10 Gallon Nano Tank

[Vitaminz]

This is my first venture into salt water, and so far it has been very delightful. It is very different from my fresh water, but more rewarding.

http://s748.photobucket.com/albums/xx122/Vitaminzs/10g%20Nano/

[Kronosdelsol]

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Edited October 2, 2010 by Kronosdelsol

[Vitaminz]

So here is what my setup entails:

10 gal AGA tank (back painted black)

10 gal incandescent hood

2x Coralife Mini Compact 50/50 Lamp 20 Watt

Subcurrent Surface Skimming/Filter (160 GPH)

Hydor Koralia Nano Powerhead (240 GPH)

100w heater

~10 lbs aragonite base

~15 lbs rock base rock

I have since turned off the nano powerhead, found the corals didn't like that much flow.

I also have a powerhead 802 that I use for mixing the salt in a pale, for weekly top offs.

Here is the list of Corals that I have:

Green Bubble Tip Anemone

Candy Cane

Brown Speckled Mushroom

Green Torch

Green Flowerpot

Clavularia viridis

[Kronosdelsol]

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Edited October 2, 2010 by Kronosdelsol

[Vitaminz]

Thanks for sharing that info. What is your lighting period like? Did you get an algae outbreak? I wonder if you will get enough water flow to keep the algae off the live rocks. What if you had the nano powerhead directed against the back wall and hid behind some of the live rocks in the corner?

Are you changing 10 percent of the water each week? Are you using tap water or RO water? Sorry for all the questions but I'm essentially going through the same thing as you except with a HOB filter instead of the subcurrent. I also plan to have 20lbs of live rock.

Lighting Period is easy, since the tank is at my work. atleast 8 hours, if not more. I was thinking about picking up a timer for the light, to deal with the issue of going into my work on the weekends. But the kids love to come with me on the weekends to see the fish and the corals. When I was first setting up the tank, I had alot of green hair algae...But picked up 2 hermit crabs that took care of that, they also helped with the tank cycle. When I first set up the tank, I had the subcurrent sump plus a nano power head, and a powerhead 802, which added up to 800g/h of flow.....great for cycling the tank, but not so realistic for fish and corals. I now only have subcurrent sump running. I also use to have the HOB filter to, but it shortly died, and so that is when I found the subcurrent and haven't regreated it yet. It is a surface skimmer, plus a filter all in one, uses active Charcoal, filter pad, and nano bio balls. It saves me from doing weekly water changes... Now I do them bi-weekly, seems to keep all the levels just right. I use RO water for my tops off, just premix it in a pale with the powerhead 802 and leave it over night. One of the things I found out, was you have to becareful of not crossing the currents, because it seem to form a whirlpool effect...I found that aiming it at the glass, seems to keep everybody happy and doesn't blow around the live sand too much. Another thing I noticed, is that if you aim it to high up, you will produce alot of salt creeps....

Hope this helps, people say starting out with a nano tank harder than a large tank, but I took it on with the idea that if I can keep a nano tank happy, then a bigger tank will be a cakewalk. If you have any more questions, I would be more than happy to answer them.

[Kronosdelsol]

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Edited October 2, 2010 by Kronosdelsol

[Vitaminz]

Thanks, I have been reading your other posts on canreef as well. This is extremely helpful.

How much water do you change in the bi-weekly water changes? I assume you bought a RO unit? Did you start with a refractometer or a hydrometer?

The no timer sounds like a good enough excuse to bring the kids into the office to show off the tank. Maybe as they get older, it could turn into their tank in their room.

I usually change out about 10-20% of the water, depending on how dirty the fishies are. No I didn't but a RO unit, just use the bottled water we have at work...lol I started out with a hydrometer, but looking at buying a refractometer. I just picked up at 25 gallon, and now have that in my office to set up now, the 10g isn't doing it for me...lol

[Kronosdelsol]

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Edited October 2, 2010 by Kronosdelsol