RIGHTY HO. I'M ON MY WAY.

[Mudslinger14]

So today...I was at home depot getting some sand for my 125 freshwater....And I asked my dad if I could have a ten gallon in my room. Expecting a "Ah, you see...The problem I have with that is blah blah blah"...BUT. He said yes! So, I asked him if I could build my own stand and canopy for it. He didn't see a problem with that, and at the end of this week, after I've fixed up my 125, I'm going to start on the stand.
I do know my way with tools, and I can easily make one. I'm also going to make a small canopy for this ten gallon. I don't think I'll bother with an opening on the canopy though. It would be like trying to play the world's smallest violin.

SO....I wanted to do a reef. I've been debating whether or not to do one with my 36g with "Killer" in it...But I think this would be more enjoyable, seeing as its in my room and out of the way too.

Killer, btw, is my serial killer 4 striped damsel
I only have a couple of questions...
1. Could I put one clown (false percula) and some sort of goby/blenny in the tank? Or is that pushing it?
2. For me to put another fish in the tank, could I set up a refugium underneath in the stand with a 5g tank with killer in it? Or would this be way too much work and not necessary? Orrrr should I just keep killer in this tank with a few snails, hermits etc?
3. Filtration. Could it be just the live rock and a powerhead or two?
I was thinking of doing a soft coral reef with some shrooms and zoas...Maybe some sps, depending on which lights I get. I have one in mind off of aquatraders, (its under $100, and gives out like 76 watts or something like that...) but their site is down right now.

Annnddd thats it I think.
Answers are greatly appreciated.

~Lance

 

[Heathd]

1. Could I put one clown (false percula) and some sort of goby/blenny in the tank? Or is that pushing it?
Yes.
2. For me to put another fish in the tank, could I set up a refugium underneath in the stand with a 5g tank with killer in it? Or would this be way too much work and not necessary? Orrrr should I just keep killer in this tank with a few snails, hermits etc?
Either one works.

3. Filtration. Could it be just the live rock and a powerhead or two?
I was thinking of doing a soft coral reef with some shrooms and zoas...Maybe some sps, depending on which lights I get. I have one in mind off of aquatraders, (its under $100, and gives out like 76 watts or something like that...) but their site is down right now.
With regular water changes you can do just LR and powerheads. Softies would fine, but SPS might have a hard time in the tank since the water would have a tendency to be "dirtier".

....

 

[Mudslinger14]

Cool. 20% wc 1x a week?
I would top off every few days as needed.
I think I might add a clown and then killer....And see if he'll chill out.
If not, well...Idk xD

 

[Heathd]

Cool. 20% wc 1x a week?
I would top off every few days as needed.
I think I might add a clown and then killer....And see if he'll chill out.
If not, well...Idk xD

If your damsel already has aggressive tendencies, then putting him in with a clown, especially a small clown like a false perc, is a bad idea.

I used to have two mature false perc clowns that were bullied to death by two damsels. The aggression is typical, and natural, since they are of the same genus.

Now I have two larger tomato clowns that keep the damsels in check. When I do my new tank build, the damsels are going bye bye.



As far as the sps go, I'm not real sure. Obviously some sps are more tolerant the others, so maybe encrusting montis and birdsnest could do it, but acros are a no. Also, depending on the amount and size of the sps colonies, you may have to do two part supplementation and mag dosing since 20% water changes arent going to be enough to keep alk, calc, and mag levels where they need to be.

 

[Wiggles92]

Responses in red.

So today...I was at home depot getting some sand for my 125 freshwater....And I asked my dad if I could have a ten gallon in my room. Expecting a "Ah, you see...The problem I have with that is blah blah blah"...BUT. He said yes! So, I asked him if I could build my own stand and canopy for it. He didn't see a problem with that, and at the end of this week, after I've fixed up my 125, I'm going to start on the stand.
I do know my way with tools, and I can easily make one. I'm also going to make a small canopy for this ten gallon. I don't think I'll bother with an opening on the canopy though. It would be like trying to play the world's smallest violin.

SO....I wanted to do a reef. I've been debating whether or not to do one with my 36g with "Killer" in it...But I think this would be more enjoyable, seeing as its in my room and out of the way too.

Killer, btw, is my serial killer 4 striped damsel
I only have a couple of questions...
1. Could I put one clown (false percula) and some sort of goby/blenny in the tank? Or is that pushing it?

A goby would work; consider looking into clown gobies. I wouldn't do a clownfish in there; 20 gallons is what I've always been told is the minimum aquarium size.

2. For me to put another fish in the tank, could I set up a refugium underneath in the stand with a 5g tank with killer in it? Or would this be way too much work and not necessary? Orrrr should I just keep killer in this tank with a few snails, hermits etc?

Keep Killer in its current aquarium; it will undoubtably murder any other fish because its in a smaller space. Damselfish are pretty territorial, so the smaller aquarium definitely will not help its aggression. I also wouldn't downgrade it to this aquarium; 10 gallons is a pretty small space for an active damselfish.

As far as the refugium goes, it will help with filtration, so I don't see why you shouldn't add it if you have the time and money to add it.

3. Filtration. Could it be just the live rock and a powerhead or two?
I was thinking of doing a soft coral reef with some shrooms and zoas...Maybe some sps, depending on which lights I get. I have one in mind off of aquatraders, (its under $100, and gives out like 76 watts or something like that...) but their site is down right now.

It could work with just the live rock and powerheads, but a protein skimmer would definitely be a good idea, too. They filter much better than any power filter because they just skim the water right off the top of the aquarium. Look into AquaC protein skimmers; they're the best bang for your buck.

I'm not sure on the corals; I'm just starting with corals myself. I'm pretty sure that LiveAquaria.com has a guide on what the wattages are for the different light levels for coral (low, medium, high, etc.). Main thing will be to ask questions on here and do your research before making any coral purchases.

Annnddd thats it I think.
Answers are greatly appreciated.

~Lance

 

[Mudslinger14]

Well the point of the aquarium is to get rid of Killer's current tank, and move him to a smaller one more out of the way...

He doesn't move around much at all actually. He's about 1 1/2" long and stays in his little cave coming out just to eat.

I....will probably do a sump then. Could I drill my tank? Or would I have to have an overflow box?

 

[Heathd]

Could I drill my tank? Or would I have to have an overflow box?

Whatever you prefer. It will be much cheaper to drill, unless you break a few tanks in the process.

 

[TMartinez]

There really needs to be a 10g tank sticky... hint hint wink wink

 

[Mudslinger14]

Yeah! How bout everyone helps me out and posts good info here, and then we can pile it all together for a sticky!

Hmmmm. I might just do a hob skimmer..

 

[thisissimple]

Just get meaner clowns. Most clowns can hold their own, just stay away from ocellaris and skunks and probably even percs unless they are big. Maroon clowns and tomatoes don't put up with crap from anyone.

20% a week is great. With good live rock, good turbulent flow and a nice skimmer, you won't even need a sump.

Plan to top off everyday if you want to keep everything happy.

If you are good with tools anyway, go ahead and make that small violin. Taking the top off, and the lights off and the glass tops off evertime you want to reach in there will get old, and fast. A hinged top will make it alot easier. (and more fun to build)

just my 2 cents.