Nano Reef Tank Maintenance
Saltwater Nano Reef Setup?
I am setting up a ten gallon nano Reef Tank. I am using a 10gal. because i have very limited space. What are the set up equipment and the price for the basic setup? What kind of coral, fish and clean up crew i should/can have for it? What is general maintenance? I am making my own live rock. How do you get coralline algae to grow on it and sand?
Cat’s advice to you was good. The best answer I can give you, and i’m not being mean, is that you should not be attempting this unless you are very very familiar with REEF aquariums. I would not suggest keeping one unless you have kept a large reef aquarium for a number of years and have a firm understanding of the questions you are asking. Seriously I am attempting to save you some serious frustration and a lot of cash. Any Marine Tank under 30 gallons are extremely hard to keep, and ten is almost certain disaster.
I will go ahead and answer your question though and hopfully it will talk you out of it.
There is no such thing as a basic set up, you will need top equipment.
1. filtration system (i have no good advice because I don’t believe a good system is made for such a small tank)
2. Protien skimmer-$80
3. full testing kit and salt- $100
4. Lighting system…metal halide and a chiller system $300.00 AT LEAST AND EASILY MORE!!
5. live rock- 15 lbs- $75.00
6. live sand- 10lbs ( ihave only seen it sold in 20lb bags) $30
7. water conditioners for tank and corals $80
Now I will not get into what corals as there are hundreds of choices, but only the absolute hardiest of them will have a chance of survival…..$150 to start
NO FISH…absolutely too small for fish….the fish would produce waste that will make your 10 gallon nano kill your corals and inverts. No one keeps fish in a ten gallon reef.
1 serpent starfish…clean up crew
2 blue leg hermit crabs
2 small shrimp or crabs (I mean small like one inch tops)
Of course the price would go up very little to start a thirty gallon tank, as most of the supplies are standard. and the ten gallon is 20 inches long, a 29 gallon is 30 inches long, a thirty gallon is 36 inches long…so if you could come up with ten more inches you would have a lot more success. Anything under 40 gallons is considered a nano Reef. The only successful 10 gallon Reef Tanks i have ever seen were at very good pet stores with very advanced hobbiests and/or biologists.
Hope this helps
Duece B
“I am 22 years old!!!! Definetly not an advanced hobbyist. : )”
I guess he said it best…
A hobbiest that lives in the forums without enough experience to see that 99% of these tanks crash within the first 3 months…plus no one said you cant put fish in Nano reef tanks..Just shouldn’t in a ten gallon nano tank….even if you did change water and test daily you will have a better than 90% chance of killing your animals because of a lack of experience…any one who recommends a bigginer trying this is the one joking… and doesnt know what rhier talking about. Some pictures on the net do not give the entire picture….I promise you there a hundred posts on why did my nano tank crash…to every bigginer who writes in saying how easy it is to do look at my tank…..guess im just not into killing animals.
Oh, by the way i have been keeping animals and worked in the field helping people with their animals for far more than 22 years. THat is a little better than having a 10 gallon nano and thinking i know it all.
My brother’s cheap reef aquarium: Construction´s sand substrate with a lot of living beings