supplies

[saltwater12]

what supplies would i need to start a 10 gallon nano reef tank and what livestock/corals should i put in there. also what lighting for the corals?

[lcstorc]

That is a big question for a small tank.
For starters. Welcome to RS!!
A 10g can be extremely difficult to keep due to the small amount of water involved. You will be limited to a max of probably one fish unless we are talking about something really small like yellow clown goby then you might get away with 2. Basicaly you would be set for 2 "fish" inches. So either one fish aprox 2 inched when full grown or two one inch fish. Corals you can keep just fine and the lighting etc would be fairly inexpensive but where you are going to have difficulty is keeping the water parameters stable. Generally this is done with water changes since "dilution is the solution to polution" In a 10g you are going to have to be very very diligent about topping off (replacing evaporated water) at least daily to prevent salinity swings, and do a lot of water changes to keep the quality where it needs to be for corals which is very good quality. 0 amonia, 0 nitrites and < 10 nitrates.
As to what corals you will want to limit yourself to those that stay small unless you want to enter the world of fragging. (A fun place to be but maybe not what you are looking for). How about telling us what corals you like. Then we can recommend proper flow and proper lighting for that type of coral. Depending on the type of coral their requirements are quite different.
HTH

[saltwater12]

I was thinking of getting a hawain or caribbean feather duster, caribbean umbrella mushroom, a multicolored starfish and w/e u think else will work. can i use gallons of spring water like ice mountain for my saltwater tank?

[ge0]

Are you gonna start with a all-in-one type setup or build it from sratch?

[DaveK]

Originally Posted by saltwater12

what supplies would i need to start a 10 gallon nano reef tank and what livestock/corals should i put in there. also what lighting for the corals?

As pointed out, a 10 gal tank is extremely small. In turn this can make it difficult to set up and maintain.

The question you ask is similar to asking "I want to build my own small house. What building materials do I need?"

In other words, you are a bit ahead of yourself. I recommend you first get yourself several good book on state of the art reef systems. Then read them so you understand about what you are getting involved with.

You will likely find that you really want to do something entirely different. Also, each person is different, and each has different goals when they set up a reef system.

A few general pointers.

Always purchase top quality equipment and livestock. That is where the real bargain is, since top quality equipment usually only needs to be bought once.

Don't believe what your LFS (Local Fish Store) tells you, unless you can confirm it. Many are clueless when it comes to SW reef systems. This is especially true with filtration, and lighting on the equipment side.

Expect to spend a lot of money. Reef systems are expensive.

Go slow. Rushing things in this hobby generally results in a tank of very dead livestock, with little to show for your efforts.

[addicted]

Well I have a 10 gallon and I can tell you what I have with the setup.

I have a regular marineland biowheel filter for up to 20 gallons (I took the biowheel out)

I have a regular heater for a 10 gallon tank

I have one powerhead for a tank up to ten gallons

I have just the light that came with the setup but am looking into getting a power compact light fixture for the tank.

I have 9 lbs of live rock and 7 lbs of live sand

That is all the stuff that I have set up for my 10 gallon and although it hasn't been set up for that long my fish seem to be doing ok (so good that I'm afraid to upgrade them to a larger tank I don't want to disrupt anything).

You'll also need the salt mix for your water, water conditioner, hydrometer, and the testing kits (I have one for ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, and ph), and a thermometer for the water.

[addicted]

I got a lot of the expensive stuff for free (most the live rock, the live sand, and the salt mix) but I priced everything out and to set up just the ten gallon like I have it it'd be right around $150!

[flricordia]

Originally Posted by saltwater12

I was thinking of getting a hawain or caribbean feather duster, caribbean umbrella mushroom, a multicolored starfish and w/e u think else will work. can i use gallons of spring water like ice mountain for my saltwater tank?

Should stay away from the feather duster and starfish till you get the hang of keeping ph, temp and so on stable. In a 10gl this can be tricky, much more so than a larger tank. You should really consider doing a 20GL and even better a 29gl your first nano set-up. The smaller the tank, the easier it is for things to go wrong. So many people make this mistake. The biggest mistake is using bottled water instead of RO/DI water. Another is not allowing the live sand/live rock to cure in the tank fully. Even if it is bought cured, it still has to have time to adjust to your husbandry practices. Another mistake is to try and get by with substandard equipment, especially lighting, and yet another, especially in a nano, is to purchase livestock without first researching its basic care requirements.

[addicted]

Originally Posted by flricordia

You should really consider doing a 20GL and even better a 29gl your first nano set-up. The smaller the tank, the easier it is for things to go wrong. So many people make this mistake. The biggest mistake is using bottled water instead of RO/DI water. Another is not allowing the live sand/live rock to cure in the tank fully. Even if it is bought cured, it still has to have time to adjust to your husbandry practices. Another mistake is to try and get by with substandard equipment, especially lighting, and yet another, especially in a nano, is to purchase livestock without first researching its basic care requirements.

I completely agree! If you could go any bigger it'd probably be a lot easier on your part. My ten gallon is a temporary home for my guys now but I think it's harder to take care of than my other tanks I'm constantly testing the water.

Also about the lighting too make sure you start out with the lighting you're going to need from the start and don't just plan on upgrading later.