Help with starting new reef tank?

SaltLifeCam · 04/12/2015, 04:02 PM

Hi, I am new to this site, and somewhat new to keeping saltwater tanks (reef tank, corals and such).
I have a few questions/concerns. My setup is a small 10 gallon tank, with a Current USA orbit LED lighting, soon to have a BRS DIY 1/4" screen top, right now I have about 12 lbs live rock, 10lbs live sand, some pebble gravel that i thought would look nice and assist the underground filter (i took the tubes out and it is not currently running due to the sand storm it caused), an Aqueon-500 powerhead, 50w heater, a few hermits and snails as cleanup crew, and 1 coral banded shrimp. The tank has been running for a month or so, param levels have been content for about 2 weeks (that is also when I added the cleaner crew and CB shrimp). However, the pH and nitrates have been a little uneasy going above and below where they should be. pH is bouncing on the lower side from 7.9-8.2, and nitrates seemed to be good but since the crew have been at about 5-10ppm (maybe overfeeding since there is no fish? I drop a small pinch of NLS pellets once a day, is this wrong?) Calcium levels are good at 420, I do not have an all measurer yet however.
My main questions are:
1. Should I take out the under gravel filter before adding fish? I don't want to have to disturb everything if it is not needed.
2. Should I take out the pebbles too? They are just decor but I am starting to think it may cause some algae buildup.
3. Is the flow of my tank good? I have the canister spray bar aimed at the top of the water for air circulation and the powerhead is on the back right aiming towards the front center. (I will attach images)

I am probably going to get some dry sand to fill the rest of the tank where the UG and powerhead have left gaps. And I plan to house 1 or 2 clownfish, anemone, and LPS corals only, for the most part (unless there is another small, hardy fish I can add), of course that will be in some time..

As I said I am new to reef keeping! My only other saltwater tank was just a 30 gal with basics, including a sweet snowflake eel! Ran well for about two years until I had to leave for school.

Any tips would be much appreciated, give it to me straight! Would love some constructive criticism.

Thank you all and I hope you don't mind hearing from me more often!

You can see the flow of my canister filter here:

This is the setup! Lighting is weird in the image..

Here you can see how the UG has basically moved on top of the sand, also the rocks..

gotnoclue · 04/12/2015, 04:15 PM

Check the stickies at the top of the forum. Alot of good info that will answer most if not all your questions. Btw Welcome to reef central

SaltLifeCam · 04/12/2015, 04:47 PM

Also, 1 of the snails hasn't moved since i got it, assuming it's dead. Should I take it out or leave it for one of the smaller snails to take over its shell? Is is going to bump up nitrates or just dissolve away unharmfully?

gone fishin · 04/12/2015, 05:07 PM

IMO remove the under gravel filter and the pebbles. Personally I would not put a clown in a 10g tank long term. I would keep it as an invert only tank, maybe a small goby. good luck

SaltLifeCam · 04/13/2015, 09:35 AM

Okay. So how will this process go? Do i need to set up another tank to keep the inverts, rocks, and shrimp in while taking out the UG, rocks and adding more dry sand? Or can I just place the rock aside and leave everything in the tank? It should only take a few minutes right?

SaltLifeCam · 04/14/2015, 12:28 PM

Update: took out UG filter and pebbles, added aragonite.

MacPhisto · 04/14/2015, 12:32 PM

Many snails are only active at night, for some reason they end up every night at almost the same spot.

SaltLifeCam · 04/14/2015, 12:50 PM

The suspicious snail is up and "running"! (: Glad because it's that cool looking spiky one that's photoed in the top right of my last photo and "dead" on the ground in the UG pic xD
(Please excuse my lack of knowledge for the snails

)

04/12/2015, 04:02 PM	#1
SaltLifeCam Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2015 Location: Florida Posts: 78	Help with starting new reef tank? Hi, I am new to this site, and somewhat new to keeping saltwater tanks (reef tank, corals and such). I have a few questions/concerns. My setup is a small 10 gallon tank, with a Current USA orbit LED lighting, soon to have a BRS DIY 1/4" screen top, right now I have about 12 lbs live rock, 10lbs live sand, some pebble gravel that i thought would look nice and assist the underground filter (i took the tubes out and it is not currently running due to the sand storm it caused), an Aqueon-500 powerhead, 50w heater, a few hermits and snails as cleanup crew, and 1 coral banded shrimp. The tank has been running for a month or so, param levels have been content for about 2 weeks (that is also when I added the cleaner crew and CB shrimp). However, the pH and nitrates have been a little uneasy going above and below where they should be. pH is bouncing on the lower side from 7.9-8.2, and nitrates seemed to be good but since the crew have been at about 5-10ppm (maybe overfeeding since there is no fish? I drop a small pinch of NLS pellets once a day, is this wrong?) Calcium levels are good at 420, I do not have an all measurer yet however. My main questions are: 1. Should I take out the under gravel filter before adding fish? I don't want to have to disturb everything if it is not needed. 2. Should I take out the pebbles too? They are just decor but I am starting to think it may cause some algae buildup. 3. Is the flow of my tank good? I have the canister spray bar aimed at the top of the water for air circulation and the powerhead is on the back right aiming towards the front center. (I will attach images) I am probably going to get some dry sand to fill the rest of the tank where the UG and powerhead have left gaps. And I plan to house 1 or 2 clownfish, anemone, and LPS corals only, for the most part (unless there is another small, hardy fish I can add), of course that will be in some time.. As I said I am new to reef keeping! My only other saltwater tank was just a 30 gal with basics, including a sweet snowflake eel! Ran well for about two years until I had to leave for school. Any tips would be much appreciated, give it to me straight! Would love some constructive criticism. Thank you all and I hope you don't mind hearing from me more often! You can see the flow of my canister filter here: This is the setup! Lighting is weird in the image.. Here you can see how the UG has basically moved on top of the sand, also the rocks.. Last edited by SaltLifeCam; 04/12/2015 at 04:32 PM. Reason: adding pics

04/12/2015, 05:07 PM	#4
gone fishin Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Wyocena Wi Posts: 6,936	IMO remove the under gravel filter and the pebbles. Personally I would not put a clown in a 10g tank long term. I would keep it as an invert only tank, maybe a small goby. good luck __________________ Tony Current Tank Info: 180gal DT, BM NAC77 skimmer,3 Maxspect razors, Maxspect Gyre 150, 30g QT

04/14/2015, 12:50 PM	#8
SaltLifeCam Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2015 Location: Florida Posts: 78	The suspicious snail is up and "running"! (: Glad because it's that cool looking spiky one that's photoed in the top right of my last photo and "dead" on the ground in the UG pic xD (Please excuse my lack of knowledge for the snails)

04/12/2015, 04:15 PM	#2
gotnoclue Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2015 Location: ohio Posts: 99	Check the stickies at the top of the forum. Alot of good info that will answer most if not all your questions. Btw Welcome to reef central

04/12/2015, 04:47 PM	#3
SaltLifeCam Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2015 Location: Florida Posts: 78	Also, 1 of the snails hasn't moved since i got it, assuming it's dead. Should I take it out or leave it for one of the smaller snails to take over its shell? Is is going to bump up nitrates or just dissolve away unharmfully?

04/13/2015, 09:35 AM	#5
SaltLifeCam Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2015 Location: Florida Posts: 78	Okay. So how will this process go? Do i need to set up another tank to keep the inverts, rocks, and shrimp in while taking out the UG, rocks and adding more dry sand? Or can I just place the rock aside and leave everything in the tank? It should only take a few minutes right?

04/14/2015, 12:28 PM	#6
SaltLifeCam Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2015 Location: Florida Posts: 78	Update: took out UG filter and pebbles, added aragonite.

04/14/2015, 12:32 PM	#7
MacPhisto Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2014 Posts: 65	Many snails are only active at night, for some reason they end up every night at almost the same spot.