Starting an 8 gallon reef aquarium...

[vic67]

Not difficult but they do require some care and maintenance.

 

[gmendez619]

I have an aqueon evolve 8 that i converted into a salwater tank and its doing fine. Like someone said before you have to be on top of your water changes and you have to keep testing your water for ammonia and that kind of stuff almost everyday because it is a small volume of water and fish and corals will quickly polute it. Aslong as you take care of those things i think youll be fine. So far i only have a blue damsel in the tank but i think later on i will add easy to keep corals like some mushrooms and stuff. But an 8 gallon can be done. You just have to keep watch

 

[joeseeypuhn]

Ty I think ill do it then! ( of course with doing more reasearch) I'll keep you guys posted on it I'll let you know if I have anymore questions.

 

[gmendez619]

Sure thing man lets us know how youre doing later on.

 

[joeseeypuhn]

Postponing to December so I can afford better lighting :-(

 

[joeseeypuhn]

One more question. My bubble tip anemone in my 55 gallon fish tank didn't use to deflate as much as it does now. It gets about 70% smaller then within a few minutes of the light being turned back on in the morning it is fully inflated again??? Is this normal?

 

[vic67]

Some deflation is normal. Are your water parameters in line?

 

[joeseeypuhn]

Yes I just took it yesterday to be tested by my LFS and nothing was out of the normal range but they use test strips ill use my master test kit today but it's very early in my time zone

 

[joeseeypuhn]

So what are possible problems if this is a problem?

 

[joeseeypuhn]

I really appreciate all this help

 

[joeseeypuhn]

Good news!! By December I'll be able to afford a 16 gallon!!! How much does this change things?

 

[gmendez619]

Thats good man i think 18 gallons is better than an 8 gallon tank. But i always like the challenge of keepin a nano reef but thats just me i think it changes things alot. You have a little more wiggle room with your WCs and with what you want to put in the tank

 

[vic67]

A 16G would definitely be an upgrade and I would out 2 clowns in one. Will it be a cube or a regular tank?

 

[joeseeypuhn]

A regular tank. Oh and I'll share my plan for what corals to get with you:
I'll get 2-3 different colour musroom coral for about 9-12 months and then get adventures and go for some polyps and maybe just maybe I'll have an xiena coral to take over most of the tank and then wait to see how everything plays out : ) is this a bad/ horrible idea? Should I plan a little bit more?

 

[joeseeypuhn]

And how often will I have to top off the water with a 16 gallon?

 

[gmendez619]

Mushrooms sound good man and with a 16 gallon you will have to top off much less than with an 8 gallon of course. It all depends on the room temp i would say. I live here in san diego where its super hot during summer like right now. And i pour fresh water into my tank about once a week or so

 

[Carlson Moncrief]

Please dont get any fish. Just get a shrimp or small starfish.

 

[joeseeypuhn]

Oh sry I thought that was covered earlier. I'm not going with any fish : )

 

[joeseeypuhn]

1 more week actually

 

[reif119]

The larger the surface area on the top the more top up. Evaporation is caused by water molecules gathering heat from air or other particles which causes them to change states into a gas. More surface area means more contact between air and water increasing the rate of evaporation...