Curious about my set up

[LuvnTheNano]

Ok, I'm sorta new here, not to the aquarium hobby. Been keeping/breeding cichlids for awhile. Have had a 10gal nano for sometime, just none of the good looking creatures that can go in them and I believe it's time. I have read alot of the other threads and done the searching. Basically what I would like to know is if what I have going is ok or if I should use something else in my various arsenal of fish supplies.

 

10gallon glass tank(the tanks been running for over a year,started out as a 20g long, broke that down into the 10, got a Percula Clown and Scooter Bleeny along with some small snails, and one blue legged crab. I think the snails,aside from one, came from a bunch of plant(?not sure exactly what it is right now..g/f bought it at the lfs))

Skilter Filter 250 (I've read the ups and downs yes, seems to be more downs but for it'll suit me fine)

50watt heater of some brand(going to upgrade to 75watt when I get my fuge from Reefer_Buddha, it's in the works, least on my side anyhow)

Not sure how many pounds of LR exactly, I'd say around 10 or so though. 2-3 inch sand bed.

2 Corallife PC 50/50's (didn't realize they were only 10w till a few days ago, oh well, upgrading plans for that are also in effect, DIY hood with 2more Corallife PCs and a couple of them curly q lights, see I've done some reading here;) )

1 Penguin 1140 rated at 300gph - which leads to my main reason for the post.

 

Should I be using a different powerhead for the waterflow? I'm not real sure if the 300gph is ok, too much or not enough for the 10gal. I've got a few other powerheads at my disposal, 2 Profile powerheads which are rated for 84gph an Aqua Clear 802(400gph) and a SecondNature 640(not sure on the gph there).Would any of these or a combo of these do my tank better?

Like I stated in the tank description, I will be getting a refugium soon and upgrading my lighting. If I had the tools to take pics I would show you all what I've got going on here, but alas, it's either money for the tanks or a digital camera, I figure the camera wait. Anyways, sorry about the lengthy post, any and all opinions, ideas, info is greatly appreciated.

 

p.s. Forgot to mention, Loooooove the site, you guys seem like a really great bunch.

[TheCurriculum]

Enjoy your stay LunvTheNano

I'm not one to comment on setups yet as I'm still putting mine together (just give me a little more time)

 

Since you are going to DIY a hood you could always buy a ballast a lights to fit your needs (a lot cheaper this way)

http://www.hellolights.com

and

http://www.bulbs.com/

are a couple of lighting ballast sites (many more available)

 

Thier are some great people on this site.

[LuvnTheNano]

Well thanks for the reply. Wish there was a few more of them though, but oh well. I'd love to see pics of your pond, I'm planning on putting one out in my backyard this spring. Just gotta decide on the size. Good luck with the setting up of your nano.

[Tempest]

IMO a 300gph powerhead is too much for a 10 gallon FOWLR tank. Circulating a fish tank more than 20x will probably stress the fish too much. I'm running a 10g nano-reef with various corals a damsel, dottyback and a goby. I use a AC 150 and an azoo mini ph rated at 50 gph. Everything has been doing fine for the past 6 months. Also, you might want to add another 5 lbs of rock to the tank. Just my .02

[palaegic]

Seeing as you have some aquarium keeping experience already, I wouldn't sweat the powerhead issue. Having several to choose from is great. Experiment. Try two lower flow ph's on either side of the tank pointed towards the front - creating opposing currents. Perhaps your high flow ph would be well suited to moving the water area behind your liverock structure. (Obviously you want to avoid your flow causing a sandstorm with your bed, so be aware)

 

As for lighting, if you truly believe you are in the hobby for the long haul - seriously consider MH lighting.

PC's get everyone started, and don't get me wrong, there are plenty of folks here that have great success with PC's - but if you start with MH, you will never have the need to upgrade your lighting. Regardless of your decision, have fun with it, and prepare to be poor.

[LuvnTheNano]

Thank you Tempest. I did some reading and I think I'm going to use one of my profile ph rated at 84gph. For now it's FOWLR but I want corlas in it....soon. So I'm hoping that with that ph and the skilter(ugh, I know) everything should be decent. If not, I'm hoping someone here with experience will let me know.(hint hint)

[palaegic]

If you have 3 powerheads at your disposal, you can effectively ditch the Skilter. (If you choose)

There are several skilter mod threads floating around, pertaining to reducing the noisy venturi intake, and a few others.

[LuvnTheNano]

Thank you also, palaegic. I'm gonna do some experimenting. The current ph is a bit much I believe. Guess I just needed reassurance there. I think with the powerfilter creating some flow I'll set one of the 84gph phs pointed towards the front and the other going behind the LR just to see what happens.

 

palaegic - Regardless of your decision, have fun with it, and prepare to be poor.

 

Ohhh I am poor. My freshwater setups have put me there. Hence why I'm gonna go with pcs on this setup. However I do have an empty 10 sitting in the garage begging to be used. So when it's time,(saved money ) I'm gonna go all out with that one. But none the less, still having lots of fun with all sides of this hobby. As for being in it for the long haul, I'd go crazy without my tanks 8) Gives me something to do and so rewarding in the long run.

 

Thanks again for the replies.

[TimR]

Before buying new PC's check out Hellolights. I was looking at the website this morning and you can get a diy 175 watt set-up for about the same price as a 2x55 PC set-up. When I decide to upgrade the lighting I'm heading that direction.