briansbelle Posted July 5, 2010 Share Posted July 5, 2010 i am wanting to setup a 10-20 gallon tank for just macros,they arent growing too well in my DT......and a few pieces of live rock(from my sump)... i want to start growing my macros out to start fragging(alot easier than fragging corals...lol) my plan is to just keep macros, live rock and maybe a small goby/fish of some sort with some hermits, and a few emerald crabs... no corals at all..... what i need help with is type of lighting? color temp? flow? what should i use in a small tank? sand bed depth? also do i need a filter or any type or will the macros/rock filter the water enough? thanks a bunch!! belle Link to comment
Amphiprion1 Posted July 5, 2010 Share Posted July 5, 2010 i am wanting to setup a 10-20 gallon tank for just macros,they arent growing too well in my DT......and a few pieces of live rock(from my sump)... i want to start growing my macros out to start fragging(alot easier than fragging corals...lol) my plan is to just keep macros, live rock and maybe a small goby/fish of some sort with some hermits, and a few emerald crabs... no corals at all..... what i need help with is type of lighting? color temp? flow? what should i use in a small tank? sand bed depth? also do i need a filter or any type or will the macros/rock filter the water enough? thanks a bunch!! belle I recommend between 10K and 6500K in most situations, though many folks use bluer lamps. You'll usually get the most efficiency with warmer colored lamps, as you get more usable light per watt of energy used. There are some exceptions, though, with some T5 lamps and LEDs. What you should use will largely depend on the dimensions, as well as the type of plants and/or algae you intend to keep. Taller dimensioned tanks will often benefit more from metal halide or LED (depending), since you can punch down more light in a smaller space. My 18x18x18 cube uses a single 250w halide lamp and it works well because of the dimensions. Unlike most algae, some seagrasses may require fairly intense light. For water motion, I would still keep it brisk. You may have to temporarily reduce flow when planting new stuff or when waiting for something to attach. I use ~1600 gph in the above tank. The good water motion helps keep nuisance algae from growing on thalli and leaves. I'm using a modded Tunze nanostream, as well as a return @ ~150 gph. Sandbed depth will be determined by what you are trying to keep. Most algae don't require a sandbed or a substantial one, at least. Seagrasses, on average, need more. 3-4" for Halophila and Halodule species, with 6" and above being best for others. Filtration is more of a debate, I suppose. Live rock and lots of live sand help out for sure and some extra things, like some mud/live rock muck mixed in for both substrate and a spike in sand diversity. Some still prefer a protein skimmer, etc. on such tanks, especially one that will have fish and invertebrates. Mine has both fish and invertebrates, but I don't personally use a protein skimmer, as I feel the plant growth is more than enough to handle the animal bioload. I do use a small amount of frequently changed activated carbon, though. This tank is still fairly young, but I haven't seen the need for frequent water changes on this system, as dissolved nutrients remain undetectable. In all, you could have a tank that does well on natural filtration alone, given all the necessities, like lots of food, lots of light, and lots of algal/plant growth. There are a lot of things that become important for these types of systems--bacteria and smaller organisms are crucial for the proper functioning of the tank and they stand to benefit the algae/grass that you may grow. It really is similar to your own enclosed micro-ecosystem. So don't be afraid to feed well, as quite a bit hinges on it. Link to comment
briansbelle Posted July 5, 2010 Author Share Posted July 5, 2010 thank you so much!! i am thinking 20 long tank, so dimensions of 30x12x12 i will be keeping: flame algae,red titan algae,blue ochtodes, blade caluerpa, red spotted algae...i dont have any sea grasses.... i was thinking of using a k1 and a k nano... for flow... and maybe an Aqua clear filter with only carbon in it.... should i shoot for a sandbed of about 1-1.5"? the live rock that is in my sump is teeming with life, pods,sponges,and star fish... i will also be using atleast 5 gallons of water out of my main tank to help with the cycle.... also with a planted tank do i need to let it cycle before adding in the algaes? or can i put them in during the cycle? thanks!!! belle Link to comment
Amphiprion1 Posted July 5, 2010 Share Posted July 5, 2010 For what you are wanting to do, that sounds like a fine start to me. Seems you have it planned out well. It would probably be easier to use a single T5 fixture over that tank. If you used metal halide, you'd need 2 of them for proper coverage. Besides that, you don't really "need" the intensity of higher wattage halides (it can help in some cases) for what you are trying to keep. Edit: They can't withstand the harshest cycles, but slight spikes can actually give them a boost, since ammonia/ammonium is the preferred form of uptake. If you are using all established stuff, I doubt you'll have a cycle to speak of--not a detectable one, anyway. Water changes during this process will also be beneficial. Link to comment
briansbelle Posted July 5, 2010 Author Share Posted July 5, 2010 thanks a bunch!! i am excited..i may get a pom pom crab for the tank too Link to comment
ReeferJohn Posted July 5, 2010 Share Posted July 5, 2010 thanks a bunch!! i am excited..i may get a pom pom crab for the tank too macro+exotic invert tank Link to comment
briansbelle Posted July 6, 2010 Author Share Posted July 6, 2010 yeah i like the crawlies...lol... any ideas on some exotic inverts i could add to a 20 long? with a small fish(maybe a goby or some other type of nano fish) Link to comment
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