Reefs.org Forums

[sdbarton42]

Hi! I am starting up a 10 gallon nano reef tank and just need some god advice. I'm not really sure what products are the best. I have some ideas from tanks I've seen online. I want fish, inverts, and corals in my tank. I had a 29 gallon saltwater a couple of years ago and had 1 pound of live rock per gallon of water. Does that pertain to a 10 gallon? Any suggestions on set-up would be greatly appreciated because I am kind of in the dark about a reef tank.

Thanks!

[Len]

For any reef, you'll want good lights and good circulation. 4 T5 bulbs would be perfect over a 10g reef (Powercompacts are another possibility). For circulation, a couple smaller powerheads will work fine, or if you have the money, the Vortech MP10 would be ideal. Getting a small skimmer (Euro-reef nano, Tunze nano, etc.) is recommended and will help maintain your water quality. I would recommend regular (weekly) water changes.

The amount of live rock needed will depend on what kind of rock you are getting and what kind of aquascaping you'd like. The trend seems to be heading towards using less rock, so 1 pound per gallon is about right or on the high side.

The top sticky posts in this forum have a lot of useful info.

[sdbarton42]

I was thinking of using a Dual Satellite Compact light by Current. This was recommended by the local fish store. The Powercompacts are little pricey for me (I am a grad student!). The Vortech is definitely too expensive, but it looked pretty nice. What about the Powersweep 212? Would just one of those be alright? I'm sold yet on a skimmer. I have limited space, so I can't be hiding things in cabinets and such like that. Would the skimmer be placed on the side of the tank? Everything I have read says it goes on a refugium, but I"m not so sure I'm going to have one of those either. I don't trust myself to rig it up!

[Len]

I was thinking of using a Dual Satellite Compact light by Current. This was recommended by the local fish store. The Powercompacts are little pricey for me (I am a grad student!). The Vortech is definitely too expensive, but it looked pretty nice. What about the Powersweep 212? Would just one of those be alright? I'm sold yet on a skimmer. I have limited space, so I can't be hiding things in cabinets and such like that. Would the skimmer be placed on the side of the tank? Everything I have read says it goes on a refugium, but I"m not so sure I'm going to have one of those either. I don't trust myself to rig it up!

The dual satellite is a fine lighting choice over a 10 gallon. They are powercompacts (2 40W PCs).

Powersweeps are not reliable. I'd stick with regular powerheads like two Maxijet 600.

Skimmers never go on refugiums. They either go in sumps, connected to sumps, or hang on the back of the tank. Skimmers are extremely useful and worthwhile to purchase, but in a small tank such as yours, you can get away without buying one if you keep up with regular water changes (2-3 gallons every week). FWIW, hang-on back skimmers are as easy to set up as hanging it on the back of your 10 gallon

[sdbarton42]

haha thanks for being patient with me! I'm not too familiar with the terminology (refer to lighting ). Why two powerheads? one above and one below going in opposite directions? and the skimmer is to be used in conjunction with a filter, correct? I didn't go all out with my previous saltwater tank; I just had a heater, normal "cheap" lighting, and a filter. I'm sorry I am askin so much! I know about biology not set up lol!!!!

[Len]

You can do one powerhead, but it creates a very laminar (linear) flow pattern that isn't as ideal as having water flow in all directions. With two powerheads, you can put them on timers or a wavemaker later on to create more variable flow. This is much better then unidirectional flow. But starting with one powerhead is fine too if budget is a concern.

Skimmers can be used in conjunction with other filters, or they can be your sole filtration. Most reef tanks these days only use skimmers as their filter. Power filters and hang-on filters are not often used with reef tanks ... just a sump with a skimmer (and sometimes filter socks), or in your case, a hang-on-back (HOB) skimmer.

[sdbarton42]

so...do i need a sump with the hang-on skimmer? i don't really have the room to hide that kind of stuff...

[jmeader]

If you are a little in the dark about a reef tank, you will have a disaster trying to keep a nano. I've seen a lot of good suggestions on this post, but their are a lot of ways you could go on keeping a nano. However; you understandably want to shoot for the moon with fish, inverts, and coral. I just don't think you should be trying to make that leap quite yet. If you do, be prepared to accept some very expensive losses.

[sdbarton42]

i'm definitely not going to "shoot for the moon" i'm going to keep it simple and relatively cheap (as cheap as you can get!). I just put 12 pounds of live rock in my tank today. I had a 29 gallon saltwater so I know some stuff and I am a quick learner. I want animals that are native to the Indo-Pacific (keep it more natural to have things together that actually occur together in nature). This may be unrealisitic though because I'm afraid to order stuff online (I've never done that before....). Do you know of any place that is trustworthy? I have a Coralife with one actinic and one 10,000 K light, a Koralia 240 powerhead, and I have a Tunze Nano protein skimmer on it's way. now i have to play the waiting game!

[jmeader]

Keeping a nano requires a degree of knowledge that will allow you to react very quickly to rather small changes. The degree of difficulty in doing that increases as you move up from live rock to corals, to invertebrates, and tremendously when you add in fish. Small changes that are left unchecked in a nano can become huge changes in a very short time. In my mind the single biggest challenge that you are not likely to overcome is patience. In your situation with what I perceive to be as your experience level I would recommend a long break in period of at least 3 and preferably 6 months with just the live rock and a cleaner crew. You will be going through all the normal cycles during that time such as ammonia, then algae, then cyano, likely silicates, and on and on. Ordering on line is safe and good as long as you deal with knowledgeable and reputable businesses. There are plenty of them out there, High Tide being one of them. If you need to know others, then let me know and I'll look them up for you.

[sdbarton42]

I know I need to be patient; and that is difficult for everyone wanting to set a tank up because they are anxious to get it going. I am going to record and monitor all my values so that I know when my tank is done with it's initial cycle with the live rock. Once that is done I am going to get a CUC consisting of some peppermint shrimp (3), a red reef hermit crab (1), and some abalone and turban snails (5 each). Hopefully this will be soon after the Thanksgiving Holidays, but we'll see! I will probably not put any corals in my tank until after the Christmas Holidays. Why do you say wait 3-6 months? I haven't read anything that says you should wait that long.

[The Escaped Ape]

It's one school of thought. It's not necessary.

[jmeader]

I said wait because you have some other nasty cycles coming your way and any increase in the bio load before they finish are going to make them even worse. You do have some clean ups and readjustments to make in the coming months. I would not put a coral or even a sensitive fish into a tank that is less than 6 months old even if it was set up by me. The only exception to that rule is a high tech system set up and run by a very experienced person. Sometimes they don't even get away with it. Use your 1st months to get your little critters established like cope-pods. It would also be a good idea during this period to always have at least 10 gal of water mixed up and ready for use in an emergency.

[The Escaped Ape]

There are plenty of reef inhabitants, including coral, that can go into a tank after a normal cycle (I'm thinking particularly zoanthids, corallimorphans such as the mushroom corals (Discoma sp, Ricordia etc), leather corals etc), but jmeader is right that some of the more sensitive inhabitants would benefit greatly from a much more mature tank. This is especially true for SPS coral, anemones, mandarin dragonets etc, where 6 months would be the minimum and preferably longer - but these are not ideal inhabitants for a nano anyway (mandarin dragonets are to be avoided in particular with a nano, unless you want to watch your fish waste away). If you stick to easier to keep fish and coral (like the ones I mention above), you don't have to wait 6, or even 3, months.

Of course, there is a perfectly valid school of thought that, if you want as diverse a tank as possible, with as much natural food (pods etc) as possible, then you do exactly what jmeader is suggesting (it's actually what I'm planning to do with my next tank). But this isn't obligatory and, to my mind at least, is a less productive strategy with a small aquarium anyway (I'm planning to do something like this with a 90-100g tank).

[sdbarton42]

I'm not wanting anything too hard to keep becuase I didn't have corals in my last tank; it was just a FOWLR. My fish thoughts are a red-striped goby, a clown goby, and a cardinalfish (longspine?). Probably no anemones because I read that they like to move around and I don't want to buy a coral just for an anemone to come attack it. My thoughts were going to the ones that were mentioned above (mushroom corals and such like that), the easy stuff that are "good" for beginners. What should I be putting in my water for the live rock? I have strontium and molybdenum, iodide, and "reef elements" from Kent. Do they need anything else? That was all I used for my previous tank.

[The Escaped Ape]

Sounds like you're approaching on the right basis, starting slow and with the easy to keep stuff. Just do your reading and internet research and you'll find you pick things up reasonably quickly. Don't be put off by the sheer variety of opinions out there, some contradictory. Bizarrely, a lot of the time, even the opinions that contradict each other are usually both valid. Just make your own mind up based on the info you pick up.

You don't need to add any supplements for the live rock. It should get everything it needs from the artificial seawater you mix up. The same is true of the easy to keep corals for the most part. A good rule of thumb is not to add anything you can't test for.

[sdbarton42]

yeah i've been doing ALOT of research. mostly right now for corals because i want to be definitely sure when i buy them that they are what i want. i've been looking at their lighting needs and how aggressive they are because i don't want anything too aggressive (my theory would be they would be harder to keep). i think i'm going to try and fish a lfs in either nashville or knoxville becuase they are both like an 1 1/2 (max) from me and i'd be willing to drive over there to get animals rather than shipping if the store had what i wanted. all the info out there is definitely confusing but i'm really trying to do everything correctly. it all just kinda makes my head hurt after awhile!

[sdbarton42]

alright here she is...10 gallon tank with 12 pounds of live rock, 10 pounds of sand, a koralia nano powerhead, 50 watt heater, and coralife powercompact 1x28 watt 50/50 light with 10,000K and actinic. The protein skimmer should be here Monday.

[The Escaped Ape]

Looking good! Only thing I might suggest at this stage is another powerhead soon. Helps avoid dead spots with no circulation, with can lead to cyano outbreaks etc.

[sdbarton42]

even with that much comin out of the one? It's a 240...i had thought about buying two but i wasn't sure with that much and the protein skimmer pushin water. i will definitely watch it and think about gettin another one cause i would also like to have enough for corals everywhere in the tank and not just right in front of the powerhead.