Reef tank plans (again lol)

[Austrarhyncus]

Setting up a new tank, I need to finalise my plans and equipment before I go out and get what I need.

Tank size: 40 litres (10 gallon) shallow 2 feet (so basically just a regular 2 foot tank cut in half lengthwise)

Fauna:
• 2x Onyx Percula Clownfish
• 1x Yellow Clown Goby
• 2x Scarlet Skunk Cleaner Shrimp
• 4x Trochus Snail

Corals
I have the Stages so that I can start to get the feel of corals, first how to keep corals in Stage 1 (softies and zoas), then to introduce me to dosing in Stage 2 (LPS), and then to use dosing for more advanced stuff in Stages 3 and 4 (SPS).

I'd appreciate some basics on manual dosing too

Stage 1
• Toadstool Coral
• Zoanthid
Stage 2
• Hammer coral
Stage 3
• Montipora
Stage 4
• Acropora
• Birdsnest coral
• Pocillopora

Other
• Live rock
• 6x Stilted Mangrove
• 25W heater

Light
• 24w T5 550mm tube (http://www.theaquariumshop.com.au/s...ua Zonic Super Actinic Blue T5 Tube 550mm 24w)
• Suitable ballast

Water:
I'll just get what I can get at the time
• Store-bought saltwater
• Natural seawater
• RO water and Red Sea Salt

Substrate
• 5kg (~11 lbs) Aragonite sand

Filtration
Help me pick a cheap but effective and suitable powerhead
The simplistic filtration setup is because I met a guy with a similarly simple setup (sponge filter over powerhead, no skimmer or sump) and it had a very nice look to it.
• Powerhead
• Weekly water changes

So yeah, any thoughts?

 

[Uncle99]

Your plan seems detailed but in reading it seems that your trying to pack a ton of stuff in a 10g?

Clowns thrive in tanks that are greater than 30g, can it be done, yes, but likely will not work, long term

Your plans good but your size is really small....can't you bump up the size a bit?

Your right, you do not need a skimmer or a sump, but water changes will be critical..

 

[Austrarhyncus]

The tank isn't that small, it's footprint is quite large: 60cm x 34cm x 20cm (24 x 13 x 7.8 inches) with a triangular internal sump 24cm x 24cm (9.4 x 9.4 inches), I didn't know clowns needed a larger tank? Are there any specific clowns that can be housed long term in this setup?

It's not really gonna be a ton of stock, each coral will just be a frag/small colony when introduced, I'll let them grow out to get that awesome SPS-filled-tank look.

And yes, I'll definitely keep up with water changes.

 

[ryeguyy84]

You can pack in the coral untill they fight each other for space bit I'd have agree that the 2 clowns will need more space. I don't think there are any that will live happily in that size. Clowns can get quite agressive. Mine has it out for my hand when I put it in the tank. He's gotten strong enough to break skin now.

How many of those 24w bulbs are you going to run? I'm not all that familiar with t5's since I've mostly used metal halide and LED bit I think 1 is under rated for sps

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

 

[Austrarhyncus]

When the corals start to fight, I’ll trim them down, frag them and put them into a separate frag tank, maybe even make a bit of $$

I’ve read true perculas are relatively smaller and more peaceful than other clowns, but I’ll take your word for it, and not stock any clowns.

I’m not too bright on lighbs (pun unintended) i guess I’ll just run a single bulb?