef Central and I just got together a tank. Its a real small one - 10g. It had a filter and pump so it was "ready to go". From a friend who recommended a store - I bought some water that was premixed, sand, live rock, heater and thermometer. I put all of it together today and it looks nice - I also added some stability mix to start the bacteria growth.

I was thinking about putting a couple of cleaners after several weeks of cycling and some clowns - the yellow ones. Anyone have any suggestions on how many fish I can place in this tank. Can I put some shrimp or anything like that? Also any good pointers on how I test the ammonia/nitrate/nitrite levels would be great.

Please let me know since I am a newbie.
 
Hi,

Your LR should start the cycle. Did you buy test kits? Begin by testing ammonia. When you see it peak then begin testing nitrite. Then when that peaks start testing for nitrate. After nitrite falls to 0 you can start adding critters. I began with hermits and snails. In a 10 you probably only want a couple of fish.

You might want to check out the podcasts at TalkingReef. There are lots of topics and I have learned a lot form listening to them. If you don't have an iPod or MP3 player you still can listen by downloading iTunes to your computer. Both the podcasts and iTunes are free.

:fish1:

:fish1:
 
As for fish "clowns yellow ones" clarkii im guessing 2 would be ok? I have a 10gal nano reef and have 3 fish 2 chocolate ocellaris clowns and 1 damsel that is about the max for my tank 3 fish! For a 10gal tank I would add no more then 3 or 4 fish that stay small. Sounds like you may need to do more research on saltwater keeping. do you test your water now because you should already have a test kit its the only way to know when your tank is done cycling. Also do you have a hydrometer or refractometer to test your salt level even if you buy your salt water from your lfs you still need to be able to test it? Once the tank is cycled a shrimp should do fine if water conditions are good. How much live rock and sand do you have?
 
I'd probably not keep a clown pair in a tank that size. I have a 29g for my percula clowns (once they're out of quarantine). Maybe a pair of percula, but probably. Some neon gobies might be nice. Clarkii clowns get 5-6" long, and would be far too large for that tank.
 
I actually saws some clowns in a 12 gallon nano that are doing pretty well. When the guy started off they were really small, but now they look like SHAMU at SEA WORLD in the tiny pool.
 
Lbs of rock

Lbs of rock

I have enough sand to cover the bottom about 10 inches and about 5.5 lbs of LR. Is that enough or should I go more? My friend is helping with the setup so he just said be patient. I think a couple of clowns is all I am going to have in there - and maybe 1 shrimp and 1 snail.

I wish I could go bigger but I dont think thats going to happen. I have tested the Nitrate and nitrite levels and the nitrate seems to be at 0 while the nitrate is a little high (2nd degree pink on that strip when compared to the bottle) I am going to do my first water change this weekend. I have kept with bacteria adding as it says on the bottle for 1 week and I will leave it at that. I have to test the ammonia level and salt level before I do the water change.

Thanks for the posts so far...
 
trash the strips, get a regent (liquid) test kit for salt water. they contain ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, and pH. you will need all of these. when you say cover the bottom about 10" do you mean deep? i would not listen to your friend, research reef central. bertoni has exellent articles on deep sand beds (DSB's) and on set-ups. i personally would never go more than 3-4" max. research and youll see why. good luck & REEF-ON!!!
 
There are some things to think on with a small tank. First you have to test at least two times a week as a small tank can get out of hand fast. That said the fish load on a tank will very from person to person if you keep up with the water perimeters and have a regular water change schedule. If you do a water change once a month than maybe two small fish, But if you do weekly water changes you can have three or four fish maybe five, it depends on the way you feed and keep up with the qualty of the water.
 
I would target at least 12 lbs of live rock for a 12g tank, but you can go lower if you don't want to keep any fish or other non-photosynthetic animals in the tank. An inch of sand should be fine for that tank, IMO.
 
you could definitely do more than one snail. you'll probably want to since they will be your clean up crew. currently i have 9 snails, 4 mini blue leg hermits and 1 shrimp in my 12 gal. i'm adding a pair of percula clowns and that is it...except corals. i wouldnt go more than 2 nano size fish. look on a site like liveaquaria.com that will recommend tank sizes for fish. i chose perculas because they are smaller clowns....clarkiis a bit bigger.
 
I'd probably add snails on an as-needed basis, since too many means starvation, which is quite common in our tanks. Also, live rock sometimes comes with algae-eating snails or other organisms.
 
I finally added my cleanup crew and all seems well... The shrimp has been in there for about 5 days now along with 5 snails. Is that overkill?

Next I did a water change and the salinity is a little below the recommended salinity. I am going to add a little salt tonight. Any thoughts?
 
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