au01st

This will be set up in the bar directly across from my 75 reef. I should be able to start working on the stand sometime this week, but the tank won't be set up until after the bar is cleaned out and painted. I picked up the tank tonight, standard 10 gallon, from Petco. I have a 24" Orbit CF fixture that will put out 130 watts and I have a Maxi Jet 600 that will provide additional flow. What HOB filters do you recommend for this size? I'm planning all new live rock, nothing from my 75 tank and hopefully black sand.

Stocking wise, I'm wanting a Helfrichi Firefish, a goby/shrimp combo (aurora goby and pistol shrimp maybe?), a clown (if I use white sand, a black misbar clown, and if I use black sand, a picasso clown), and a canary or midas blenny. Too much? The blenny would be the one to drop if that's too crowded. The Firefish is a definite, and so is the clown, I'm up in the air about the rest.

au01st

First pic. Construction on the stand/base should begin next week sometime.

sirdarksol

I don't know as much about saltwater, but that seems like, space-wise, that would be pretty crowded. Are you planning on having any live rock?

au01st

Yeah, probably 15lbs or so of live rock. I'm gonna try for a lagoon setting with some macro algaes.

It does seem crowded, but if the shrimp/goby are introduced first, they'll make their burrow and rarely leave. My firefish in my 75 hardly move from a 8" section of the tank, and my clowns don't stray more than a few inches from their frogspawn. What I was hoping is if I can get the clown to host in one corner (front left), the shrimp/goby in the front right, blennies also tend to chill on the rockwork and not swim much, then the firefish can be the wanderer. That's what I'm hoping anyways, I'm still researching.

travie

Definitely drop the Blenny. There won't be enough pods in the tank to keep it from starving and it probably won't get along with the goby or firefish. I would say you are still overstocked without the Blenny. Only types of clowns that could maybe considered for a 10g are the Ocellaris and Percula Clowns.

Don't expect all your fish to stay to a particular spot, because its hard to get that lucky.

au01st

The clownfish I'm wanting is a Picasso Percula clown. They have lots of white on the sides and are very pretty. I'm pretty much wanting the tank for the Helfrichi Firefish, lol. I don't want to risk putting him in the big tank because I don't want him to get picked on and die (I'd be ticked if a $150 fish died). I kinda want all the fish in this tank to be "fancy", since it will be in my bar, I want it to add a touch of class. I guess I can drop the shrimp/goby combo, but I'd still add a green clown goby and that'd be it.

Here's the clown:



and the firefish:



And the goby

travie

Just keep up on water quality, since you can never forget to top off the tank when its that small.

au01st

Yeah, it's directly across the room from my 75, so when i do my daily maintenance on that tank, I'll just top off.

sirdarksol

Personally, with the live rock in the tank, I'd only have two, three fish tops, so your firefish, clown, and maybe goby would be the limit. There's just too much chance in a small tank that something went wrong.

I wouldn't bother putting any shrimp in a small tank where a clown was going to be hosting an anenome. We've had members say that they watched their clowns pick up a shrimp and drop it right into the center of the anenome to feed it.

au01st

Yeah, if you read the last post I'm limiting it at the clown, firefish, and small clown goby.

sirdarksol

I had read that, and was referring to it in the "firefish, clown, and maybe goby" comment.

cerianthus

Awesome! Can Diine & Wine in front of fish if not doing already? LOL!

au01st

Got my new power heads in. 2 nanos. Here's a pic of how they compare to a Maxi Jet. Not bad @ $10 for 2.

cerianthus

Cute! Whats it called?

au01st

I don't know. There was a power buy on another site a few years ago, and a member was cleaning their garage and had some extras. So I picked up a few. I may only need one. I don't know exactly what they're rated for, but I plan to measure soon enough.

au01st

Alright, I found em on eBay as "ASM Mini Pump" rated at 200gph. I'm going to try and stick these in the lower corners of the tank. I think I will drill the live rock and run hose through it from the pump, hopefully totally concealing them. I'm building the frame for the stand on Thursday. I was gonna go with 2x4's, but I think 1x4's will be sufficient and cut a little easier.

I still have to finish cleaning all the junk off the walls of the bar, fill in a bunch of holes and stuff with spackle, prime, and paint. That should be done over Spring Break (3 weeks from now) and I should have water in it somewhere around the 20th of March. I also have to paint the back of the tank, still, and plan out a few more things, like where to find an adjustable heater small enough to fit into the filter.

au01st

4 coats of Krylon Fusion on the rear after getting it all taped off. The frame of the stand should be completed tomorrow. I'm still trying to decide how to skin it (want to make it look good on the counter) but lost my measuring tape...

BEARjuice

so r u just gonna have the live rock for filtration?

au01st

No, there will be a HOB filter rated for a 75 gallon tank, as well as several species of macro algae. With a very small bio load, I think it will be alright. Plus I'm going to spring for the "premium" live rock, instead of the seeded base rock, OR buy some privately if I can find someone taking a tank down. Figure 15lbs oughta do it.

Got my measuring tape and will be constructing the stand tomorrow (sad that I have to plan these little projects 2 weeks in advance because I'm so busy and don't trust myself with a saw after I get home from work and it's dark out). It'll likely take another week or two before I get the stand skinned so it looks pretty, then get it painted (thinking satin black).

Another thought I was having, using corner finishing pieces to hide the caulk lines on the front of the tank. This was just a standard $9 tank, so the caulking isn't great. The back lines will be hidden by rockwork and eventually coraline, but I hate the fact that in my 75 algae gets on the silicone, and I can't get at it with a razor or mag float, but instead have to scrape it off with a long handled algae brush... I think some 1/2" to 1" corner trim would look nice if it was painted to match.

au01st

Got some water in it. Want to get the temp and S.G. stabilized and I hope to pick up some rock this weekend. Still working on the stand. Very little free time and I don't trust myself with the saw at night when the temps are low (don't want to cut a finger off and not know it...)

Light doesn't look as goofy as I thought it would.

au01st

Ahh, clear water.

l33tak

what up. been following along since the beginning, looking great. ;;]

au01st

Thanks!

In a holding pattern right now. I was supposed to get 20lbs of live rock through a trade, but that fell through, and it seems like whenever I have free time to work on the stand, it's raining, and I'm not about to bring some electric saws inside (no garage).

Currently planning a 5.5 gallon refugium behind the tank as well as a different filter setup with a surface skimmer.

Work the rest of the week through Wednesday, then from Thursday-Sunday it's the beach, then back to school on Monday. I start training another employee tomorrow, so hopefully in 2 weeks time or so I'll only be working 20-24 hours a week instead of 35-40, along with 18 hours of classes.

And I found out I will be taking summer classes as well, if I want to graduate next spring.

I'll update this thread whenever anything gets done.


I did pick up some new frags for the 75 this morning, though.

agabr123

it's looking great, can't wait to see the finished product!