lighting a 10 gallon

TRe

Elite Fish
Feb 20, 2005
3,645
1
0
ft. lauderdale
#1
ive had this 10 gallon setup for about a year now and im finnally ready to get better lighting so i can get somw type of corals .... first question: what type of lighting?? will 40 watts be good enough?? the guy at the lfs told me over the phone that a 20 inch 40 watt setup will be good enough 1 is the good enough and 2 is 70 bucks too much?? also once i do upgrade on the lighting situation what corals can i have in a 10 .... will button polyops be ok to start?? or what can i start with??
 

Mar 20, 2006
9
0
0
#3
I'm not sure what you'll be able to keep in a ten with 40 watts of light, but as someone who's shopping around for lights for a 10 gallon at the moment I can tell you that 70 bucks for a 40 watt fixture is pretty over priced

You can get a 96 watt fixture for 87 bucks here:

http://hellolights.com/201xcoaqpcho.html

which as far as I know will keep most anything in a 10 gallon, but I'm new to this so I may be wrong

You can get a 40 watt fixture for around 50 bucks at a bunch of places ( liveaquaria.com is one) another one is here:

http://www.marineandreef.com/shoppro/power_satellite.html

Good luck!
 

TRe

Elite Fish
Feb 20, 2005
3,645
1
0
ft. lauderdale
#7
oh yea would a button polyp be considerd a zoo?? im still new to the whole reef thing but after being in the hobby for like a year and a half i think im ready to give it a shot... i figure ill start by upgrading the ten gallon lighting so i can start small and then next will be the 55 gallon since the lighting will cost much more..
 

lordroad

Large Fish
Sep 2, 2004
989
7
0
43
Shelby, NC
www.joshday.com
#8
With a ten gallon, you can keep a careful and thought-out mix of soft, SPS, and LPS corals, if you have a strong light... the 96 watt should do the trick for the majority of corals, even some SPS.

Your 40 watt you'll be able to keep shrooms, zoos, star polyps, no problemo.

I have the above mentioned 96 watt light and it was some of the best money I ever spent. I keep clams and even an SPS coral frag, which is thriving (and growing incredibly).

Thought-out means researched coral. For instance, you probably don't want to keep a frogspawn unless it's clear on the other side of the tank and there's nothing in 6 or 7 inches due to the sweeper tentacles. I keep an open brain coral, which isn't that abrasive compared to its LPS fellows. Truly an awesome coral, one of my favorites... it looks like a neon green inflated jumping arena little kids get on when the current hits it.

Read up on chemical warfare among corals. Sometimes carbon helps to alleviate the unseen chemical war.

The key to nano reefs are planning and reading on corals which will live and thrive in your smaller system. I no longer buy corals but trade and frag in my reef club.

Also, no anemone. Anemones aren't good for ten gallons anyway, but in small volumes of water they move about and sting and even release agents that can harm or kill your corals fast. I've seen this happen to a fellow club member who almost lost a green star polyps colony due to a carpet anemone in a 29 gallon tank.
 

#10
This is the light I have for my 10 gal nano, more than twice the watts for the same price...
http://www.aquatraders.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=243

I know its a 24" fixture, but with the adjustable legs it fits nicely on my 10 gal tank. The other reason I got this light is because I'm seriously considering moving the contents of my nano into my 20 gal as soon as I move the goldfish into the pond in my backyard (which is curently under construction).

EDIT: More than three times the wattage
 

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TRe

Elite Fish
Feb 20, 2005
3,645
1
0
ft. lauderdale
#17
ok the guys at the lfs said this should be ok as long as i keep it up towards the top of the tank closer to the light:

what do you think im thinking about getting a real small one to see how well it does... ill probally get it either later tonight or tommorow...