New Tank

[BettWalker]

Hi, Have my 10g Nano Tank started. I'm excited. I have filled with SW and the heater and PHs are in place. I'm off to the next town today to find LR & LS. Will my next step be to put in the clean-up crew, and how long should I wait?

Thanks,

Bett

[Satchmo]

Yes, that will be your next step, but not right away. Get your rock in and let things go. As your cycle ends, you should have some algae growth taking hold. At this point you'll want to slowly start adding your clean up crew.

[BettWalker]

I have an Eclipse1 hood on my tank with a SuperNova32 Power Compact. Should I use the biowheel in this Nano setup? I know that you can totally depend on the LR & LS, but I used this hood to take advantage of a way to add the 32w PowerCompact SmartLamp. If I do use the biowheel, should I put in the Activated Carbon filter? Thought maybe the carbon would pull out trace elements that I need in the tank. Maybe just the biowheel will add to the water flow?

Thanks,

Bett???

[Satchmo]

Take out the biowheel. They're too effective at breaking down waste for reef tanks. It will compete with your LR and you'll have trouble managing nitrates. You'll be better off without it. As for the carbon, you don't need to run it. There's some debate as to what carbon actually pulls out. It's a nice thing to have on hand to run occasionally (say if something dies, or if you add a new coral that puts a lot of slime in the water, etc.), but I wouldn't use it all the time. I've found the more simple and natural you can make your set-up, the easier it gets. Good luck Bett!

[ross76053]

Brett,

 

I'm in just about the same place you are - I've got a 10-gallon, almost w/live rock & sand (freakin' Fedex lost my shipment). I have no wheel, but do have a Bak Pak skimmer that I'll use during the cycling process only. Once cycled, I'll simply do weekly 10% water changes.

 

Say, got any pics of your setup?

 

Ross

[tinyreef]

ross,

 

don't worry, they'll find it soon. in a little while all they have to do is to follow their noses. :x

[BettWalker]

Ross, I'm envious;) you will have more light to play with. Oh well, I've got to try to go easy for awhile with my spending on this hobby. (I have parrots too)

 

I went to Gainesville (Florida) yesterday and picked up 10# of LR and 12# of LS. Have those in the tank and this morn it is settled down pretty good. Going to pick up a turkey baster today and clean off the rocks.

 

I can hardly wait till I can put in the critters. I know I'm going to love this tank in my puter room.

 

Will try to take a pic today.

Bett

[BettWalker]

Hi,

 

Took a pic of my beginner Nano Reef. The link is below.

 

I found out today by keeping the lights on most of the day, that it was running too hot. Opened the back part of the Eclipse and it was still pretty warm. Finally placed a small fan on a nearby table and that worked well.

 

BTW, I'm not a Brett, but a Bett, a female Reef Keeper.

 

http://members.aol.com/BettWalker/Fish_Etc.html

[printerdown01]

I run the bio-wheel and the GAC packets ("activated carbon") on my 12 gallon w/eclipse 1 hood. I have had the tank for 1 year and have NOT had ANY problems with an excess of nitrates nor nitrites in my tank. Here is where the theory comes from: the bio-wheel uses aerobic bacteria to process ammonia and form nitrate. It is WAY more effective at doing this than anaerobic bacteria. Thus, people believe, and rightfully so, that they will end up with more nitrates in their tank if they have a lot of excess ammonia. These things are nitrate factories... and just like a factory they need raw materials: oxygen and ammonia (they cannot create nitrate without having ammonia). Now here is the trick: don't have excess ammonia, which would be toxic to your tank in the first place. And yes ammonia is toxic, just ask your fish who has problems absorbing O2 through his gills when the levels get to high. On the contrary nitrate levels have been observed in some tank @ 40ppm which resulted in a "rapid growth of both soft and stony corals" -D. Stuber. However, this would obviously be accompanied by a massive amount of algae growth as well as depletion of your calcium levels (due to coral growth). I do not have this problem, I just wanted to point out that elevated levels in ammonia will result in dead inhabitants while elevated levels of nitrate will result in massive coral growth and an algae bloom. -I would choose the latter, if I had to. But I have had no algae problems. -I do run my GAC packets most of the time, which would also absorb some of the dissolved organic matter in my tank. In my opinion we are adding iodine and other nutrients into the tank on a regular basis, thus the depletion of these due to the absorbing properties of the carbon is minimal and does not really impact the system as much as people claim. Also I don't believe that there is any confusion as to what activated carbon absorbs... I can't find a reputable claim anywhere that states otherwise... However, there is a debate of whether or not it is worth having since it absorbs trace elements as they included in the dissolved organic matter... I believe it is worth using, and have had great results on my tank. However, this is only my opinion based upon my personal experience.

[ross76053]

Oops...sorry Bett. Comes from staring at a computer too long. :*(

 

Nice rock placement in your tank - looks nice and open.

 

I've had a heat problem myself with my tank (I built a custom hood) so I had to completely rebuild the hood again, this time leaving the back completely open. Same 'ole story everyone else in here has gone through (except the experts). Water gets too hot....aim a fan at it....evaporation becomes a problem.....get an automatic top-off (think I'm headed there next)...

 

Ross

[printerdown01]

Bett,

 

I haven’t had a heat problem with my eclipse, so I haven’t done this myself... However, there is a spot on the existing hood that you could easily install a fan on! Well 2 of them actually... The first is on the back right next to the existing hole. Just use a razor to cut through the plastic. The other is on the left side of the hood. This would be my preferred spot... You would again have to cut through the plastic, but this would also allow you to run the wiring INSIDE the tank... Simply run the wires inside the hood to the existing switch. Since you did a retro-fit, you should easily be able to connect the fan wires to the existing lighting system, by adding them to the already existing connection between your lights and the switch! This way it will automatically come on and go off with your lights. The switch should be able to handle power. If you do add a fan to the tank, make sure you have serious water motion on the surface of the tank... This way the dust won't form a skin over the water... It might also be easy to add the fan right over the existing hole, but if you're like me you already have enough stuff being piped through there!

-Just my thoughts,

Anthony Phillip

[BettWalker]

Anthony, you mentioned adding iodine and other nutrients into the tank on a regular basis...exactly what do you add?

BTW adding a fan might be easy for you, but for me it all sounds like greek:P Maybe this is why I see more males in this hobby than females. Someone would have to draw me a picture. duh...

 

Ross, I do have a lot of evaporation, but guess I will continue to top tanks off everyday when I feed them.

 

I was happy to find a place in front of a local grocer where I can fill my own jugs with RO water for 30cents.

 

Bett

[tinyreef]

bett,

 

you can get an expansion plug (i.e. 3 to1) to plug into your timer and then plug in a separate fan into one of the new plug sockets. you can buy one of those tiny desk fans (3"~4" diameter) to glue on.

[printerdown01]

I’ll soon have a digital camera, thanks to a friend... While I have it I’ll take a bunch of pics of my tank and a couple of pics of what I'm talking about for the fan... It is MUCH easier to see than to describe!! Don't worry in the mean time, if a large fan is keeping the tank cool then go for it!

*Most of the trace elements are replenished during water changes... However, I still add Reef Complete (calcium, strontium, and magnesium) as well as phyto to the tank twice a week. The water changes should be sufficient to maintain trace element levels, even while running GAC.

[reefskunk]

bett, you shouldnt have a prob with the fan retro someone posted above if you point the fan blowing heat out of the canopy top

[BettWalker]

Thanks for all the replys and suggestions for a fan. Will see what I can do in the near future. Have to wait awhile for my tank to cycle anyway. BTW, how long does it usually take? I should know since it hasn't been that long since starting my 55g FOLR, but I was testing everyday then ...couldn't wait. A little more relaxed with this one. Taking my time.