# Thinking about starting a tiny reef tank... HELP!



## bunnysaur (Oct 8, 2013)

Hi,
In a few weeks, I'm getting a bigger tank for the freshwater fish that I have in a 10 gallon, and I've been thinking about creating a super duper itty bitty nano reef in the 10 gallon. I have no idea what I'm doing.
Obviously I won't be able to have a million fish in there, so stocking ideas?
What sort of filtration would I need? Substrate? Would it be worth it to have live corals and shrimps/snails and such in such a small space?

I was thinking about doing a sand bottom, a few live rocks and corals, an anemone, a clownfish or two, and maybe a couple different inverts.

Another thing: I'm currently a college student, and I'll be moving at least a few hours away from where I currently live in a few years. is it a bad idea to start a little reef tank now and then try to move it with me?


----------



## djembekah (Feb 13, 2012)

idk anything about reefs, just wanted to say HI

eta: i feel like clowns or something would be too large though. i love inverts, and would probably put those in a nano tank.


----------



## ao (Feb 29, 2012)

i can only tell you what Ive heard... and that is itty bitty sw tanks are not for beginners! XD Lemme grab a salty guy for you~


Sent from Petguide.com App


----------



## badxgillen (Aug 20, 2010)

I think you can do a rather striking nano with 10 gallons,the key is patience and being conservative. Small stock list with very little fish if you are going to go for some corals. If you can get a skimmer for the tank then even better if not then water changes are not out of the question to keep parameters stable.


----------



## badxgillen (Aug 20, 2010)

When it comes to moving a reef tank smaller is certainly better so I don't think there will be any worries there. I prefer an aragonite substrate and as much rock as you feel comfortable putting into the tank without compromising swim room.The rock will be a big part of your filtration. As far as a filter you could use a oversized hang on back filter and run carbon or other media to help water clarity and chemistry. If you are doing coral or anemones you will need good quality light so no skimping there.If you did do a pair of clowns they would have to be small ocelaris clowns maybe perculas but they will get pretty good sized for a 10 gallon tank.


----------



## bunnysaur (Oct 8, 2013)

djembekah said:


> idk anything about reefs, just wanted to say HI
> 
> eta: i feel like clowns or something would be too large though. i love inverts, and would probably put those in a nano tank.


HI!!! :crazy:



badxgillen said:


> When it comes to moving a reef tank smaller is certainly better so I don't think there will be any worries there. I prefer an aragonite substrate and as much rock as you feel comfortable putting into the tank without compromising swim room.The rock will be a big part of your filtration. As far as a filter you could use a oversized hang on back filter and run carbon or other media to help water clarity and chemistry. If you are doing coral or anemones you will need good quality light so no skimping there.If you did do a pair of clowns they would have to be small ocelaris clowns maybe perculas but they will get pretty good sized for a 10 gallon tank.


That sounds doable. I'm not going to need a big huge giant filter setup though, right? By "oversized" I'm guessing you mean like a regular filter that's rated for a tank larger than mine. Would LED lights be good enough?
thanks for your help so far!


----------



## badxgillen (Aug 20, 2010)

Well I would set a filter rated for at least 20 gallons on a 10 gallon tank preferably with flow control. The filter itself will act as circulation,particle removal,and a housing for media.Remember that in a salt tank you want your starting point of circulation to be at least 10 times the water volume.


----------



## badxgillen (Aug 20, 2010)

Hmm LEDs...It depends on the LEDs, many of the units that are not too pricey will allow for soft corals to be had but it will be rather limiting for stony corals and anemones.Once again this can be difficult to say without a little more info on what LED lights you may want to go with.I personally have seen some rather good results with a marine land accent light LED combined with a nice 50\50 T-8 bulb.Pretty standard stuff but looked great.


----------



## wake49 (Jul 2, 2008)

badxgillen said:


> Hmm LEDs...It depends on the LEDs, many of the units that are not too pricey will allow for soft corals to be had but it will be rather limiting for stony corals and anemones.Once again this can be difficult to say without a little more info on what LED lights you may want to go with.I personally have seen some rather good results with a marine land accent light LED combined with a nice 50\50 T-8 bulb.Pretty standard stuff but looked great.


badx, canyou link that marineland accent LED light? Thanks!


----------



## badxgillen (Aug 20, 2010)

Freshwater Saltwater Reef Aquarium LED Lighting System | Marineland
here is the marine land site


----------



## badxgillen (Aug 20, 2010)

Marineland Hidden Accent LED System - 460nm Blue - 17 in.
here we go,this is the 460 nano meter blue wich makes corals look amazing.This goes on the inside of the tank so it can be combined with ant other kind of lighting so if you upgrade you can still use this bad boy.I have tested it and it actually has a decent PAR reading for an accent light so it adds significant growth as well.Just be sure to accomodate the lacking spectrum with a 10,000 kelvin bulb or a 50\50.


----------



## wake49 (Jul 2, 2008)

Thanks buddy!

EDIT: Sorry, I was threadjacking. I started a new discussion about lighting here: http://www.tropicalfishkeeping.com/advanced-saltwater-discussion/led-lighting-290977/#post3271985


----------



## bunnysaur (Oct 8, 2013)

Thanks for those links, those lights look pretty nifty!



wake49 said:


> Thanks buddy!
> 
> EDIT: Sorry, I was threadjacking. I started a new discussion about lighting here: http://www.tropicalfishkeeping.com/advanced-saltwater-discussion/led-lighting-290977/#post3271985


Hey, if it gets me more info about my dream tank... hijack away! ;-)


----------



## ao (Feb 29, 2012)

I want pics if dream tank happens!


Sent from Petguide.com App


----------



## badxgillen (Aug 20, 2010)

I have the light mentioned and many others,maybe at some point I can show you a few of them. The problem being is pictures do not take under LED lighting without photo shop white balancing.When you get one you will see,you will want to show the world but can't...not without a 100 trial and errors on the camera.


----------

