sort of new to salt with a 10 gallon tank.

[Rydia]

Hi. I'm Danae, and my proof-reader is my little conure Rydia. I've had a little coral only 10 gallon tank for a bit over a year, but haven't really done much with it, even though I have been wanting to for a while now. I figure the best way to make it look better is to get onto a forum where I can get advice from people who know what they are doing better than I do

Basically I started out with my 10 gallon tank since I wanted coral, but took LFS advice and don't know if I need to upgrade my equipment to do anything or not. Currently I don't know how much LR I have(more on that later) although it is around 10#, some argonite sand a 65 watt PC light a small in tank whisper filter and an aquaclear powerhead(don't remember the model off the top of my head, can find out though) For coral I have a montipora digitata frag, a few sorts of zoas, a small hammer, a platygyra closed brain(I think) a couple of blue FL rics, a candy cane and some GSP. I also have a couple of blue leg hermit crabs and a few snails(been a while since I have counted, but I think it is still 2 nerites and 2 ceriths) Also have an un-id'd crab. His claws LOOK like a mithrax crabs, and with the same body shape and hairy legs, but he is brown and tan. I also have a rock with some green striped mushrooms, but I am planning to see if I can move them to a tank that is just sun lit on a windowsill instead of keeping them in my main tank(If I can grow plants, including aquatic ones, I'm thinking I can grow some mushrooms, since they're supposed to be pretty hardy)

I guess the rundown is that my tank just doesn't look nice. It isn't aquascaped in any fashion and that I have somehow picked up a bit of caulerpa(I HATE that stuff!) I was thinking for a while about upgrading the tank's size, but since I have no real room in my room to do it I'm thinking about just re-doing it and keeping it the same size, since it needs to stay in here.

I don't have any real plans for the tank, unless you consider evicting the caulerpa as one. I WOULD like to get a small fish for the tank, though. And make it look nicer. I have the feeling that other than the couple of pieces of rock that I have zoas(and my GSP, which isn't touching any other rocks) and get different rocks for the rest of it. The only problem is that I can't afford to get LR here at $10+ per pound and nowhere in town sells dead rock. What sort of rock would be best to try to find as base rock for a scape that I want to look somewhat open, yet to still have spots to attach corals to without much trouble? Also, besides probably giving up the filter for a second(or more) powerhead, should I upgrade any more of my equipment? The tank is on the bottom of a metal stand, so I can't have a big lighting fixture, but it'd also be nice if I could keep my hammer closer to the ground level of the tank so I could keep it away from my other corals, since I've read it's the most aggressive out of what I have.

Also, any ideas for a colourful fish that would do well in a 10 gallon? I don't want a clownfish, since it seems like most of the saltwater tanks you can find pictures of online have them. And nothing wildly expensive in case I don't do well with the fish in there.

Thank you all

[sambrinar]

Here is a link from Dr. Foster/Smith on their available "nano" fish. I am sure there are more options, but this might give you an idea. the clown gobie is a cutie and relatively small. Firefish are beautiful

Nano Fish

[lcstorc]

Welcome to RS.
I totaly agree on the clown goby recommendation. Very small fish with great colors and personalities. You are pretty limited with realestat in that size tank. BigAl has a thread about his 10g tank which ended up very nice. Do a search for threads he has started and you should find it.
As far as the scape I would think you would have more options with several small rocks instead of a few larger ones. At least that is what I think about my 20. I have one huge rock and several smaller ones so it is very hard to scape.

[Rydia]

I know I'm limited. What can I do for rocks though? Like I said, I want to keep a few kinds of zoas and my current corals. Is there anywhere to find branch rock for a good price? I'd think that would look okay, right? Or would it be too hard to get the branch rock to look nice?

I found lgreen's Ultimate Nano Fish Guide - Nano-Reef.com Forums online last night, could I use that stocking guide? It says a smaller damsel, like the yellow tail blues(I think they're pretty. I love that shade of blue) would be okay-ish in a 5 gallon and good in a 10+ gallon. Would one be a good fish for the tank? I did try a clown goby a long time ago(about a month after my tank had finished cycling and I wanted something other than corals in there) in my tank and it died after a few weeks and was never out and about. I don't know. I guess I wouldn't be completely against clownfish, but is it true that you need a pair for them to show off their best colour/behaviour? I'd really rather only have one fish in the tank, not two. And is there any way to get them to colour up? The ones at the local stores are always dull orange, and not bright orange like pictures you see online are.

Also, is my 65 watt pc enough for the tank?

And some pics

My blue rics. I think I'm going to figure out how to frag some of them off of their rock and sell all but one for now, eventually. Put that into my fund for new LR.


My favourite zoas.


My other really nice ones(surprisingly a petco find. A couple polyps had fallen off of the rock and I talked the fish lady into giving them to me.) along with my candy cane.


My first piece of LR. Has some zoas that I got as single polyps from the store that started me off in saltwater(who also is the only local store that sells dry rock($5/LB, eeks) and where I don't go anymore since they ripped me off on store credit when I was going to just keep a pico for some zoas instead of my bigger one ) I like the zoas I have on there and the picture just turned out neat(I think ) with the swirly effect from the powerhead.


My crab. Like I said, I think he's in the mithrax family since his claws end in little nubs instead of sharp claws. I've just never seen one like him before.


Annnddddd a FTS. Hence my saying it looks bad! I've tried rescaping it before and I think it is just because a lot of my rocks are big, but I can't seem to get it to look decent at all. Also, pardon that the glass hasn't been cleaned in ages and that I turned on the lights after I got home from work(they're on a timer) so I could take the picture. Which is why the corals look slightly ticked.


Oops, also, what should I do with the LR I end up taking out? I don't have any tanks I can put it in and I really don't have any place to store it. Is it possible that anyone would buy it eventually from me, or am I likely to end up letting it dry out and tossing it?

[Rydia]

I know I'm limited. What can I do for rocks though? Like I said, I want to keep a few kinds of zoas and my current corals. Is there anywhere to find branch rock for a good price? I'd think that would look okay, right? Or would it be too hard to get the branch rock to look nice?

I found lgreen's Ultimate Nano Fish Guide - Nano-Reef.com Forums online last night, could I use that stocking guide? It says a smaller damsel, like the yellow tail blues(I think they're pretty. I love that shade of blue) would be okay-ish in a 5 gallon and good in a 10+ gallon. Would one be a good fish for the tank? I did try a clown goby a long time ago(about a month after my tank had finished cycling and I wanted something other than corals in there) in my tank and it died after a few weeks and was never out and about. I don't know. I guess I wouldn't be completely against clownfish, but is it true that you need a pair for them to show off their best colour/behaviour? I'd really rather only have one fish in the tank, not two. And is there any way to get them to colour up? The ones at the local stores are always dull orange, and not bright orange like pictures you see online are.

Also, is my 65 watt pc enough for the tank?

And some pics!

First my crab. Since I saw him for once. Like I said, he has the claws of a mithrax crab, but not the colour of any of them I've seen before.


And a FTS. Like I said the tank is a mess(ooh, and pardon that I haven't cleaned the glass in ages and that I flipped the timer on so I could get a shot of it after work last night. Hence why most of the coral is closed up) It doesn't have any sort of looks to it, it just kind looks like someone tossed a pile of LR into it and put coral in there. Which is why I want to redo it. Do you think I could find someone to buy the old cycled LR when I redo it, or is it more likely that I'll end up just needing to dry and throw it out? I don't have any other tanks it can be used in(goldfish tank, 2 10 gallon betta tanks and a planted tank) and don't have room to store it anywhere if I can't use it anymore.

[lcstorc]

The scape is really up to you. I don't like a lot of brance rock since it is pretty dense and doesn't have as much surface for bacteria. I do have quite a bit in my seahorse tank for hitching posts. IMO small amounts of LR are better bought locally. Do you have a reef club nearby? Perhaps someone would trade some rock for the ric?
As far as the clowns there are a lot of different types in a lot of different colors. I have one that is dark maroon but gets too large for your tank but I also have Clarki clowns that are yellow and black. There are a lot of different types. Buy captive bred if at all possible and it usually is possible with clowns.
How about a fire fish? They stay small and are fun. I have a pair of purples in one of my tanks and I really like them but they are jumpers.
BTW I disagree with much of that list. Many of the fish on it will outgrow the size tank they recommend.

[Rydia]

I guess I could ask one of the local stores if they can take in pre-cured LR. There are 2 places locally that sell LR. One sells dyed fish and the other almost never has small chunks, but ALWAYS has plenty of aiptasia. Which is why I was wondering if anyplace online sells smaller bits.

The nearest reef club is in Denver, and since that is at least 4 hours away and over mountains. . . I don't have that great of transportation to get there <_<

I'm not a big firefish fan, I don't like the way they look. Hmm. The store I usually go to has clownfish(they look like ocels, but they're labeled as percs) and instead of being nice and bright orange they're usually pretty dull. Could it just be the stress of being with a dozen others in a little tank at a store having little kids beating on them yelling NEMO NEMO NEMO all day, or are some just not very bright?

[blue_eyes53813]

Hello and welcome to RS

[yungreefer2410]

use a razor blade to scrape off that white stuff off the front of that tank. becareful not to hit any of the silicone with the blade though.

[yungreefer2410]

also if u don't want that old live rock i'll gladly take it off ur hands

[Rydia]

Where do you live? I'd need to ship it to you, but I'd be willing to if you want to pay for the shipping, and probably a few dollars(not near store prices -_-) for the rock. About half of it is 2 pieces, I think, and I'd be willing to do $6+ shipping for them. I could get some pictures of the rocks I want to give away if you'd like me to.

I know I need to clean it I've been lazy with scraping the little things off of the glass!

[yungreefer2410]

posts some pics of the rock u don't want and i'll probably take them. i have the same stuff of my tank. i'm just to lazy to do it i don't know about ur clownfish problem but there probably just stressed out. i would still go for a healthy looking one though

[reefsurf]

welcome and good luck w/ your tank rebuild! i think it has a lot of potential. once o clean it up and scape it it'll be awesome!

[reefsurf]

too bad you don't live here....there's a guy doing a group buy and i think a yashia goby with a shrimp is pretty cool.
here's a link showing the little dude
Yashia Goby

[BigJay]

Originally Posted by sambrinar

Firefish are beautiful

]

purple firefish get my vote.