Need light, sand, and rock ideas

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ColeFishing

Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
Jan 5, 2012
1,820
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Ohio
Ok so I'm setting up my 10G saltwater soon.

PLEASE NO ABBREVIATIONS

I'm going to get a light that is good for corals so I need recommendations. also, ill be ordering my light. I

I also need ideas for sand and live rock. .

I have a fluval C3 filter so what's the best way to make it good for salt. I heard some recommendation from my last thread but since I'm very new to salt, I didn't, and still don't, understand most that was said.

what type of live rocks are good?


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Since this is your first saltwater aquarium, I'm going to guess that you're just going to focus on soft corals since they seem to work best for beginners. If this is the case, then you have many options ranging from T5HO lights to LEDs; just be sure to check with the seller to ensure that they're compatible with your desired corals.

I would use plain aragonite sand to form a 0.5" to 1.0" layer. You don't need any more than that as you'll run into issues if the sand bed is too deep & doesn't get stirred up enough; at this depth, your clean-up crew can easily keep your sand in good order.

As far as rock goes, get eight or nine pounds of dry live rock as well as a small piece of high quality live rock (used for seeding purposes); be sure to get enough live rock to have around 10 lbs. total. You can get less dry rock if you go for the higher quality & more porous stuff as it will take up a larger area & provide more places for beneficial bacteria to live than a lower quality rock of a similar weight, e.g. a denser rock. Personally, I would just order 15 pounds from Reef Cleaners and then play around with the rock formations until you decide on your favorite one; you can always sell the excess as well as break some of it up for use in your filter (more on that later).

For your filter, I would break up some live rock to make rubble & use that as your main media. You could also add in a small bag of SeaChem Purigen if you don't plan on using a protein skimmer to help keep the water parameters up. Lastly, I would put a small piece of filter foam in a position where it catches most, if not all, of the large particles before they hit the rock rubble; however, you'll have to be sure to clean the sponge often.
 
ColeFishing said:
what about this for lighting? is this the T5HO thing you mentioned?

http://www.marinedepot.com/AquaticL...xtures-AquaticLife-AK01138-FILTFIT54U-vi.html
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Yes, but you might need two of those depending on what corals you want to keep; it should work for most soft corals, though, if you place them accordingly.

Personally, I would opt for this fixture if you're going for a dual bulb one as it's a little higher in wattage & is a bit cheaper.

In any case, be sure to have a plexiglass cover over the aquarium in order to help keep salt deposits off the light fixture.
 
Wiggles92 said:
Yes, but you might need two of those depending on what corals you want to keep; it should work for most soft corals, though, if you place them accordingly.

Personally, I would opt for this fixture if you're going for a dual bulb one as it's a little higher in wattage & is a bit cheaper.

In any case, be sure to have a plexiglass cover over the aquarium in order to help keep salt deposits off the light fixture.
Click to expand...

ok thanks. ill get the one you suggested. what type of corals would you suggest for a newbie. also, I'm changing my tank size to a 16G bow front.
 
ColeFishing said:
ok thanks. ill get the one you suggested. what type of corals would you suggest for a newbie. also, I'm changing my tank size to a 16G bow front.
Click to expand...

Check out the beginner corals on LiveAquaria in order to get an idea as to what you can pull off. I would also read any & all guides that are out there on the topic of corals for beginners. I really like zoanthids, but you'll have to remember to keep them towards the top of the rocks as they need moderate to high lighting and should be given a supplemental feeding every now & then as well.

What are the dimensions of the 16 gallon?
 
Wiggles92 said:
Check out the beginner corals on LiveAquaria in order to get an idea as to what you can pull off. I would also read any & all guides that are out there on the topic of corals for beginners. I really like zoanthids, but you'll have to remember to keep them towards the top of the rocks as they need moderate to high lighting and should be given a supplemental feeding every now & then as well.

What are the dimensions of the 16 gallon?
Click to expand...

Ok I'll check it out. A 16 bowfront in 20" long 12" at widest 10" at narrowest and 16" tall.


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