WorldNation Posted May 16, 2003 Share Posted May 16, 2003 Hello everyone. I'm new to saltwater tanks, but I'm an old hobbiest of freshwater. I've had fish tanks since i was 7 yrs old, (18 now), ive had everything from gold fish, to cchlids. currently have a 100 gall African Cichlid Tank, mostly mbuna, but i got a few rare fish in there as well. I've bread all liverberer, angels, bettas, gouramies and danios(by accident). Anyways, i know pretty much everythting about freshwater tanks, but hardly nythign about saltwater, and thats why i'm here. To get into saltwater, and not spend a ######load of money, i have decided to set-up a nano-reef tank. tell me if my idea is sound. I have a 10 gallon tank i want to convert into a small nano-reef tank. (thats without fish right?). I'm gonna buy some of that live sand(about 10 lbs, i dont wanna have a thick layer of it), set it into the 10 gallon, mix in the salt and water in a seperate bucket, fill up the tank, put in a penguin powerhead 550(140 gal/hr) for water flow, and after a week add some live pacific coral. then, if thats good, i have a couple q's. - Would a sponge filter atatchment to the powerhead make a difference? -does the coral need liquid food supliments? - what type of lighting would u recommend for a lightl coral tank? and for a massivly packed coral tank? - is there a rule for amount of coral/ gallon of water? if so, waght is it, mainly for pacifics? - I want to fill up the whole backside of the tnak with corals, liek a wall, that sound alright in a 10 gallon tank? - what should the salinity/ or gravity or how its called be in the water for a small nanoreef tank? - if i plan on ever adding 1 or 2 (probably jsut one) damsel's, will i have to purchas anything in addition, such as a whole filter unit? or will the sponge filter adapter be sufficiant? -do you guys have any recommandations on types of starter corals, specific names or areas, or anything like that? i think thats about it thnx for any assistance. Link to comment
Zontar Posted May 16, 2003 Share Posted May 16, 2003 You'll probably want more sand than that, a deep sand bed goes a long way to reducing nitrogen compounds in your tank, though I guess you could have less sand and do more water changing, also you'll probably want 10-15 pounds of good live rock, though again you could probably get buy w/o if you did a lot of water changing. Specific gravity wise you should keep it somewhere between 1.019-1.026 depending who you ask and what you want to keep, corals tend to do better at the more saline end and fish from what I read prefer it on the lower, but fish will still thrive at the higher specific gravity. As for filtration it depends who you ask, some people really like using bio-wheels, some people set up sumps and protein skimmers, but I think the best bet in a small set-up is just a deep sand bed and lots of live rock with a power head providing current. Those are my opinions, but I'll warn you I'm just getting started myself, other people might have better suggestions than I. Link to comment
WorldNation Posted May 16, 2003 Author Share Posted May 16, 2003 well,i dont want to get a deep sand bed, because from my experience in Cichlids, a deep sand bed lowers water movement and oxygnation through the bottom portions of the sand and that causes dead micro-organism's to keep pilling up and ends up doing more damage to the tank. all i'm planning on having is just live rock and coral...or are they the same thing? thnx for the info Link to comment
WorldNation Posted May 16, 2003 Author Share Posted May 16, 2003 oh, i'll probably will get more sand, i was just looking at the bag of 10lbs at my store, and it does seem way too thin if i put it in the 10 gallon. so i'll probably get the 20 lb instead Link to comment
Zontar Posted May 16, 2003 Share Posted May 16, 2003 Well in fresh water tanks anaerobic bacteria produce hydrogen sulfide which can be a major problem, but in marine tanks the anaerobic bacteria break down nitrate and produce nitrogen gas. I guess the saline conditions prevent the proliferation of the bacterium that produces problems in deep sand beds in fresh water tanks. From everything that I've been reading lately it seems like deep sand beds are the way to go in marine and reef tanks. In my set-up the substrate is anywhere from 2.5-3.5 inches deep. Link to comment
WorldNation Posted May 16, 2003 Author Share Posted May 16, 2003 hmm, i did not knwo that, and now i do. thank you. i will get me the larger bag now hmm, is it alright to buy a small bag of live sand and mix it in with regular sand?....that live sand costs an arm and a leg. lol Link to comment
Zontar Posted May 16, 2003 Share Posted May 16, 2003 I asked someone the same question earlier today, they said to get some live sand, as much as I was willing to pay for and put it on the bottom of the tank and put the other sand you're going to use on top of it. For your non live sand most people I've talked to suggested using aragonite, but that's almost as expensive as live sand, but you can go to the hardware store and try to look for some southdown or just some coarse silica (which is only about $3 for a 20 pound bag). Link to comment
WorldNation Posted May 16, 2003 Author Share Posted May 16, 2003 hmm, i checked my loacla home depots and such, the only thing i can find is coarse silica. i really wanna go with fine sane. i was thinking black, but i cant find black live sand anywhere. Link to comment
Zontar Posted May 16, 2003 Share Posted May 16, 2003 Coarse sand is actually better for your tank, fine sand looks nicer, but coarse sand allows for some water flow and better facilitates the release of calcium into your water, moreover it provides greater surface area for beneficial bacteria to adhere to. Link to comment
WorldNation Posted May 16, 2003 Author Share Posted May 16, 2003 yeh, thats why i dont wanan get a thick layer of it. because i'm plnning on going with the fine stuff. Link to comment
coralreefengr Posted May 16, 2003 Share Posted May 16, 2003 OK...I've had my 10 gallon set up for 2 years. Here's what I have: 2-3 inches sand (I like the CaribSea Reefloor Special Grade) Contrary to one of the previous posts said, the finer the grains you have, the more surface area you have, not the other way around. I like the look of the finer stuff, but I've been using the slightly coarser stuff with success, so I'm sticking to it. I put the dry sand in, added water and then added a couple pounds of live sand to the TOP without mixing it in. The bacteria and organisms will filter down. You don't want to smother them right off the bat. Crushed coral is TOO coarse, so don't go that route. About 10 lbs live rock (all except about 2 pounds started as dead rock. It's now all quite purple and full of life). One Maxijet 900 powerhead for circulation, Ebo Jager 50W heater. I've got 2 clownfish, a shrimp, hefty clean-up crew and over 20 corals (soft and LPS). I think that's about it. CRE Link to comment
WorldNation Posted May 16, 2003 Author Share Posted May 16, 2003 yeh, thats the kind of tank i'm shooting for right now. i just set-up my tank. well, partly. i got 20lbs of live sand, fine sand. 6.5 lbs of live rock. the live roks already have purple and green coloring on them. anywyas, and i put in a penguin 550 with a mall sponge, for water circulation. i'm not gonna get the lights till i get the coral itself. oh, new questions. what's a clean up crew for if i dont have fish? or only like 1 fish in there? whats a good size crew? Link to comment
coralreefengr Posted May 16, 2003 Share Posted May 16, 2003 You will get algae blooms even if you don't have fish. The first thing you will probably see is diatoms. You will get a dusting of brown film over everything, glass rocks, sand. A pretty good rule to follow is 1 - 1.5 cleaners per gallon. This can be snails, hermits or a combination of the two. Lots of people opt for snails only since hermits can be tempermental per se. They compete for food as well as shells and sometimes kill snails for their shells. I haven't had that happen, but if you want to be on the safe side, get an assortment of snails. I like the ceriths, strombus grazers, hawaiian turbo grazers and nerites. Not all snails will eat all algaes. That's why you need a variety. I would also suggest getting a reef book. Modern Reef Aquariums is a good resource as well as Natural Reef Aquariums. There is a great deal of information in these that explain the processes that go on in your system. Also look at reefcentral.com for info. They are not exclusively nano-reefs (under 30 gallons) like this website, but it's really a gold mine of information. CRE Link to comment
WorldNation Posted May 16, 2003 Author Share Posted May 16, 2003 well, i would liek to get some hermit grabs since they jsut look awesome. i saw some this morning at my lfs. i would love to have 3-4 of those guys running around my tank and i'll get a veriety of snails to help out with the algea. well,a ctually, i like algea, as long as its not on the front of the tank, i think it looks nice. makes the tank look more natural Link to comment
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