New to the Nano

[btech]

Hello All,

 

I wanted to take a moment to say hello and introduce myself here. My name is Tony and I'm hoping to have a 10g nano set up in the near future...or at least progress down the long road to a successful tank-keeping experience.

 

A bit of background. I started in the this hobby in 2001 when I set up my first SW tank, a 29 gallon FO tank that got me hooked. Over the years, I've progressed from 75 gallon sumped reef to 60+ gallon customized reef...to this I'll add my adventure with a 10g setup. I've actually been out of the hobby for a few years and I'm looking at some of the changes that have occurred. Its really remarkable how the hobby evolves!

 

So as of today, I've got a 10g that i brought up from the basement ; its been leak testing for a few days. I pulled up my tote full of live (dead) rock and base rock, and I've picked out my favorite pieces for the new setup. I've begun nuking the dead rock by using the 10:1 bleach solution bath, a rinse and bake in the sun, a 10:1 vinegar solution bath (currently happening) and another rinse and bake in the sun. That being accomplished, I hope it'll be ready to go in a saltwater soak to begin the seeding process. I'll hit up one of the LFS for a seeder piece and get it going. I'm aware this may take a long time, but as the saying goes...nothing good happens fast. I'll have a sand bed, as well.

 

Ive got a ton of equipment leftover from my last tank ventures, but nothing really appropriate for the nano, so i'll be doing some research, asking opinions. Alot of what I'll need is contigent upon my goals for this tank. So...

 

I have no interest in the SPS or light hungry creatures. Maybe some low light reef babies eventually. That being said, I have a LED unit on order from Amazon, but nothing too spectacular. I'll be happy with one or two fish, maybe a shrimp.

 

Im considering a throwback AcquClear modified fuge setup...the less equipment i have in the tank the better. Eventually, if needed, an appropriate skimmer.

 

Well, thank you guys for listening, and I appreciate any input you're willing to give! I'll likely start a build thread, as soon as I have something to show.

 

Cheers!

 

Tony

 

 

[nedim]

Welcome to the forums, new here as well.

[ajmckay]

Welcome... Some thoughts:

 

Regarding the cleaning of the rock not sure either is completely necessary unless there's a bunch of dead stuff still on it. If it's relatively clean then you're probably fine to use it. If you do decide to "nuke",

- Make sure to use plenty of dechlorinator after the bleach solution.

- Same with the vinegar use some baking soda to neutralize the reaction

 

A pretty cool advancement recently in the hobby is the use of bottled bacteria of the family nitrobacter. Really cool stuff that basically establishes your biofilter instantly (read: the "cycle" is done in a day or so). A lot of people use BioSpira or Dr. Tims but there are others as well just make sure it has the nitrobacter. So a simple way to quickly get the tank up and running would be to follow the instructions on the bottle, and then test the biofilter to make sure that it's ready. To do this google "ammonia dosing calculator" and you would add something like 1-3mL of pure household cleaning ammonia (should be easy and super cheap to get). Test shortly after and then test again in a day and if the ammonia is 0 and nitrates are up then you're good to go The only exception to this would be if you were using uncured live rock (rock that will have some die-off) or really dirty dry rock which will also need some time for the dead stuff to decompose.

 

For equipment, I think the HOB aquaclear is a good choice. Get a big enough one and you can put the heater in there if you need one.

 

For flow the Vortech MP series and the Gyre pumps are all the rage, but you can get pretty good results from any of the circulation pumps, which I would suggest getting 1 or 2 of. These have nice broad flow so there's lots of water movement in the tank but nothing gets blasted really hard.

 

Good luck!

[btech]

Thanks for the replies!

 

A quick question, what is the current opinion of skimmers? Looks like some people say yes and some say no. Any opinions?

[HarryPotter]

Thanks for the replies!

 

A quick question, what is the current opinion of skimmers? Looks like some people say yes and some say no. Any opinions?

 

On a 10g aquarium, it is so easy to do large water changes that many people say skimming is not necessary. In my opinion a skimmer is better off for a 25+g tank

[ReefWeeds]

WELCOME!!!!!! You're going to love this forum! I agree with what AJ said about flow. Right now, I'm using some hydor koralia nano powerheads in my 29 gallon and 6 gallon and like them. And they aren't going to break the bank. They are definitely NOT as controllable as other options out there, but also a lot less $$. Agree with Harry that a skimmer probably isn't necessary on a 10 gallon as water changes will definitely be easy. For your aquaclear, you might want to check out InTank as well as they have media baskets and such for the AC HOBs. Here's the link: http://shop.mediabaskets.com/AquaClear_c44.htm

 

Again, welcome! I 'm new to the hobby and this forum has been a wonderful source of information for me.

[Hammerstone]

Everyone has been nice and welcoming to me and answer my questions. I'm new too. I have two 30 gallon salt tanks and one 30 gallon fresh Im new to the saltwater reef and am starting one in one of the tanks. The other is a fish only. It's been about a year old.

[Marc.The.Shark]

Definitely wouldn't worry about a skimmer. I have about 10gal total volume, stocked heavily and I do 2gal water change every 2 weeks & run Chemipure Blue and can't buy a Nitrate or Phosphate!

[btech]

Definitely wouldn't worry about a skimmer. I have about 10gal total volume, stocked heavily and I do 2gal water change every 2 weeks & run Chemipure Blue and can't buy a Nitrate or Phosphate!

 

Marc, how do you deploy your Chemipure?

[Marc.The.Shark]

I have an 8 gal display & 4 gal sump. I run the Chem Blue in a high flow area between a couple baffles in a filter bag. If you do an AC filter, just get a media basket & you can put it there. inTank makes nice ones.

 

Edit: I see StellaB linked the InTank website above for you.

[cuber14]

Welcome,

Remember the best thing about (nano) small tanks is ease of maintenance and cost. Bad thing is things can happen very fast with such little volume of water.

Ive gotten tons of good info and advice from my fellow nanoreefers so ask away and enjoy.

[btech]

I have an 8 gal display & 4 gal sump. I run the Chem Blue in a high flow area between a couple baffles in a filter bag. If you do an AC filter, just get a media basket & you can put it there. inTank makes nice ones.

 

Edit: I see StellaB linked the InTank website above for you.

Thanks for the info...I like the media baskets. I have to admit, I'm kind of a DIY junkie, so I may duplicate some designs I've seen here and at other websites for the AC.

 

Are refugiums still in style as a form of nutrient export and food generation?

[ReefWeeds]

Thanks for the info...I like the media baskets. I have to admit, I'm kind of a DIY junkie, so I may duplicate some designs I've seen here and at other websites for the AC.

 

Are refugiums still in style as a form of nutrient export and food generation?

I'll preface this with it is just based on my opinion and experience:

 

I ran a fuge basket along with a media basket in my 29 gallon. Honestly, I didn't feel it had much impact at all as I felt in order to truly get the benefits of the refugium, it needed to be plumbed into my tank and be significant volume, so I ditched it after a few months. I opted for a skimmer in place of the fuge basket. Again, just my personal experience.

[Exodus]

Are refugiums still in style as a form of nutrient export and food generation?

Of course they are and by many the "only" way to go. Though you have a "Biocube" aka "All In One" Those divided sections behind the false wall are there to act as a sump, therefore adding an external one would kind of defeat the purpose. Media baskets are fine and all some of the water will flow over the little media bags you put in there but a skimmer and a reactor would be 100X more efficient.

[btech]

Of course they are and by many the "only" way to go. Though you have a "Biocube" aka "All In One" Those divided sections behind the false wall are there to act as a sump, therefore adding an external one would kind of defeat the purpose. Media baskets are fine and all some of the water will flow over the little media bags you put in there but a skimmer and a reactor would be 100X more efficient.

 

A biocube is way too all-in-one for me! 10g in the works here..