Is My Tank "Reef Ready"?

Hannahll · Jan 28, 2016

Hello All!
I've had my saltwater aquarium setup for quite a few months now and am considering reefing! Now that I have been able to keep fish (a few small gobies) for a long period of time, I believe i'm ready to move onto coral! I have adjusted the lighting and flow in my tank in order to house corals. However, i'm still unsure whether or not my tank is RR. What else should I be thinking about when preparing my tank for corals? What should I be testing for? (Here are my current levels: Ammonia 0ppm, Nitrate 10ppm, Phosphate 0ppm, Alkalinity 10.8, calcium 600) What is a beginning coral that will indicate my tank is in good condition?
Thank you for all the responses!
Here are some photos:

ndz98 · Jan 28, 2016

Typically a reef ready tank has an overflow that goes down into your sump and then is returned to the DT. You could drill your own holes if you wanted and instal a overflow. It's really easy. I actually just finished mine last week. Soft corals are forgiving from what I've always been told. Start off with cheap frags and see how they do. Don't go and buy the most expensive one you can find just because it looks cool.

andys · Jan 28, 2016

What kinda lighting you have there ? you may need to do a lighting upgrade...

ndz98 · Jan 28, 2016

andys said:
What kinda lighting you have there ? you may need to do a lighting upgrade...

Yea I didn't even notice that. Looks like you have a good bit of shadowing. What size tank is that?

Hannahll · Jan 28, 2016

andys said:
What kinda lighting you have there ? you may need to do a lighting upgrade...

Whoops! I meant to post the photo with the new light on... Silly me! Hold on!

2xal · Jan 28, 2016

you don't necessarily have to have a sump to support a reef tank, but lighting is definitely an important consideration. I would start with some of the more forgiving corals- GSP, zoas, kenyas or xenia, etc. I would also recommend doing a water change to get your nitrates down

Hannahll · Jan 28, 2016

Sorry guys, I'm new to this, I may need to be more descriptive!!!
It's a 10 gallon tank that JUST got a light upgrade to a Finnex Fugeray Marine. I'll try to take a better pic and post it!

Hannahll · Jan 28, 2016

2xal said:
you don't necessarily have to have a sump to support a reef tank, but lighting is definitely an important consideration. I would start with some of the more forgiving corals- GSP, zoas, kenyas or xenia, etc. I would also recommend doing a water change to get your nitrates down

That was the next question i was going to ask! If a sump would be necessary for a 10 gallon tank.. I'm interested in the idea!

2xal · Jan 28, 2016

Hannahll said:
That was the next question i was going to ask! If a sump would be necessary for a 10 gallon tank.. I'm interested in the idea!

Is a sump necessary? No- will it help with adding stability to a 10 gallon water column? absolutely. The drawback to smaller tanks (less than 40 gallons in my opinion) is the fact that bad things can happen REAL quickly, and having additional water volume to 'buffer' any negative outcomes can really save some headache in the long run. At one point in time I had a 20 gallon tank with a 20 gallon sump. Having a 40 gallon water volume helped add stability to the water column

Hannahll · Jan 28, 2016

2xal said:
Is a sump necessary? No- will it help with adding stability to a 10 gallon water column? absolutely. The drawback to smaller tanks (less than 40 gallons in my opinion) is the fact that bad things can happen REAL quickly, and having additional water volume to 'buffer' any negative outcomes can really save some headache in the long run. At one point in time I had a 20 gallon tank with a 20 gallon sump. Having a 40 gallon water volume helped add stability to the water column

You are very wise!