10 Gallon Nano Reef nearly cycled. What now?

[govols2015]

I am putting together a 10 gallon nano reef. I currently have 10 lbs of live sand, 12 pounds of rock, an AquaClear 50 which I plan to use as a mini refugium, an Aqueon heater, and a Kessel A80. My ammonia comes down to 0 within 24 hours of dosing and my nitrites are on their way down too so I am assuming my cycle is nearing completion. This is my first reef tank and my first tank of any type in 15 years. I hope to keep a cleanup crew, one or two small fish, and some beginners corals.

 

My questions are:

1) How much of a cleanup crew should I use? I have seen vastly different answers on the number and types of inverts for a reef safe cleanup crew in a 10 gallon tank. I plan on having some hermits, some nassarius snails, some type of glass/rock cleaning snails, and maybe a shrimp. Any suggestions on numbers and types?

2) Should I add fish or coral first?

3) What are some good corals that would do well in a tank with an A80 and would be easy for a beginner?

 

Thank you so much everyone for your help and I look forward to being part of this community!

[msummerf]

1. Not a lot at first, maybe a few hermits and a few snails.

2. fish, I would add 1 fish now and wait at least a few weeks for the 2nd. 

3. GSP (isolated on a rock or backwall), Zoa's, toadstool, mushrooms, kenya tree, any other softies. If those go good then do a few lps like hammers, frogspawn, duncans are pretty durable. But when you go to LPS you prolly will have to dose with kalkwaser or 2 part so have a plan. The first set of coral I mentioned should be fine with just weekly water changes. Good luck. 

 

P.S. i'm a month past my cycle on my nano tank and I have 2 fish (clown and royal gramma) Just added GSP and 3 zoas. All are doing well. Make sure not to overfeed and test nitrate and phosphate weekly. 

[Firefish15]

to Nano-Reef! 

Do we get any pictures of the setup? Everyone loves pictures on this site.  

 

I've got a similar setup, been running for 7 months now. 10g, AC70 fuge, Hipargero light.

1) For CUC, I've got 1 nassarius snail, 2 cerith  snails, 2 astraea snails, and 1 blue leg hermit crab. Yours may well be different, just based on nutrient levels and such. Better to understock, and add them slowly. I only started with the astraeas and the hermit in the very beginning. The ceriths have been good, because they turn over the sandbed well. I have a peppermint shrimp too, but he's not really part of the CUC. Always steals food from the corals. 

2) I would definitely start with a hardy fish. I've got a red firefish and a yellow clown goby, and they've both been excellent. Make sure you have a top though. 

3) So far, I've had really good success with different zoas, some mushrooms, a sinularia leather, a cabbage leather, xenia, and a ricordea. I don't dose anything, just do a small weekly water change. Shrimp do make feeding the corals difficult though. 

 

What light are you going to use for your HOB refugium?

 

[Ratvan]

2 hours ago, govols2015 said:

I am putting together a 10 gallon nano reef. I currently have 10 lbs of live sand, 12 pounds of rock, an AquaClear 50 which I plan to use as a mini refugium, an Aqueon heater, and a Kessel A80. My ammonia comes down to 0 within 24 hours of dosing and my nitrites are on their way down too so I am assuming my cycle is nearing completion. This is my first reef tank and my first tank of any type in 15 years. I hope to keep a cleanup crew, one or two small fish, and some beginners corals.

 

My questions are:

1) How much of a cleanup crew should I use? I have seen vastly different answers on the number and types of inverts for a reef safe cleanup crew in a 10 gallon tank. I plan on having some hermits, some nassarius snails, some type of glass/rock cleaning snails, and maybe a shrimp. Any suggestions on numbers and types?

2) Should I add fish or coral first?

3) What are some good corals that would do well in a tank with an A80 and would be easy for a beginner?

 

Thank you so much everyone for your help and I look forward to being part of this community!

Welcome welcome. Do you have any pictures of you're set up? We love a photo.

 

1. If you are in the USA check out reef cleaners. I hear they do packs of CuC. I would start off small as your tank will differ due to parameters. Really youd want to start small. Maybe one of each type of algae eater (diatoms, bubble algae, film algae, burrowing/sifting) and monitor. 

2. I dont know about fish. I have only just started with SW myself. Limited myself to only inverts and hitch hikers. Have a lid if you want fish though. Its heartbreaking to find one. Even worse to never find it. 

3. Corals probably best left to you. For example I love the look of Xenia and Polyps and Macro algae. SPS and LPS interest me not as much. Different from a few people on here. But soft corals are generally considered "easier". Have a look for Zoa or Acan Garden tanks. Some of these are beginner friendly-ish. 

 

Most important have fun

[govols2015]

Thank you everyone for the quick replies. I have attached a picture of my tank. I was planning to use the rock island on the right for GSP since I've heard they will take over if they aren't on an island of their own. Other than that, I wasn't sure what corals would work best in this setup. I also have checked out Reef Cleaners in the past and their 10 gallon package has like 20 snails in it. That really just seems like overkill to me based on what I have seen other people suggest. I might start with a few astraeas and a few cerith and maybe a hermit.

 

For my refugium I have a small LED that attaches to the side of the filter. It is made by ACKE: https://www.amazon.com/ACKE-Spectrum-Seedlings-Hydroponics-Lights/dp/B01LX1EO3W/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&qid=1517780882&sr=8-3&keywords=acke+grow+light&linkCode=sl1&tag=myidpl-20&linkId=217a593c5a6e1a6b5fbb15f02022442a

 

I have not attached it yet since the tank is still cycling and I have not added any macro. I am hoping to just use black duct tape to hold it on and then tape the front to keep the light from bleeding into the tank.

[Firefish15]

17 minutes ago, govols2015 said:

Thank you everyone for the quick replies. I have attached a picture of my tank. I was planning to use the rock island on the right for GSP since I've heard they will take over if they aren't on an island of their own. Other than that, I wasn't sure what corals would work best in this setup. I also have checked out Reef Cleaners in the past and their 10 gallon package has like 20 snails in it. That really just seems like overkill to me based on what I have seen other people suggest. I might start with a few astraeas and a few cerith and maybe a hermit.

 

For my refugium I have a small LED that attaches to the side of the filter. It is made by ACKE: https://www.amazon.com/ACKE-Spectrum-Seedlings-Hydroponics-Lights/dp/B01LX1EO3W/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&qid=1517780882&sr=8-3&keywords=acke+grow+light&linkCode=sl1&tag=myidpl-20&linkId=217a593c5a6e1a6b5fbb15f02022442a

 

I have not attached it yet since the tank is still cycling and I have not added any macro. I am hoping to just use black duct tape to hold it on and then tape the front to keep the light from bleeding into the tank.

I just bought that light myself. Currently using it to grow broccoli sprouts. Should be good for chaeto too. 

 

I like your aquascape! Nice asymmetrical islands. Just make sure you can fit your glass scraper in between the glass and the rocks. 

 

The GSP should like that island with the high flow. What corals do you like? Any in particular that stand out to you? 

[Clown79]

Welcome to nano

 

Ya unfortunately there is a lot of mixed info out there and it's because every system is different and its need are different.

 

I ran my previous 15g with just hob filter and powerhead. One thing I recommend is every week during water changes, suck up detritus and food out of the filter because it does build up and clean filter/pumps every 2 mnths.

 

This really helps with nutrient control and performance of the equipment. 

 

When your cycle is done, do a good waterchange and change media. 

 

As for cuc, start out with what you need because lack of food will kill them 

 

I prefer nassaurius, ceriths, stary spine astrea, and trochus. Just add a few to begin.

 

I love hermits myself, red scarlets are great and I find hermits keep thing clean.

 

For corals, you have tons of options. You don't need to start with "beginner" corals because you can get stuck with them. 

I wouldn't suggest starting with advanced but things like

 

Ricordea, hammers, acans, blasto's, duncans are all fairly easy corals.

[Naekuh]

IS that a bag of matrix you have in the back?

Are you planning on leaving that in there? because once you remove it, you can hamper your cycle as bacteria grows as needed, and its spread out on everything. 

 

If you are going to move that bag of matrix to your HOB, then its all good, if its going to be removed, i would suggest you remove it now and check your cycle to see if its still stable, as i can probably guess at least half of your bacteria colony is probably in the matrix more so then the live rock.  

[Ratvan]

Sorry reading my response back that was a little vague of me. I see a lot of posts that have contacted the owner for advise and followed through.

 

Hermit crabs are dicks. Especially the Red Legged. I have 1 in my contest tank and she's bulldozed a lot of it so far. It is fun to watch and shes cute. I was going to add another CUC member but I dont think their is anything to eat, everything is squeaky clean so far. Also check how easy it is for you to get spare shells. I'm currently struggling on that front.

 

I'm also running a spec 3 and going to see how dirty it gets before adding anything.

 

@Clown79 has given some golden advise there

[govols2015]

What would be the best option to get a lid on this tank?

[govols2015]

12 minutes ago, Naekuh said:

IS that a bag of matrix you have in the back?

Are you planning on leaving that in there? because once you remove it, you can hamper your cycle as bacteria grows as needed, and its spread out on everything. 

 

If you are going to move that bag of matrix to your HOB, then its all good, if its going to be removed, i would suggest you remove it now and check your cycle to see if its still stable, as i can probably guess at least half of your bacteria colony is probably in the matrix more so then the live rock.  

Yes that is a bag of matrix. I do not believe the whole thing will fit in my HOB but I was going to open the bag and dump a good amount of it into the chamber on the HOB and let that continue to seed the rest of the tank. Thank you for the good idea on testing whether the cycle is as stable without that in there, though! I don't know that I would have thought of that.

[Naekuh]

13 minutes ago, govols2015 said:

What would be the best option to get a lid on this tank?

this totally depends on what fish you are going to keep.

 

Have a jumper? a clear mesh that looks like window screen on a custom lid is probably best route.

Have a slight jumper? You can use a light defuser from lowes or home depot and cut it to size. 

 

I dont advise on using a glass lid unless you absolutely have to. 

They will insulate your tank, the condensation buildup on top can also wreck your PARS, and they hamper in gas exchange if the lid covers too much surface area. 

[Firefish15]

6 hours ago, govols2015 said:

What would be the best option to get a lid on this tank?

This is a pretty common type of kit for making screen lids. You'll also want clear 1/4" mesh, and some lid clips to hold it in place. It can look pretty sleek if you do it right.

 

https://www.amazon.com/Prime-Line-PL-7806-Screen-Aluminum/dp/B000BD6F64/ref=sr_1_7?crid=22CJE2ZPH5LHH&keywords=window+screen+kit&qid=1555126138&s=gateway&sprefix=window+scree%2Caps%2C188&sr=8-7

 

[Clown79]

18 hours ago, Naekuh said:

IS that a bag of matrix you have in the back?

Are you planning on leaving that in there? because once you remove it, you can hamper your cycle as bacteria grows as needed, and its spread out on everything. 

 

If you are going to move that bag of matrix to your HOB, then its all good, if its going to be removed, i would suggest you remove it now and check your cycle to see if its still stable, as i can probably guess at least half of your bacteria colony is probably in the matrix more so then the live rock.  

Once the tanks cycled  and there is rock in the tank, removing the bio media should not affect anything since there is rock in the tank.

 

Removing the media is equivalent to removing a piece of rock, as long as there still is a decent amount of liverock in the tank, you shouldn't see an issue. 

 

The nitrogen cycle isn't that delicate.

 

 

That being said, with all that rock, there is no need for the additional bio media.

[Clown79]

18 hours ago, govols2015 said:

Yes that is a bag of matrix. I do not believe the whole thing will fit in my HOB but I was going to open the bag and dump a good amount of it into the chamber on the HOB and let that continue to seed the rest of the tank. Thank you for the good idea on testing whether the cycle is as stable without that in there, though! I don't know that I would have thought of that.

Don't dump it in the hob. That will not allow to properly clean the hob which is a necessary maintenance routine.

 

If that media is new and not from an established tank, its equivalent to new rock, it will not seed your rock as it has nothing on it to seed the rock with. It needs bacteria to build on it just like the rock does.