[sciencebuff93]

Hello again,
My tank is know 13 weeks old, i've got a protein skimmer coming, and know I'm starting to look for good sites with corals. My 10g still has the clown, royal gramma, and pep. shrimp, will be illuminated by 30 watts (1 antinic/ 1 full spectrum). I would like some other people's opinions on what I could do.

My lfs are very expensive since I live in semi rural Pennsylvania, so I've looked online and found at etropicals they sell coral and algae/plants individually, but they haven't had what I want in stock. Should I wait or do something else?

Secondly, I was wondering if I could possibly keep any other corals (then mushrooms)under my conditions? I.e. like polyps or soft corals.

Lastly, I was wondering how many coral colonyies I could keep considering mushrooms have long sweeper tenacles. I'm quessing five small ones but I don't want to mess up and have them all fried.

Thankz 4 your help.

 

[mochis]

Hello Sciencebuff93. I think you should definitely wait till you find exactly what you like best. I filled up my first tank with stuff that I ended up replacing when I ran out of room. That tank was also a 10gal. I went to nanotuners.com and purchased a retro kit for my lights. Best $50 I ever spent. People say that 5 watts per gallon is a good average for softies. I believe you can add however much you want as long as they don't touch each other. Maybe you could add more rock and have more surface area for corals. Keep us up to date on your progress.

 

[goldenmacman]

if i was you i would first get your live rock and filtration situation down, after i would make sure your fish are happy and not overstocked, then i would get corals, your only limited by lighting... you can really get anything EXCEPT!!: SPS!! and corals that need high lighting such as halides... if you really want some SPS get colors like green, not orange... green requires less light but if they dont get enough light then will turn brown and may die...personally there are thousands of other types of coral, get mushrooms, polyps, zoanthids, some softies like xenia... do some research and dont rush it!

 

[gotzcha]

i am just starting a 12 gal nano reef - what is sps?

 

[racermike27]

SPS - small polyped stony coral.

These require more light and flow than most other corals. If you are just beginning in the hoby I would stay away from these until you are a bit more keen on coral husbandry. These can be very very pricey too.

 

[racermike27]

Sciencebuff,

I second the suggestion to check out nano tuners. They have an excellent product selection and I am sure you will find something you need there. Once your equipment is done and the tank is fully equipped and ready then you can begin your quest for corals.

As mentioned above you will not be limited to just mushrooms. I would agree you can keep most anything except SPS. These can be kept but I would wait until you are a bit better at husbandry. Certain types of SPS do better than others and lighting plays a key role here.

We are all here to help you along the way. Ask any questions you have and remember patience is your friend.

-Mike

 

[sciencebuff93]

Okay, well, I've been wondering about how (if possible) I can put a refugium on my aquarium and wether or not it would be worth it. My tank does have a slight excess of algae and has a nitrate problem, and I've read about mangrove plants and how they can be very beneficial in a reef setup. Should I bother trying to make a refugium and if so should I make one myself or buy a kit?
Many thanks
Cody

 

[racermike27]

You can easily add a fuge to the system. I am not sure of what type of filtration you have now, but you could try this:

Get the large aquaclear HOB filter.
Glue a baffle to the pump side of the unit, about 6" high.
then this will reate a nice fuge, all you need is to hang a light over it and you are done. I have made quite a few of these for various nanos I have had over the years. The mod is cheap and it works very well.
I have put these on as small as a 2.5G I had on my desk, I used a smaller aquaclear though.

Let me know if you need more help I could take some pics and e-mail them to you.

-Mike-

 

[RickM61]

you can definitely keep more than mushrooms.with that light..try zoa's ricordia, duncun's, and definitely try a suncoral..i would really go for the nano-tuners upgrade kit..well worth the $$$$..

Rick

 

[sciencebuff93]

Okay, I looked on nanotuners at the retro fit kits, and they are a little bit short (one 7" and the other 5"). Would it matter? A second question I have is wether I have to buy this company's particular bulb or if I can buy any pc bulb of the same wattage and pin allignment. Thanks for your responses.
Cody

 

[RickM61]

regardless of the bulb you have to stay with the same wattage..its not to good to overpower a ballast on pc's..i dont think it matters much on the bulb as long as the pin alignment is the same.

Rick

 

[racermike27]

Hey guys,

Sorry for the late reply but here is the link with the mod for the aquaclear.

It is pretty simple. I did everything except the modding fo the impellar.

Reef Central Online Community - How to DIY an AC 70 fuge

Let me know if the link does not work.

HTH,

Mike

 

[nicco0315]

Also if you want to upgrade your ballast, I believe mediahound has a video on how you can do so for better lighting. If he doesn't you can find it on youtube for your nano.

 

[goldenmacman]

racer mike!! what a great idea!!! I think im going to do that to my biocube!!! any other details that will make it easier or fit better?.. PM thanks

 

[racermike27]

It is a pretty simple mod. I have done quite a few of these for various nano tanks
I have had over the years. This was before all the nanocube craze and such. I have modded the middle sized unit and I had that on a 2.5G pico that was on my desk in my office. Mod is simple and effective, plus it increases your total water volume which is always a plus. I used the regular household GOOP (purple tube) to glue in my baffle. It is reef safe and I hav been using it in my tanks for years.

Good luck and ask me if you guys need any help with these.

-Mike-