newb, what could i have, 45gal vs 10gal??

[cyndl]

i have a 45 gal tank and a 10 gal tank that are currently ready to be redone with fish. my 10 was a snail tank, but i am going down to just 2 snail tanks now so will have the extra 10 for fish. i had my big beautiful goldies in my 45. they all succumbed to an aweful bout of ick and one by one died. i haven't the heart to do goldies again right now. they just can't be replaced. they were my buddies. :sad1: anyhooooo... i have done fresh water my whole life and have always played with the idea of sw but they always kind of scared me. i have done tons of reading online and i think i am ready to brave it. i know that a bigger tank is more forgiving, but i also don't want to spend so much money and then realize i can't hack it. i also have an idea of what inhabitants i want and don't know if they'd do ok in a 10 gallon(Nano). i would like a few shrimp, a blue starfish ( don't know the name of it, saw someones tank with it, gorgeous!) a yellow tang, some "nemo" fish for my son, and maybe a blue or purple fish of some kind. i also like the looks of the soft corals, but not sure as they seem difficult.

so, can i have that in a 10 or should i bite the bullet and do the 45?

also this might be a stupid question, but everyone keeps saying you can use a HOB filter, but if you have a sand bottom, how do you keep it from messing up your filter? i had a sand bottom with my snails and i ruined my hob filter, kept getting in the motor. could i just do a crushed coral bottom? or could i keep my current gravel?

thanks!
cyndl

 

[bertoni]

[welcome]

This thread has some notes I wrote up on substrate choices:

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=732378

The HOB filter is fine for running carbon, but you will have to arrange so that the circulation doesn't kick up sand. That hasn't been a problem for me, anyway.

I would recommend the 45 if you want to keep fish, since a 10g is pretty small for most animals.

 

[porkbullet]

I currently have a 10 gallon nano-reef going and even though I am still relatively new to the hobby, I am pretty confident in saying that your list of desired critters is probably too much for a 10 gallon tank. I think a 45 gallon is much more suited to that many inhabitants.

I would also do a bit of research on each one of the inhabitants you listed. There might be a few in the list that would have needs that even a 45 gallon tank couldn't meet. I'm no expert but I think the yellow tang and blue starfish in a 45 gallon might get some pushback from some of the more experienced folks on RC.

As far as your substrate question, I would definitely not keep your gravel, particularly if you are keeping something like a starfish. I don't exactly know how to explain "why" sand doesn't get into the filter, but it just.... doesn't. If you are really worried about it you can go with a mixture of sand/crushed coral. But all sand shouldn't be any problem with an HOB filter.

Sorry for the lame explanation (or complete lack thereof) maybe others can chime in as to the exact reason "why".

 

[Scuba_Steve]

[welcome]
you can always buy about 10 lbs of live rock and 10 lbs of live sand and startup your 10g. then when (notice i didnt say if) you get totally hooked you can transfer to your 45 or even go bigger. you can wait to get a skimmer and good lights when you get that. but if you want some cool reef stuff you can find a cheap lil power compact light on ebay for your 10g and keep some mushrooms, xenia, and other low light corals. thats what i would do. then you can keep your 10g for a quarantine tank or something.