To much live rock?

[dreamcatcherr9]

Starting my first nano reef. 10 gallon tank (previous FOWLR experience). Running with no skimmer (10% weekly water changes planned). I was hoping to use live sand (10 lbs) and live rock as main filtration. I ordered 20lbs live rock but was only able to fit 15lbs of comfortable space. I was finally satisfied with the aquascaping (after three attempts to get as much rock in as possible). Looks ok? To much? Not enough? Should I try to get the last 5lbs in? Any thoughts, opinions or suggestions are greatly appreciated.

 

 

Ok, I can't upload pic from iPhone. I will upload pic asap.

[dreamcatcherr9]

Ok. Hope this posts ok. I had to shrink image a little.

[teenyreef]

It's really up to whatever you think looks good. If it was me, I would use less rock to allow more room for corals

 

In my first tank, I spent the first three months rescaping and I removed more rock every time until I ended up with something I liked. The "one pound of live rock per gallon of water" isn't really appropriate for small nano tanks, so don't feel like you have to cram every rock you can into the tank.

 

Another thing you can do is break up some of the rocks into small pieces. Use only the pieces that work best for you based on size, shape, texture, hitchhikers, etc.. You can fit much more rock into your tank when it's in smaller pieces.

 

I know you said no skimmer. No mechanical filtration either? It's a challenge to get enough biological filtration in such a small tank with no sump, so most folks find they have to do something to supplement it. Good luck!

[ajmckay]

Nice looking tank!

 

I agree with tiny, the scape is something that will likely mature over time. Though honestly I'm not sure where you'll be able to fit corals in the tank as it is now... It looks like there is quite a bit of rock in there.

 

Now that would be awesome for certain species! What kinds of things are you going to keep in this tank? Maybe it's a good thing!

 

Good luck !

[dreamcatcherr9]

Thank you for the response. The tank is a Nuvo, I upgraded the stock pump (92gph) to a 300gph adjustable flow. Running stock media now but plan to change to a Purigen and Chem pure elite in a few weeks. So there is some mechanical filtration. I just don't have room for a skimmer at the moment (without creating a sump or attempting a few mods to HOB skimmer).

 

I thought the corals needed rocks to be stacked on? I was trying to create multiple levels, but you are right, I could always remove rock as I go. Thanks again for the input.

 

Not sure about stocking yet. Suggestions?

[pewpewkittah]

Tall cubes can be hard to aquascape. I successfully scaped my 35g cube by making a "U" shape, with the bottom part of the U in the back and being its highest point. There really aren't limits to this, only gravity.. which can be solved with epoxy or clever stacking of the rocks. It's a pretty attractive scape with open space and depth. Here's an example.

Also, I have read and was told skimmers aren't totally necessary as long as you keep up with weekly water changes. The live rock/sand along with circulation should be sufficient. With Purigen and Chem Pure you should be just fine!

 

Good luck!!

[ndrobey]

A skimmer isn't needed if you don't overstock the tank. A couple of macro algaes will also help. Just keep the bioload low and avoid the temptation to add just one more fish to the tank.

[teenyreef]

I agree. I use skimmers on both my little tanks, but they aren't necessary. In my tanks, I've found skimming provides a little more margin of error, in case I miss a water change, overfeed, or keep too many fish. All of which I've done more than once But I successfully ran skimmer free for the first eight months in my first tank.

[dreamcatcherr9]

I have always used skimmers. And I keep feeling annoyed not being able to run one on this tank. But I read that if you stay on top of water changes and the water chemistry is stable its ok? Curious, what would be a good stock for a 10 g. And does the clean up crew or corals count to the bio load?

[teenyreef]

Yep, in such a small tank it's so easy to make big water changes, so you can really get away with a lot. That is, as long as the parameters in your tank are the same as the new water. And if you make frequent large water changes it will be

 

Clean up crew does count against the bioload but since they spend their time eating stuff that would otherwise decay and otherwise contribute to the bioload, you can have a lot of them.

 

Fish are the biggest thing that counts. Most folks have 1-3 fish in a 10g, but it really depends on what kind of fish and how much capability your tank has to export nutrients, and on how mature and balanced the tank is.

 

The best way to get stocking ideas is to check out other people's mature tanks. If you want to see an overstocked tank, check out my 10g thread . I recommend taking a look at the tank of the month features for some great examples.

[dreamcatcherr9]

Thank you. Appreciate the feedback

[FlowerMama]

I'd remove half the rock. It'll be difficult to get the flow right and that could cause problems. Additionally, trying to get to sift the sand could be difficult and when corals grow in you'll barely be able to get your hand in without knocking something over.

[dreamcatcherr9]

I actually had an issue with almost to much flow (if that's possible).

 

The upgraded return pump (310pgh) and the circulation pump inside had the water movement very turbulent.

 

I used the live rock to redirect the flow (finally working out ok after a few rearrangements).

 

I admit access my be difficult, but not impossible.

 

I appreciate the suggestion though. Thank you.

[Tamberav]

Too much rock imo... no room for nice coral colony's. It also looks like it will be difficult to clean the glass in some areas which won't look pretty.

 

You're actually hurting your filtration if you pile rock too tightly... it traps debris. Don't focus on how much rock to use lb wise and only use what looks good. It will be fine. Most fish need some room to move as well. I just re-scaped my 45g cube a month or so back (removed a bunch of rock actually) and it only has 17 lbs of rock in it. Much easier to work with.

 

I would get an acrylic rod and a drill and make a nice tower with room on all sides.

[Fluffeh]

i would also remove some rock. I found being creative with the rock stacking to ensure that water will flow in and around the rocks as much as possible as being very helpful over time. good luck!!