[hesus321]

Hello. I have wanted an aquarium for awhile and have finally decided to get it done. I live in a college dorm and the limit on tank size is 10G. So far, the only thing I have is the tank. I plan on having a goby/pistol shrimp combo and another yet undetermined fish (along with the CuC). I also want to have several different zoas and anything else that will fit. I realize I will be spending at least a couple hundred dollars on equipment alone. Knowing this, I do not want to buy top-of-the-line equipment, but I do not want equipment that will break down.

I would appreciate any advice on equipment set-ups and fish/coral to get. Thank you.

 

[BigandUgly]

For a ten gallon you don't really need a lot. For light, check out Aquatraders - Wide selection of Aquarium Lightings including T5 HO, Power Compact, Metal Halide. I just found them a few weeks ago and I've placed orders twice. I am quite happy with them. Right now they have a 20" 36W Power compact fixture for $24.90. (No, I don't have any affiliation with them. I've just been happy with their products, prices and service.)

On a 10 gallon you won't need a protein skimmer, just make sure to make frequent partial water changes.

A powerhead will cost you another $15-20. I would add a hang on back filter for a little more flow and an easy way to run carbon.

You should be able to add a decent light, powerhead, hang on back and argonite substrate for $100 or less. Save the rest of your budget for quality live rock.

 

[ladyonyx]

Good advice above. I have a 12g nanocube and absolutely love it. I cannot stress more the importance of water changes with small systems like this. I do 25% water changes twice a week on mine and have no skimmer, and this keeps ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels undetectable. I'd recommend between 8-12 lbs of live rock with a two-inch+ aragonite sandbed.
As far as inhabitants go, the goby/pistol shrimp pair will be great. There are plenty of other nice small fish that would be good in your 10g: Nano Fish
Keep in mind that while your tank may be able to hold 10g of water, it will hold more like 7-8g after all the substrate and live rock are added, so this is a small volume of water. Water and air circulation are important to make sure the temperature doesn't spike. Also, a lot of evaporation occurs in a tank this size, so you'll need to be topping the tank off with freshwater pretty often.
Take it slow with the cycling. Corals do terrible if the tank is not fully cycled before you add them (at least 2 weeks of cycling), so please don't rush (as exciting as it may be) and read as much as you can about nano reef tanks just to get a feel for the hobby. Zoanthids and palythoas are great starter corals as well as are leather corals (I'm actually selling some of mine right now if you check out the Corals for Sale forum). Star polyps and xenia grow like weeds, sometimes too quickly. I'd stay away from SPS corals because they typically require strong lighting (MH) which is very expensive and the bulbs generate TONS of heat.
Please ask lots of questions during this process and don't think that your asking dumb questions. The only dumb thing you can do is to wait too long to ask questions. So ask away!

 

[petlover516]

If you want to see another good reef tank set-up that was a 10 gallon, go to this thread:

http://www.aquariumforum.com/f22/new-sw-setup-2345.html

 

[Dasani]

fish: goby/shrimp, picasso clown or purple firefish
cuc: 10 dwarf ceriths, 5 mexican turbos (small), 3 blue leg hermits, 1 peppermint shrimp or cleaner shrimp
rock/sand: 15 lbs fiji live rock, 15 lbs fiji pink live sand
flow: koralia 1
Filter: aquaclear 50 or 70 modded to a refugium (watch my guide, search diy aquaclear refugium on youtube)
Lights: T5-ho 24" /2 lamp aquarium Light

hope I helped

 

[chromis18]

u should buy a koralia nano fan.a 10-20 aqua tech filter from walmart.an incandescent hood.caoral life 50/50 light bulbs.10 pounds of live rock.10 pounds of live sand.instant ocean for 10 gallons(the 3lb box).2 five gallon buckets to (mix the water)an instant ocean hydrometer.an in tank thermometer from walmart.10 blue legged hermit crabs,10 turbo snails.and these are your essentialss for your 10 galllon nano reef tank. i just set one up myself with the same items i've listed.the tank should cycle in 8-10 days.after that have the water tested and if everything checks out add your fish.you don't want to have more than three or four fish(that's maximum size is 3"). i'd start with a chromis after the initial 8-10 day cycle period

 

[Dasani]

I would not start with chromis unless you want to keep them... koralia nanos barley put out flow, One guy said he uses one in a 5g bucket to mix salt and he said it takes 3 days for it to dissolve... if you want the nanos get 2 of um or 1 k-1. the walmart filters wont last long and for saltwater you need one rated at least 2 times more than your tank volume and with those lights he wont be able to have much... he may come across something that he likes and then figure out he cant have it b/c his lights suck.... dont get that many crabs, they dont do anything but eat hair algae and move stuff around and eat snails for their shells.... you tank will take a minimum of 2 weeks to cycle unless you seed it with cycled water from another tank, it may take a week then if you use live sand and rock, but I don't think you will be doing that...

 

[chromis18]

your right about the lighting,but its all i can afford right now.and my flow from the koralia nano is great.and so is my wal-mart filter.but i don't plan on keeping the chromis.i have a friend who is going to set up a 10 gallon saltwater and i'm giving them to him to cycle his tank.i only got that many crabs and snail because they were cheaper to buy in bulk than one or two at a time.

 

[ladyonyx]

Just so you know, you don't need fish to cycle a tank. It's actually a crazy amount of stress to put a fish through. Subjecting them to that kind of ammonia litterally burns their gills preventing proper gas exchange. Fish often die during the cycling process because they suffocate from lack of oxygen and ammonia burns to soft gill tissue. Pure ammonia addition (fishless cycling) works great IMO and I'd recommend it to anyone setting up a new tank.

 

[chromis18]

Just so you know, you don't need fish to cycle a tank. It's actually a crazy amount of stress to put a fish through. Subjecting them to that kind of ammonia litterally burns their gills preventing proper gas exchange. Fish often die during the cycling process because they suffocate from lack of oxygen and ammonia burns to soft gill tissue. Pure ammonia addition (fishless cycling) works great IMO and I'd recommend it to anyone setting up a new tank.

i've got all my nitrites and nitrates in balance and my ammonia wasn't ever high enough to burn out my fishes gills.but i do understand what you're saying. because i had it running with 10 turbo snails and 10 blue legged hermit crabs for 4 days before i added fish.

 

[chromis18]

Hello. I have wanted an aquarium for awhile and have finally decided to get it done. I live in a college dorm and the limit on tank size is 10G. So far, the only thing I have is the tank. I plan on having a goby/pistol shrimp combo and another yet undetermined fish (along with the CuC). I also want to have several different zoas and anything else that will fit. I realize I will be spending at least a couple hundred dollars on equipment alone. Knowing this, I do not want to buy top-of-the-line equipment, but I do not want equipment that will break down.

I would appreciate any advice on equipment set-ups and fish/coral to get. Thank you.

hey honestly i would just go to the nearest saltwater fish shop and talk to the owner.if he tells you that he's been in the business like 15-30 years listen to what he tells you.not these people.i set my 10 gallon up by a fomula that an owner of a saltwater shop gave me and i've had no problems and my tank is doing great.

 

[ladyonyx]

So hesus321, how's your setup going?