10 gallon reef tank

[chris9tian1]

Ok so i am now cycling my 10 gallon aquarium. i have very good filtration my temperature is around 77. I have a good amount of liverock. My lighting is 2 power compact bulbs. a 36 watt actinic and a 36 watt 10k bulb. I dont plan on getting any fish unless its something small, however, I want lots of coral and inverts. I was wondering what would do good coral wise in my tank and what inverts could go with these corals. I was also wondering if an anemone would work in the tank as that would influence whether or not i got a clownfish

 

[Hiker4twenty]

With those lights you'll want to look into any type of soft coral, zoanthid, paly and some LPS. I would not suggest an anemone for quite some time as the tank is way too new and I don't think the lights are strong enough.

 

[chris9tian1]

i plan on waiting about a month until i add anything and over 8 months to add an anemone but how much more light would i need to be able to have an anemone?

 

[little_fish]

The are some of the hardest animals to keep in this hobby, around 5 or 6 watts per gallon i think. You can keep most corals with around 4 watts per gallon.

However, not all watts are the same. PC lights dont put out as much useful wavelength as MH or t5 lights. Also, having lights with individual reflectors greatly effects how much light actually gets into the water.

 

[Aquatic]

Mushrooms and Zoanthids would be some good coral choices for your tank. If you want to add some cool texture, check out Ricoderas!

 

[Bifferwine]

You don't need an anemone to keep a clownfish. Some clowns will never host with the anemone, and some will instead choose to make their home behind a heater or powerhead. I wouldn't recommend an anemone for that size tank. They need much larger tanks, very stable water parameters and stronger lighting. There are plenty of corals that are easier to keep that clowns are apt to host with.

 

[Lizardgi]

I'd stay away from the anemone and just get a single clown. I caught my clown late last night hosting with some hair algae, it was quite cute and he looked very happy!

 

[chris9tian1]

I know that clowns dont always go to anemones but I think i found a way to add another 36 watt 10k/actinic bulb to my aquarium. would this be enough for an anemone? That would give me over 5.6 wpg closer to 6.5 since only about 8 gallons got into the tank with all the rock and sand.

 

[Bifferwine]

That would be enough for a bubble tip anemone, I think, but you still have the obstacle of it being such a small tank. Anemones just don't usually do well in small tanks. You can give it a shot, but keep in mind, if the anemone gets sick or dies, it will probably kill everything else in the tank with it.

Why are you so set on having an anemone? There are lots of corals you can add that the clown is just as likely to make his home in.

 

[chris9tian1]

im not set on an anemone. I was planning on adding the light anyway. the question was really for further down the road

 

[Bifferwine]

Yeah, I think the light would be fine, in that case.