Billdemart Posted May 31, 2003 Share Posted May 31, 2003 Albeit in small steps... but here goes! I just bought my Nano Reef tank! 10 gallon rectangular for $8.99 at the local Petsmart. I got some instant ocean salt and I'm ready to get it going! There's no turning back now! (or so I tell my wife ) My plan is to buy live sand and live rock from an online vendor (ffexpress perhaps?) and then cycle the tank using the live rock. I have decided to go with the 20" 1x96W Coralife Aqualight CF hood w/ Quad 50/50 -Square Pin from www.hellolights.com after looking at countless DIY articles, light discussions, and tons of threads about nano lighting. I think the price is sweet compared to what i've seen and it has the least amount of hassle for me. I still have some questions, I would love some opinions on! 1) I see that alot of people use the Whisper or Aqua mini which I already have, but they don't use carbon, or anything in it, is it just for mechanical filtration? 2) I see that many people say you don't need to use a protein skimmer because it does more harm than good and that my Bakpak may not fit on my 10 gallon but does it make sense to use it as a makeshift sump and put the heaters in there etc? 3) I have seen two complete opposite ideas on adding sand and live rock. I can't rememeber if only one of them included the use of live sand, im assuming it did but anynhow, one person said add the live rock first then the live sand, the other person said add the sand first then the live rock. If you are cycling the tank with live rock will it have an adverse affect on the live sand? If so when do you add the sand? (I hope not because I would like to order it together). 4) Are Rio 600 jets too big for a 10 gallon? I used 2 or 3 of them in my old 55 FOWLR and they worked pretty well. If they are too big what is a nice, small affordable one I should use and where should I place it in the tank? 4a) I also have a couple of jets that went on my CPR backpack II, should I use those for air stones or any other type of water bubbles etc? 5) What is the biggest heater (wattage) I should use. I have a couple of different sizes, haven't checked the watts yet. Do I need a chiller as well? The tank will be in a large air conditioned room but sometimes it gets pretty hot in here. I am going to be carefully measuring the temperature every day for a long time before I get corals and Nemo to make sure it doesn't fluctuate drastically. Which brings me to my next question... 6) I need a good, affordable, easy to read thermometer. Any suggestions? I think that is all for now. Thanks so much in advance for your opinions and help! Link to comment
harbingerofthefish Posted May 31, 2003 Share Posted May 31, 2003 it's like crack! drain the tank now, don't look back, move on! if not, 1) Mostly the HOB filters are used for extra water movement, ie breaking the surface for gas exchange. 2) If you want to most of the plumbing out of the tank, yeah a sump/refuge is a good idea. Plus the added filtration/water volume never hurt. IMO I would drill for the sump, or have it over the tank. But ofcourse you cant drill A full tank 3) Not really nessecary to have both LS and LR. The LR will "seed" the live sand, and visa versa (although a bit slower). Though having some of each from different sources can add to the poverall bio diversity of the tank. Adding the LR or LS in any given order I think pertains not to the fact that it's live, but rather is the rock going to sit on the bottom glass of the tank or be supported by the sand. No doubt if you add the LR first and have the largest "foot print" on the galss, then the whole structure becomes more stable. Of course the draw back is that you bury a lot of the LR which costs $$$. If you can shop locally you could probally find someone to get some big base rock for the main part of the rock work and put the live stuff on top of it. That way the LR you paid so much for is exposed and doing what its there for. 4) Not sure, never used a rio before. in a ten 2 small PH ,may be the way to go. Your probally shooting for 10x + the water volume in flow. Varied flow is overall better than more flow. 4a) see #1 5) 100 watter should do fine nemo...ahhhh 6) I use the 69 cent model from walmart. seems to work fine. Link to comment
SLOreefer Posted May 31, 2003 Share Posted May 31, 2003 in my 10 i used 2 small rio 50s they worked great Link to comment
skeletor Posted May 31, 2003 Share Posted May 31, 2003 rio 600's are way to powerful for a 10gal tank, you need some 50's or 90's or some mix of both. -skeletor- Link to comment
Billdemart Posted May 31, 2003 Author Share Posted May 31, 2003 Thanks guys. I will grab a 50 and a 90 or a couple of 50's. Now I just need to find out where to get my LR and LS. Im looking at tbsaltwater.com since I am in Atlanta and I have heard good things about them, plus its all aquacultured rock which I think is great. They have a Package deal for a 10 gal nano that includes: 20 pounds of Live Rock (I thought I only needed 10?) 10 pounds of Live Sand 20 Blue Leg Hermits 5 Turbo Snail 1 Tiger Tail Cucumber (I thought I read somewhere that these were no good in a nano) 1 Serpent or Brittle Star 1 Pistol Shrimp For 135 bucks. Is this a good deal? Do I need that much LR? Do I need the Stars, Shrimp and Cucumber? If not I won't get "the package" because its all or nothing for that deal. Thanks, Bill Link to comment
bamann345 Posted May 31, 2003 Share Posted May 31, 2003 Hey Bill check out http://www.atlantareefclub.org, if you are already not a member. Someone just yesterday is putting in an order for rock. You might be able to get some from that order. I wouldnt get the "package"...it is much funner going to LFS to see what they have.... Where in Atlanta do you live? I am in Norcross down by the river. Link to comment
Billdemart Posted May 31, 2003 Author Share Posted May 31, 2003 Hey Bamaan, Thanks. I will definitely check that out. I don't think I joined that one yet. I did join the Atlanta Reef Club forum at http://www.thereeftank.com/forums/forumdis...p?s=&forumid=53 I just got back from Under the Wave and their Live Rock selection was very poor. They had two tanks of Fiji and all the rock was white or gray. Only one rock had coralline on it. The guy told me it was crap and that all the good pieces go pretty quick when they get their shipments. They did have some nice looking pieces of what he called Brazilian Live Rock in another tank, with some good life on it but it was really expensive ($9.00 a pound I think he said?) Anyway I will check into that club. Thanks for the link. Oh one more thing, They had 20 pound bags of live sand which I thought was way too much for my 10 gallon nano. The LFS guy said the more the better which I didn't buy. What is the ideal amount of Live Sand for a 10g Nano? Thanks, Bill Link to comment
bamann345 Posted May 31, 2003 Share Posted May 31, 2003 Bill, check out this link http://www.thereeftank.com/forums/showthre...&threadid=18690 that is the link of the live rock tread. I have a 6 gallon nano and I got 3 lbs of live sand to seed around 7lbs of South Down...and I have a 1.5'' sand bed...I also got a deal on live rock, Andy(president of Atlanta Reef Club) had some left over from his 400 gallon and I got around 14lbs for $30. I do think 20lbs of live sand is too much, just get a couple of lbs and seed dead sand...live rock will also seed the sand! There is a reef club meeting on June 10th, check it out, very nice people and they will give you frags for free or very little money! Yes, 9lbs for a pound is a little high....Aquarium Showcase is another good store...they have ok looking rock for 4.99lbs... I cant wait to see the tank when you get it up and running!!! William Link to comment
Billdemart Posted May 31, 2003 Author Share Posted May 31, 2003 Thanks for the info William. I emailed the guy about the Live Rock. I live in Buford, GA right by the big Mall of Georgia. About 5 minutes away. Where are these reef club meetings? Do you have to pay for them? Thanks! Bill Link to comment
bamann345 Posted May 31, 2003 Share Posted May 31, 2003 The next reef club meeting is in Kennesaw on Tuesday June 9th at 7.30. You just mist the August meeting at Andy's shop, My Reef. No the meetings dont cost anything, you dont even have to be a member....but it is like $20 a year to join, and you get 10% off at sponor stores... http://www.atlantareefclub.org that is the home page and gives more details about the meetings and everything. I hope the rick rock works out with that guy! I enjoyed talking to you and hope to talk to you some more! William Mann Link to comment
c_k_kuehne Posted June 1, 2003 Share Posted June 1, 2003 Good job promoting the club William --- I won't even put in my two cents other than all the members have gotten stuff for free or discounts that total way more than they paid in dues and we are having Anthony Calfo as a guest speaker in Oct. that is going to be free for members. Thanks again William Hope to see you at a meeting sometime in the future Bill Charles Kuehne Link to comment
bamann345 Posted June 1, 2003 Share Posted June 1, 2003 Charles I will see you at the next meeting....I still have that good ol' bag of SouthDown! Do you have a picture of the hood yet??? I cant wait to see the bowfront hood! Link to comment
c_k_kuehne Posted June 1, 2003 Share Posted June 1, 2003 Doug from Aquatico is going to start building the canopy any day now. I had to wait to get the exact specs from my fan and parabolic reflector. He is going to call me tonight so we can diiscuss the final details. I did get the tank up and running w/ the standard light yesterday and a georgous piece of LR from my main tank (the best piece from the tank) One single piece that makes a nice archway and gives lots of flat space on top for corals and it had a nice section of encrusting SPS (low light kind). I had to prop up one end w/ 2 small pieces or LR and I put one small piece of LR w/ a 2 1/2" star coral at the front of the tank to divert the flow from the filter from blowing too much sand around. Tomorrow when the ballast and bulbs gets delivered I will suspend over the tank until the canopy is ready. I did manage to get another bag of SD so if you want to keep what you have left for a future project that would be fine. I'll still slide ya a frag or two when I get my act together. Charles Link to comment
bamann345 Posted June 1, 2003 Share Posted June 1, 2003 ok, thats fine. I will still bring the bag to the meeting....my parents dont want another aquarium.....so if you know anyone who wants a bag of SD let me know! Are you going to bring the frag(s) to the next meeting (June). I cant go to the July meeting, I will be in Nova Scotia! William:P Link to comment
Billdemart Posted June 1, 2003 Author Share Posted June 1, 2003 Man I wish it wasn't in Kennesaw. Do you guys ever have meetings up North of the connector? Thanks for all the info! Bill Link to comment
bamann345 Posted June 1, 2003 Share Posted June 1, 2003 Bill, the meetings rotate around atlanta....the August meeting was up in our neck of the woods... Link to comment
Billdemart Posted June 1, 2003 Author Share Posted June 1, 2003 Cool! Well you guys will be seeing me before you know it. I will be joining the club as well pretty soon. All my fun money (as my wife likes to call it) is currently going towards setting up this tank! Before I could setup the tank where I wanted it my wife and I had to do some MAJOR rearranging of wires in the family room. I have a Triple LNB Oval Directv Dish for HDTV which runs 5 cables to a 5x8 multiswitch running out to 8 tv's around the house. All of these wires were just kind of thrown right behind where I wanted the 10 gallon nano to go next to the wide screen in the den. Not to mention speaker wires for 6 speakers, a Dolby Digital Receiver, a TiVO box, and an HDTV receiver, as well as my progressive scan DVD player. This was a HUGE step before getting my tank setup. Thank God for my wife. She has the organizational skills and patience that I lack and she really did most of this work. Here are some before and after pictures which really don't do it justice. The first pictures are after we had already untangled and straightened out most of the wires. It was much worse about 30 minutes before this. Here is the after pics and Im ready to add water to the tank!!!!! You can check my site for all the pics and a picture of the empty tank next to my tv here http://webpages.charter.net/billdemartini/ Time for me to go get to work! Link to comment
c_k_kuehne Posted June 2, 2003 Share Posted June 2, 2003 Originally posted by bamann345 ok, thats fine. I will still bring the bag to the meeting....my parents dont want another aquarium.....so if you know anyone who wants a bag of SD let me know! Are you going to bring the frag(s) to the next meeting (June). I cant go to the July meeting, I will be in Nova Scotia! William:P I might be able to bring a few to the meeting and I'm allways willing to take the SD. You never know when you'll need more. PM a few days before the meeting and I'll see what frags I can round up. CHarles Link to comment
bamann345 Posted June 2, 2003 Share Posted June 2, 2003 sounds fine, the bag still has your name on it! Link to comment
DAP Posted June 3, 2003 Share Posted June 3, 2003 Bill, are you really going to put the tank above all of that lovely electronic equipment? Link to comment
Billdemart Posted June 3, 2003 Author Share Posted June 3, 2003 haha. Well Dap I was going to, but after talking to danano and realizing this was not a smart move, I have moved the tank to another corner of the room but within view from any spot in it. I am actually glad because I found the perfect place for it! Bill Link to comment
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