New tank general Questions!

[Dgameman1]

Hello All!

 

I'm currently in the process of starting a new 10 Gallon Reef tank. I have a list of what I currently have and what I'm going to be ordering. 

I don't think I'm missing anything, but do you guys see any super glaring issues? Thanks!!

 

What I currently have :

Sump/Tank : Innovative Marine 10 gallon nuvo evo
Heater : Cobalt Aquatics Neo-Therm Aquarium Heater
Powerhead / Wavemaker : jebao pp4
Auto Top Off : Tunze USA 3152.000 Automatic Top off Nano Osmolator
Intank Media basket

Sand: live sand, 1 inch, CaribSea's Seaflor Special Grade, 10 lb bag

 

Undecided: 

Stock : 2 Clownfish and 1 Tailspot Blenny
CleanUpCrew:
Coral : ??
Fish Food : ??

Protein Skimmer : Innovative Marine AUQA Gadget Ghost Protein Skimmer - DeskTop

Lights :  ??

Salt : instant ocean for now, 1.025 salinity

Water : robuddy with di and TDP measure. 10 percent every week

Rock : dry rock with 1 small live rock.
BioSpora

 

A few questions though, What kind of cleanup crew should I get? I'm super interested in getting stuff that sifts through and aerates the sand, not necessarily something that is going to be eating all the beneficial bacteria in the sand though.

I still don't really know what Coral I'm looking to get, but I'm still looking and I know the Lights I want to buy are dependent on the coral, so I'll wait for both of those but do you guys have any suggestions?

 

Also, What exactly should I be putting in the Intank Media basket? I'm gonna put filter floss on the top, and some chemipure nano blue in the middle or bottom, but what do I do with the 1 empty sections?

 

For the protein Skimmer, how do you guys feel about the Innovative Marine AUQA DeskTop skimmer? 

 

Thanks so much for everything!!

 

 

[A Little Blue]

Jebao is a fine nano wave maker but it might be too much for your tank. Maybe at the lowest settings? Test it first (with sand). Skimmer might be helpful but not necessary. And definitely not at the beginning. If you feel that your nutrients and bioload is getting out of hand later on, you can concider adding one down the road. Media basket is a mix bag as all systems have different needs and goals. You can start (after cycling your tank) with floss, ChemiPure Blue. I also use MarinePure spheres but that’s my personal choice. There are many who use this particular tank on here. I believe they have some sort of a “club” lol. You can direct your questions to members with setup similar to yours to get a better idea how to utilize back compartments to your advantage. My tank is similar but it doesn’t mean we all have and go by the same formula (that’s the beauty of it) to accomplishe similar results. My only advice is this, go slow, be patient and don’t skip on testing and maintenance. Have fun. 

[RIP Sebastian]

1 hour ago, Dgameman1 said:

Hello All!

 

I'm currently in the process of starting a new 10 Gallon Reef tank. I have a list of what I currently have and what I'm going to be ordering. 

I don't think I'm missing anything, but do you guys see any super glaring issues? Thanks!!

 

What I currently have :

Sump/Tank : Innovative Marine 10 gallon nuvo evo
Heater : Cobalt Aquatics Neo-Therm Aquarium Heater
Powerhead / Wavemaker : jebao pp4
Auto Top Off : Tunze USA 3152.000 Automatic Top off Nano Osmolator
Intank Media basket

Sand: live sand, 1 inch, CaribSea's Seaflor Special Grade, 10 lb bag

 

Undecided: 

Stock : 2 Clownfish and 1 Tailspot Blenny
CleanUpCrew:
Coral : ??
Fish Food : ??

Protein Skimmer : Innovative Marine AUQA Gadget Ghost Protein Skimmer - DeskTop

Lights :  ??

Salt : instant ocean for now, 1.025 salinity

Water : robuddy with di and TDP measure. 10 percent every week

Rock : dry rock with 1 small live rock.
BioSpora

 

A few questions though, What kind of cleanup crew should I get? I'm super interested in getting stuff that sifts through and aerates the sand, not necessarily something that is going to be eating all the beneficial bacteria in the sand though.

I still don't really know what Coral I'm looking to get, but I'm still looking and I know the Lights I want to buy are dependent on the coral, so I'll wait for both of those but do you guys have any suggestions?

 

Also, What exactly should I be putting in the Intank Media basket? I'm gonna put filter floss on the top, and some chemipure nano blue in the middle or bottom, but what do I do with the 1 empty sections?

 

For the protein Skimmer, how do you guys feel about the Innovative Marine AUQA DeskTop skimmer? 

 

Thanks so much for everything!!

 

 

 

 

In regards to your CUC concerns, there are no members of the CUC that will eat the nitrifying bacteria. I would advise against hermit crabs because, in my experience, they don't eat much algae and they murder snails. I recommend trochus snails- they eat almost every kind of algae and can flip themselves upright if they somehow manage to get upside-down. As for sand stirrers, conchs and nassarius snails are good options. Check out reefcleaners.org.

 

The best lights for the IM 10 are the Nanobox Mini Tide and the AI Prime HD. Both are good, but have drastically different price points. 

 

Most people, if they have an extra shelf in their media rack, will add a light make it a mini refugium with chaeto.

 

The IM skimmers are hit or miss. I have experience with the Hydro Slim SKim and the Aquamaxx NF-1. Both are solid options. With a skimmer, an ATO is a must.

 

I mean no offense when I say this, but it seems like you really need to do some more research on the basics of keeping salt water aquariums, especially before you add corals. If you plan on adding an anemone for your clowns, make sure you read up before you buy one. Also, two clowns are pretty much all you can fit in a ten gallon, especially if you're a beginner.

 

Let me know if you have any more questions.

 

-Nick

 

[Clown79]

Welcome

 

In the media basket most run

 

filter floss- changed 2 times a week at the least.

 

Carbon we buy in bulk and bag ourselves(changed every 2 -3 weeks) 

or chemipure 

 

Some like to use purigen too

 

Cuc:

Nassarius are good at cleaning the sand, trochus, and ceriths are great too for glass and rocks.

 

I like hermits. I've not had issues with mine. 

I like scarlet hermits which are very peaceful.

 

Skimmer isn't necessary to use, you can get that later if needed.

 

Livestock

 

I'd stick to 2 fish in a 10g. 

 

Corals- this is dependant on what you want and what lighting you use.

 

 

Lighting (all different budget types)

 

Ai Prime

Nanobox

Abi  par38

Aquamaxx nemolight

Kessil

Radion 

 

A refractometer is needed and calibration solution for it.

 

 

 

 

Do lots of research,  the most important aspect to sucess is knowledge.

 

 

[biophilia]

The Jebao PP-4 is definitely overkill for the Nuvo 10. I'd suggest the Jebao SW2 instead which maxes out at 600gph. I have one on my Nuvo 10 and it's almost too much. My SPS love it at full blast on the "Else" (random flow) mode.

If you don't want to spend the money on a Nanobox, the AI Prime HD is perfect for that tank. I run mine 7" off the water surface and get good color and growth even on light-hungry acropora as long as they're in the top half of the tank. I've had the best results with settings that mimic EcoTech's AB+ spectrum (UV: 119%, Violet: 116%, Royal: 79%, Blue: 80%, Green: 6%, Deep Red 6%, Cool White: 22%) which runs about 30 watts. If you just want to grow softies and LPS, an inexpensive Par38 would work okay too.

 

I'm not really happy with my Ghost skimmer. It took 20 days to break in and it manically oscillates between pulling very light skimmate and the head collapsing -- flooding the tank with microbubbles. I'd start without a skimmer and do weekly 2 gallon water changes instead.

[Nocturnal]

Take a look at the aqua smart ATO. Smaller form factor than those mechanical float switches that is good for smaller tanks.

 

If you are doing all dry rock I'd skip the live rock and add something like Dr. Tim's to seed your bacteria. Less chance of pests and will probably cycle faster than a single rock. 

 

Search on YouTube for the BRS TV tank startup series. Great walk throughs on cycling etc. (or other channels) 

 

I'd also skip hermits unless you really like them. They will kills snails here and there and can be rough on coral. They are fun though. 

 

Plus 1 to Trochus and nassarius snails and to reef cleaners. Fyi you are likely to get hermit hitch hikers with your snail order. Dump them in the sump or give them away.

[Dgameman1]

You guys have honestly helped me so so much.

Thank you guys for everything!