# New 10g reef-ish tank idea



## baylee767 (Nov 5, 2010)

I want to setup a nano reef so bad but it's illegal to import or collect coral in Hawaii :-(

So I think I'll setup a reef like tank without the live coral. See, our 55g is basically all my dads but I feed his fish and share his knowlage.

So I want to start a saltwater tank of my own, just a little 10 gallon reef like thing. I plan on bleaching a bunch of dead corals (not that hard to find them) and then stacking them in the tank, and getting a BUNCH of feather duster tube worms, colorful ones (orange, pink, etc.) And then laying them all over the pile of coral and putting some in the sand. Then I'll add a cleaner shrimp, and 4-5 yellow clown gobies, as well as maybe a hermit crab or two (the species around here stays tiny) Does this sound reasonable/compatible? I mean, with all those clean species... it should be a fairly clean tank, the only worry I have is if these gobies for some reason attack the cleaner shrimp, but I don't this species does it.

Basically I'm going for a very clean, colorful, pretty tank. And I'll settle for nothing less than perfect. Do my plans sound reasonable?


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## small fry (Oct 14, 2010)

You might have a problem with the clown gobies. I have heard from at least site that they should kept singly, unless the tank is much larger [than a 30g tank]. I wouln't think that 4 YCG would work, even if they could get along, because of the bio-load, as they are moderately sensitive to toxicity. I could be wrong, though.

Also, make sure that the feather dusters you have aren't poisonous. I am not sure which ones are, and which ones aren't, but polyps look like feather dusters and they are highly poisonous. In a bigger tank it might not be a problem, but if you have something that can squirt poison in a small tank, it may not turn out so nicely. I have "yellow polyps" that look orange, so that is why I brought that up.


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## baylee767 (Nov 5, 2010)

Okay (=

Don't worry, clown gobies according to one site need .5 gallons, according to aq advisor 2 gallons. They are small fish with a low bioload.

And yep, don't have anything yet, but I'll be sure to research which ones are toxic and which aren't. I can't start this project until April do to a huge trip starting in a few days, but I'll have plenty of time to research.


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## small fry (Oct 14, 2010)

Sounds great! Keep us up to date on your project (or link us your new thread from this thread)!:-D


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## small fry (Oct 14, 2010)

Very sorry for the double post, but I have done some reading and I imagine it will be past 20 minutes after I finish this post.

[note: the links below link sites out of Tropical Fish Keeping.com]

I will quote afew sites/threads;



_"It is not advisable to keep two or more clown gobies together in an aquarium unless it is 130+ litres in volume."_
This quote can be found on this thread.



_"The Yellow clown goby can be aggressive towards other Yellow clown gobies if kept in a too small aquarium."_

_"A single Yellow clown goby can be kept in a 10 gallon / 35 L tank but if you want to keep more than one you need a larger aquarium as they as previously mentioned become aggressive towards other members of their own species in small aquariums. A 30 gallon / 120 L aquarium or larger is a better choice if you want to keep more than one."_

_"The Yellow clown goby is best kept in reef aquariums with colonies of polyp corals."_
These quotes can be found on this care article.



_"it is not reccomended to put 2 in the same aquarium, but it is possible."_
This quote can be found on this thread.

[note: the views not quoted by links do not necessarily reflect the views of small fry] 

It seems that 2 wont work. Maybe you can come up with another idea for stocking a 10g?


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## baylee767 (Nov 5, 2010)

Hmmm, maybe a pair of false percula clown fish. They are pretty cool as a pair. I really wish I could keep a couple of fiji blue devil damsels though x.x don't you hate fish aggression sometimes? They'd probably tear eachother and that cleaner shrimp apart. If only they could calm down a notch, they would be so beautfiul in my tank plan /=. 

Maybe some kind of... puffer? No. Eh... I love damsals ^.^


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## small fry (Oct 14, 2010)

I wouldn't do clowns in a 10g. IMO that is not enough space. It should be _at least _a 20g, but 25+g is more prefered. You might go with 1 Fiji Blue Devil. If you do, I would get a male, as they are much mmore colorful (the blue devil in my avatar is a female).

A puffer wouldn't work for a 10g saltwater tank. They are pretty active and need alot of swimming room. Live Aquaria has a list of fish suggested (by them) for a 10g tank. Here is a link that I think filters out fish that need a 20g+, fish that are aggressive/semi, reef compatable, and easy to take care of. That should sorta match your suggestions. I know some fish that some fish on that list, like the Jester Goby, aren't suitable for these filtered categories. Please post your thoughts here before considering a fish on that list.


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## baylee767 (Nov 5, 2010)

Adding a single blue devil... hmm....

BTW, I meant a dwarf puffer like the hawaiian spotted one and the green spot, etc. XD but I realized that 10g might be too small because we had one once and he was very active, and a puffer could destroy a cleaner shrimp.

Sorry if I seem a bit slow, I abandoned saltwater for a few months and forgot a few things. I'm refreshing my memory.

Also, for some reason I like the female damsals better /= I mean, the males look okay, but to me yellow+blue= meh. So a female, all blue of course, would look nice (=

Oh, and remember when you said that some of the colorful feather dusters are poisoness? Did you mean the ones with the soft leathery tubes? Because those are the ones I was talking about, not the ones with hard tubes. 

Lastly, do you think the damsal might act aggressive towards a cleaner shrimp if I add the shrimp before the damsal? We had two before (dad didn't research >.<), and they were quite aggressive towards a blenny we had in our 55g tank once. My dad hates them now and wouldn't care if he killed them )=> but basically, since they are so aggressive, is it possible that they'd attack a cleaner shrimp (I'm repeating again, aren't I?) Oh, when I say they, I don't mean I'll get two, if blue devil damsals are compatable, I'll only get one. Female =3


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## small fry (Oct 14, 2010)

baylee767 said:


> BTW, I meant a dwarf puffer like the hawaiian spotted one and the green spot, etc. XD but I realized that 10g might be too small because we had one once and he was very active, and a puffer could destroy a cleaner shrimp.


I know alot of puffers can be kept in all 3 types of water (fw, brackish, sw), but I thought DP were fw lol.



baylee767 said:


> Also, for some reason I like the female damsals better /= I mean, the males look okay, but to me yellow+blue= meh. So a female, all blue of course, would look nice (=


Ok then. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion lol. I do love my female Blue Devil, though.



baylee767 said:


> Oh, and remember when you said that some of the colorful feather dusters are poisoness? Did you mean the ones with the soft leathery tubes? Because those are the ones I was talking about, not the ones with hard tubes.


Honestly, I don't know. I think some of them carry a toxin called "platytoxin", but I don't know for sure if that is the name, or the details that go into that. It may just be polyps.



baylee767 said:


> Lastly, do you think the damsal might act aggressive towards a cleaner shrimp if I add the shrimp before the damsal? We had two before (dad didn't research >.<), and they were quite aggressive towards a blenny we had in our 55g tank once. My dad hates them now and wouldn't care if he killed them )=> but basically, since they are so aggressive, is it possible that they'd attack a cleaner shrimp (I'm repeating again, aren't I?) Oh, when I say they, I don't mean I'll get two, if blue devil damsals are compatable, I'll only get one. Female =3


I have 2 damsels in with my (nicely sized) peppermint shrimp. They have never seemed to injure him except one time when my humbug rammed it as fast as he could and knocked him off a piece of LR, but I want to say it was an accident. The shrimp wasn't hurt by the ram or the fall. So the cleaner attacked a blenny? That is stange, never heard of that. What species of shrimp, and what kind of blenny are you talking about lol?


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## baylee767 (Nov 5, 2010)

Misunderstanding LOL, the damsel attacked the blenny. They kept on bullying it... we had tot get rid of them because my dad likes his big peaceful community. But they sure were prett =D except when they got freshwater dips they turned black =s understand that's from stress.

Also, "dwartf puffers" I just didn't know what to call them LOL. Small, 1-2 inch saltwater puffers (like the ones listed above)

We always get the scarlet skunk-stripe cleaner shrimps. They are awesome as can be (= We just drop in a pellet during feeding and none of the fish want to eat the pellet but the shrimp does, even though it's designed for fish *shrugs* Am I still making sense?


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## badxgillen (Aug 20, 2010)

*hmmm*

no palytoxins in the sebellastarte or bispira feather duster worms.wich are most likely the ones you speak of..as far as clowns ther is no reason you coulldnt do perculas or ocellaris especialy if they were tank raised and paired prior to purchas.and remember even the dwarf puffers will attemp to consume your shrimps whenever possible..even a leg or two.


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## baylee767 (Nov 5, 2010)

Thanks! But I reall want a blue devil damsal (= would look so pretty with the color combo. Only wish I could get one or two more fish /= oh well.

Great to know the tube worms that I'm talking about aren't toxic (=

Have another question, I'll be bleaching some dead corals to make the rock column. How long should I soak them in water afterwards to remove it all?


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## badxgillen (Aug 20, 2010)

*bleach*

what method are you bleaching the rocks with.


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## baylee767 (Nov 5, 2010)

Probably put them in something 1 part bleach, 19 parts water and soak for awhile (not sure how long yet) Then soak in regular water for ? days.

This is correct, right :lol:?


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## badxgillen (Aug 20, 2010)

*ok*

i like to add a heavy dose of a tank declorinator product as well..and i would test the skeletons with a test fish just incase things didnt leach out.


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## baylee767 (Nov 5, 2010)

Wouldn't it be kind of cruel to test with a fish? Especially if there was still bleach?

I think I'll just soak in water with the powerful dechlorinater until the smell is gone on the corals, then another day besides. If I test it'll more likely be with a hermit crab or snail than a fish, though.

How long should I leave them in the bleach solution?


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## redchigh (Jan 20, 2010)

I would use daily doses of dechlorinator to the water when it's in fresh, and then let it dry 100%.

People tend to forget that bleach breaks down into chlorine gas pretty quick when exposed to air and light. If you could bleach the corals ASAP in the bleachwater solution and let them dry for a month or two, you wouldn't have to worry about the dechlorinator.

(Although I might give them a quick dechlorinator dip before going in the tank to be on the safe side. Probably unneccesary though.)


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## badxgillen (Aug 20, 2010)

*what*

no no no...why would you put a fish in when there is still bleach...after you have finished..then tast to be sure..there is nothing like putting one piece of decor in your tank only having it leach into your closed system and drstroying everything.


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## baylee767 (Nov 5, 2010)

Hmm I think I'll do it in a high dechlorinater solution for a week (completely switching out the water daily to clean out the chlorine) Then dry it for 2 weeks-a month. Sound good? Or am I going a bit short?


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## bigrift (Aug 30, 2010)

i just skimmed threw the conversation so if this was said somewhere im sorry lol. i read somewhere that its legal in hawaii to collect from the shoreline after storms and sutch but no more than a 5 gallon bucket full. i wish i could remember the site i saw it one but someone said they did thier whole tank off of what corals and lr they found washed up after storms... look into this maybe you can get some really nice free stuff.


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