Hi there, for all of you that have a reef tank 10 gallon or smaller how often do you feed your fish? And how often do you do a water change? Thanks for your input
10 gallon and under
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OP
OP
Thanks, that's what I've been doing for my 8 gallon but it's like my fish try to stare me down to see if I'll give in and feed them.
I feel guilty. What size is your tank?
Brian Kim
Color My Reef
I feed them everyday and try to diversify the type of food as much as I can, also I always soak in garlic before feeding them.
10% weekly water change and auto top off so that my sg never fluctuate, could be deadly in such a small system.
10% weekly water change and auto top off so that my sg never fluctuate, could be deadly in such a small system.
Salty Pickle
Community Member
If my fish seem particularly hungry, I will target feed them with some PEmysis. I use a 12 inch set of tweezers and give each one of them a tasty morsel or two. This way I minimize uneaten food in the tank. I have the IM Fusion 10.
Brian Kim
Color My Reef
nice, we have the same tank, any pictures?
Dtackett
Valuable Member
the good thing about this small tanks is the ability to overfeed and use water changes. its more for tanks under 5 gallons, but you can apply the same rules to tanks under 10. just takes more effort.
for instance, depending on your setup you can put a sealed lid on it (removable) to prevent evap and have better stability than larger tanks. you can do 100% water changes weekly and once a year you can do a system flush. basically you can forcefully do a water change of 10-20x the total water volume which flushes all nutrients, detritus, and nutrient build up within the rocks and sand. as I said, its a lot easier on tanks less than 5 gallons but very possible on tanks up to 10. each time you do the big flush you reset your tanks clock. it can completely prevent old tank syndrome, remove any algae or bacteria (cyno/dino) and give you a fresh start without having to rip apart your system.
while doing any of the things I listed above comes with other instructions on how to do it safely, it can all be done in your 8 gallon tank and would ensure a long life. this is how people like Brandon maintain a 1 gallon tank for 9+ years with minimal maintenance.
for instance, depending on your setup you can put a sealed lid on it (removable) to prevent evap and have better stability than larger tanks. you can do 100% water changes weekly and once a year you can do a system flush. basically you can forcefully do a water change of 10-20x the total water volume which flushes all nutrients, detritus, and nutrient build up within the rocks and sand. as I said, its a lot easier on tanks less than 5 gallons but very possible on tanks up to 10. each time you do the big flush you reset your tanks clock. it can completely prevent old tank syndrome, remove any algae or bacteria (cyno/dino) and give you a fresh start without having to rip apart your system.
while doing any of the things I listed above comes with other instructions on how to do it safely, it can all be done in your 8 gallon tank and would ensure a long life. this is how people like Brandon maintain a 1 gallon tank for 9+ years with minimal maintenance.
Brian Kim
Color My Reef
How's your 1 gal project going
Salty Pickle
Community Member
So this is what the tank looked like 2 weeks ago. Decided on getting the IM fusion 25 lagoon which will be here Monday.
This is what it looks like now, lol a junkyard. everything is just sitting there waiting for the Fusion 25.
This is what it looks like now, lol a junkyard. everything is just sitting there waiting for the Fusion 25.
I see some acans...So this is what the tank looked like 2 weeks ago. Decided on getting the IM fusion 25 lagoon which will be here Monday.
This is what it looks like now, lol a junkyard. everything is just sitting there waiting for the Fusion 25.
Brian Kim
Color My Reef
Beautiful......are you using kessil and mp10?So this is what the tank looked like 2 weeks ago. Decided on getting the IM fusion 25 lagoon which will be here Monday.
This is what it looks like now, lol a junkyard. everything is just sitting there waiting for the Fusion 25.
Salty Pickle
Community Member
• Kassil A150 (6 inches above water)
• Apex Jr. w/ PH & Temp
• Ghost protein skimmer ($50 used a LFS, doesn't make a huge difference but it doesn't hurt either)
• MP10 set to 40% on reef crest mode (should have just bought this the first time)
• SmartAqua Nano ATO
• 5 gallon tank for RODI water
• Upgraded media basket
• Ebo Jager 50Watt heater
• Apex Jr. w/ PH & Temp
• Ghost protein skimmer ($50 used a LFS, doesn't make a huge difference but it doesn't hurt either)
• MP10 set to 40% on reef crest mode (should have just bought this the first time)
• SmartAqua Nano ATO
• 5 gallon tank for RODI water
• Upgraded media basket
• Ebo Jager 50Watt heater
OP
OP
Thanks for all the great information, I really care about every creature in my tank, and it's not about the money, I have a responsibility to do the best I can for them.
Where would I find the instructions to do such a big water change safely?
Dtackett
Valuable Member
I can go ahead and walk you through it.
sense you have fish a true 100% water change could stress the fish too much. and sense catching fish in a reef with good rockwork is a PITA, I would leave just enough water in the bottom so the fish isn't flopping around. you need to have your new water match temp and ph and salinity exact to the old water. while ph isn't as strict you need to be sure of the salinity and temp. but try to get the ph close. you can do this with an airstone to raise ph (most often youll have to raise it) bring it to within a few points if you can. once everything is matched (drain your display) then put in the clean water. don't worry if your corals are out of water. they'll be fine just try to take less than 5-10 minutes. remember, a lot of the coral we keep comes from the intertidal zones and get exposed for several hours during low tide.
sense you have fish a true 100% water change could stress the fish too much. and sense catching fish in a reef with good rockwork is a PITA, I would leave just enough water in the bottom so the fish isn't flopping around. you need to have your new water match temp and ph and salinity exact to the old water. while ph isn't as strict you need to be sure of the salinity and temp. but try to get the ph close. you can do this with an airstone to raise ph (most often youll have to raise it) bring it to within a few points if you can. once everything is matched (drain your display) then put in the clean water. don't worry if your corals are out of water. they'll be fine just try to take less than 5-10 minutes. remember, a lot of the coral we keep comes from the intertidal zones and get exposed for several hours during low tide.
Dtackett
Valuable Member
the key is matching the water for the change. same when you do a flush. its best to have some form of overflow and just pump 10-20x the water volume into the tank and allow the overflow to pull out the excess and have it drain elsewhere. while doing this don't be nice about it. you want the water to force the detritus out of the rocks and sand. you want this to stir your sand, you want this to make a mess in your tank. once its all flushed and clear top it off and back to normal. this only needs done really once or twice a year.
OP
OP
Thanks so much for all this information, it's really important to me as I said earlier. I don't think I'll have any problems doing this.
Dtackett
Valuable Member
no problem. just be sure you match as best as you can and youll be fine.Thanks so much for all this information, it's really important to me as I said earlier. I don't think I'll have any problems doing this.
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