i think i might have found a home for my goldfish so i will be converting my 10 gallon to saltwater some and i was looking at different lighting setups and was wondering what might work. I am looking at probably doing power compacts and i was wondering how much wattage i would need. I would probably be putting a bit of LPS and a few softies and maybe an SPS or 2 down the road in the tank. The problem is i am only really finding 40 or 80 watts in that length and 40 sounds a little low and 80 sounds a little high since it isnt that big of a tank. I could also get a 65 watt 24" setup but would then have to figure out how to make it fit on the 20" tank. What are your thoughts on this?
On a standard ten gallon tank, you could pretty much light a candle over it and have enough light. Okay, maybe not, but it won’t take much. Anything more than a PC is overkill, and will be too much light. You have to consider the depth of the tank in question, and the amount of light penetration. I’d get a 50/50 PC set up and go with it. I’d also try not to mix softies with stonies in a tank that size, although many do it successfully. :TWOCENTS
Joe
Joe is on the right track…(swat that bug) . A single or double 36 watt PC fixture would fit fine if you have a glass cover to rest it on. you need a fixture that spans a bit more than 20 inches. Like Joe said, 50/50s would be best for keeping low/medium light corals. it may not do for SPS. for that you could get a littlle higher end 70w or 150w HQI metal halide set. that would grow anything. but your biggest concern will be water filtration and quality in so small a fixed tank.
There are lots of soft corals you can grow in a stand alone 10 g. I have done lots of those, to raise fish in. they just turned into mini soft coral reef tanks while the fish fry grew. I cant help it , i just added a rock or two and some schrooms and red grape macro algae. they looked cool. red, blue, and neon green frilly mushrooms. and some other softies too. with all the baby fishies swimming through them. but i had a mini bio wheel filter on each of them. and did lots of water changes. the 15 tall had a plenum sand bed too.
if you build a canopy for the 10 gallon i have a ballast that will run 2 65 watt striaght pin power compacts. it all ready has the ends for bulbs. all you would need is bulbs and would be plenty for 10 gallon tank. i just made one for a 29 gallon. just let me know
it should be pointed out that doing a 10 gallon reef should not be attempted but by experts, that volume of water can change parameters catastrophically very fast (trust me i have a 26 gallon and cant stand the constant fluxuations, hence my new 120g system) most lps and sps will outgrow a 10 gallon, and any fish will be severely stressed. from my experiences nano’s are headaches and cost more money in the end than a larger tank.
[quote=“TimH07, post:5, topic:1720”]
it should be pointed out that doing a 10 gallon reef should not be attempted but by experts, that volume of water can change parameters catastrophically very fast (trust me i have a 26 gallon and cant stand the constant fluxuations, hence my new 120g system) most lps and sps will outgrow a 10 gallon, and any fish will be severely stressed. from my experiences nano’s are headaches and cost more money in the end than a larger tank.[/quote]
I have to agree with part of this statement. With a few exceptions newbie’s should have larger tanks. The swings and needs in a small tank are a lot harder to master then say a 55 gallon where the effect is diluted. This being said there are a lot of newbies that do well with a nano as a first tank but they are usually geeks and detail oriented :GEEK: no offense to those few
As for costing more… not usually if you are experienced… They can be money pits to the inexperienced
Nothing is impossible. I have set up as small as 2 1/2 gallon tanks to raise a half a dozen baby Banggai Cardinal fish in. but of course i had to turn it into a mini reef tank of soft corals, red and blue mushrooms, a couple zoos a bit of sand bed, a spot of GSP, and some live rock with maybe some red grape macro algae to boot. all with only a 9 or 12 watt strip light and a mini Bio Wheel filter? it was so small a big water change, regularly takes nothing. and the softies looked real good, the red grape filled the tank and helped the filter, and the fish grew up fine. Uhhh, then i sold the fish.
So, with a little care, and attention to detail, much is possible. Have some fun, try your hand and learn while you go. small tanks can be easy, since a half gallon water change, more often only takes a few minutes. stir up the mud, syphon out the crud with the dirty water and add some new salt water. done.
Teenie Tiny Tank!