10 gallon project-starting now!

[discus4everGrl]

ok - did a water change today
amm - 0
nitrites 0
nitrates -0

and that is after I fed my bacteria last week with pure ammonia. So I know my bio filter is working on the rock and nature is taking it's course. I also started with a cleaning crew yesterday

I got 4 red leg hermits
2 margarita snails
2 peppermint shrimp

I wanted some blue leg dwarf hermits, but the lfs was out. Will I still have room to add them or is this clean up crew enough for a 10?

 

[OCCFan023]

yea a few blue legged hermits would be fine. The only thing I can reccomend is asking your store for some extra hermit shells. I forgot to get some and my crabs ended up killing each other for bigger shells, started of with 7, and I have like 4-5 now.

 

[discus4everGrl]

good advice.

 

[discus4everGrl]

Ok tank has been up a while, Ammonia has remained at 0, Nitrite, 0, did a water change yesterday and I don't have any nitrates registering. I have been doing 20% water change a week. I also dose once a week with iodine, trace elements and calc. Does all this seem ok? Am I missing anything obvious? Current stock is

2 true percs
3 red leg hermits
3 blue dwarf hermits
2 peppermint shrimp
2 margarita snails
(I hope I don't get chewed for this one)- One emerald crab

So a couple questions of course
Is my tank maxed out? Even with the decent sized clean up it seems so empty

Do I need to up my water changes now I have two fish? I have been successful keeping everything at zero although I think using ro water has helped

How long should I wait for the fish to settle before I consider a lighting up grade and corals?

Is a corallife 98 watt 50/50 light adequate for a 10gallon with corals, that is $96. The lfs also has an attach-on-pendant that is 150 watts, but it's $270 and I don't want to spend that if it's just over kill.

 

[1979camaro]

i can't tell you whether you need to up water changes...you will just have to keep an eye on your test kits for the first few months carefully to get that all squared away

as far as your stocking, i would say yes you are full...i think wayne or someone mentioned this earlier but SW tanks can handle considerably less fish than FW not only because of the more critical water quality issues but also because saltwater does not contain as much oxygen as fw

a 98w 50/50 should let you grow some softies and LPS

 

[supahtim]

your tank will look a lot more full once you start adding corals.

the lighting you have is good. you can add that whenever you want.

i would keep a good eye on that emerald crab once it gets a bit bigger. i had one in a 29g, but only for bubble algae and i was still worried about it.

and don't worry, nobody's gonna chew you up for anything. unless you put a tang in that tank. haha.

Tim

 

[DustinKeating]

The tang police are everywhere...*shifty eyed expression*

I wouldn't worry too hard about the emerald, i had one in my 10 and he was perfectly fine.

If i was you i might rearrange my rocks so that you can place some things higher and lower in the tank. A good idea is to buy a long peice that can extend a little higher towards the lights. This way you can place corals everywhere, in order to find out how much light they need, and where to place them in your tank. That can be done anytime though, just a suggestion.

 

[discus4everGrl]

K, thanks guys.

 

[discus4everGrl]

"A good idea is to buy a long peice that can extend a little higher towards the lights"

Wouldn't it be a bad idea to add rock to a tank with fish in it? At this point I have a 10 gallon QT, but I'm growing a discus out in it who was much smaller than the others when I got him and got picked on a lot. I can clean and put a powerhead in that if I need to get more rock just in case there is die off....but I prefer to wait. discus babies are at least $40 dollars apiece = if you know what I mean.

 

[supahtim]

that all depends on if the rock is pre-cured or not, and how much you are going to add.

you should really be fine with the lighting you were originally going to get. that's plenty of light for a 10g aquarium. if you feel that your some of your corals aren't getting enough light, then put those higher up in the tank.

Tim

 

[discus4everGrl]

can anyone recommend so good "beginner" corals, ie - hard to kill....

 

[aresgod]

most leathers or shrooms would be a fine way to start.

 

[1979camaro]

zoanthids as well

 

[discus4everGrl]

thanks guys. Sorry about all the questions but you guys have been very open to helping and you have no idea how much that means to me.

Next question - I know I only have a 10 gallon, but I have contemplated getting a small protien skimmer. I have read it's not neccessary, but would it be a bad idea? Would it be pure over kill?

 

[supahtim]

protein skimmers are always good to have. i know it's big and bulky and probably larger than your tank itself, but i'd recommend a prism for your 10g.

BUT if you keep up with regular water changes you won't need one and that would be one less expense. you could spend that money on salt and RO water for your water changes instead. lol

 

[wayne]

I'd rather spend the money on getting a spare powerhead , heaetr and bucket so I can make up top quality salt and let it sit a few days once a week. A skimmer is good, but a 25% water change once a week is better i.m.o.

 

[discus4everGrl]

ok, I have many buckets, a spare powerhead (got a free one with my uv sterilizer purchase) and heater. So I will save that money for my lighting up grade - sweet!

 

[supahtim]

i don't know if you're going to put that uv sterilizer on your aquarium, but it isn't really needed. it will eventually kill off all of the bacteria that you actually need. just a heads up...

Tim

 

[aresgod]

I think she might be using the UV sterilizer on a FW tank.

 

[discus4everGrl]

I use it on my discus tank.