The next step

[hamdogg08]

I'm well on my way to becoming the proud owner of a 10 gallon reef with a 10 gallon sump.

-First off, my current condition: 10 gallon tank, skilter 250 skimmer, 96 Watt C.F. light from coralife (6700K, I plan on buying a t-5 setup so i don't have to use a 50/50 bulb.),heater, 5 pounds of seeded live rock, 8 pounds of dry rock bought on about 8/1/07, one damsel, 2 snails, 1 hermit crab, and a baseball-sized ball of chaeto. ammonia, and nitrite are 0, nitrates are almost zero (right between zero and the first color). PH is 8.1.

What is the next step in the process? Should I work on setting up the new tank doubling my water volume, get a new light that has the actinic bulb on it, or work on getting the calcium levels up so the dry rock can get some more coraline growth on it?

[David Grigor]

Isn't 10g tanks 20" long ?

I don't know of any HO T5s that are shorter than 24"...............

Unless you want it to stick out longer than the tank, You may have to stick with PCs because of the length constraint.

I'm confused, you say you have a sump but then talk about doubling your water volumne ? does that mean your adding a third tank, going with a 20L, or your don't really have a sump yet? If the later. Get the show tank drilled and get the sump going.

On a small tank like that, I would think autotopoff should be a priority too.

[hamdogg08]

Isn't 10g tanks 20" long ?

I don't know of any HO T5s that are shorter than 24"...............

Unless you want it to stick out longer than the tank, You may have to stick with PCs because of the length constraint.

I'm confused, you say you have a sump but then talk about doubling your water volumne ? or going with a 20L ?

That's a bummer about the t5's. I thought that I saw a 20" one on foster/smith, but I just checked and was mistaken. There's an 18" one on there, but i don't want to use that. I guess that I could use the PCs. Should I just stick with the fixture that I have now and just get a 50/50 bulb, or should I look for something that has two bulbs on it?

In reference to doubling water volume, I am planning on using a ten gallon display tank with a ten gallon sump. Right now, I only have a ten gallon tank. not drilled no sump. Option 1 listed would be to pick up 2 ten gallon tanks, drill, plumb, and transfer everything I have now to the new setup.

[David Grigor]

Option 1 get the sump online. Makes autotopoff solutions easier to implement.

CA/ALK shouldn't need to be a priority. You should already be testing and supplementing for that.....

I personally don't care for 50/50 bulbs where half the bulb is blue and half white. I'm pretty sure those type bulbs don't use true actinics. I also like to have them seperate so that can be run independantly.

I doubt the 18" says it's high output T5s which is what you want. Normal output T5s aren't very useful for a reef, you'd be better off with PCs.

[wes]

you could even get a MH setup for your 10. 10 gallon tanks are cheap enough (sometimes free) so I'd for sure go that route. set it all up and let it run to make sure it's stable and then transfer.

[MNGold15]

I would do a MH if you are considering trying to do sps and lps. If you are only going for softies, zoas and things like that, you should be fine with a few pcs over that tank.

[hamdogg08]

I'm doing most of my research as I'm going along with this (I'm only 21 and this is my first reef tank or even salt water tank for that matter. That being said, I don't know much about the different corals out there yet. I would like to keep the easiest type(s) at this stage. This seems like the best idea right now since 1) I don't have any experience, and 2) This tank is pretty small, and the chemistry is going to be harder to maintain. Are there any good articles that anyone could point me towards so I can check out the different options for corals?

[hamdogg08]

you could even get a MH setup for your 10. 10 gallon tanks are cheap enough (sometimes free) so I'd for sure go that route. set it all up and let it run to make sure it's stable and then transfer.

Where would be a good place to pick one up? I'm in college, so my resources are a bit more limited than most of the people on here. Right now I'm fighting the urge to buy fish tanks instead of groceries.

[hamdogg08]

:bow: :goldfish:

[David Grigor]

Welcome to the addiction...... I can't remember the last birthday or christmas where I wanted something other than fish/reef related stuff. But never to the point of not buying groceries or caring for the familys needs that would be over the edge like gambling or drinking IMO.

As much as I hate to say it because I'm just not a fan of PCs in general, but sounds like for now PCs is your best bet. If you went with a 20L though you would have the length for T5s. I'm sure there is plenty of corals options out there to keep you interested for now. Along with MH comes heat issues which is another can of worms to deal with.

[MNGold15]

If you are just looking for starter corals, PCs should be fine. I agree with David, and I would never use them unless you have no other alternative. In that small of a tank it would be nearly impossible to keep sps IMO. Stick to zoas and softies, maybe a few lps, and you should be ok with a couple of PCs.

[curlyq]

If you're looking for good reading material, check this one out:

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1031074

I read alot of these, and go back to them from time to time.

[hamdogg08]

Would I want to go with a 50/50 in my 96 watt fixture, or should I look for something with two separate bulbs? (i'm going to start a different thread about the lighting though so this thread stays on subjecthough: http://www.tcmas.org/forums/showthread.php?p=22695#post22695 )

Since the next step would be to set up the new tank/sump, what size holes would I want to drill in the tank? I'm planning on one drain and two for the return. Also how much water am I going to be moving through this system? Would 300 GPH be a good goal?

[hamdogg08]

If you're looking for good reading material, check this one out:

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1031074

I read alot of these, and go back to them from time to time.

Thanks for that link! It's a one stop shop for a lot of my questions