mhmh Posted January 8, 2003 Share Posted January 8, 2003 I'm just starting my research into nano-reefs. I have a 90 gallon FW tank and would like to have a couple or a few colorful SW fish. Nano-size (5 - 15 gallons) seems to be a good place for me to begin, both for cost and fitting into my apartment. I'm not buying anything until I've done a lot more research. One recommendation I've seen for lighting a standard 10 gallon is the CustomSeaLife 15". I see the kit with a hood and 2 32W PCs for $150. But 15" is not the length of a 10 gallon tank. I guess this is meant to attach to an existing hood, is that right? So why get the kit with hood instead of a retrofit kit? Also, I've seen the CustomSeaLife SmartLite Retrofit kit. Two of them, 32W each (I've seen them for a little over $50 each) will fit into the hood from an Eclipse 12 Combo, right? Can anyone offer advantagees/disadvantages of these two options? I've been browsing this forum and others, and there doesn't seem to be any place that has side-by-side comparisons. Link to comment
firstkill Posted January 8, 2003 Share Posted January 8, 2003 in my opinion the custom sealife stuff is kind of pricey.....if you are good at DIY projected then i suggest that route... with PCs and a 10 gallon tank... the largest u can fit is 36watts bulbs... i bet u can stick 4 of them in there... but 2 is all you would really need for a 10 gallon. with it still contained inside the hood. ~fk Link to comment
mhmh Posted January 9, 2003 Author Share Posted January 9, 2003 Okay, after doing some more research, I see I can buy an inexpensive 10 gallon tank from my LFS for $11, PCs from AH Supply-the 2x36W Bright kit, including the reflector, is $63. Two of their 10000K/Dark Blue Combo bulbs are $36. A black finished enclosure is $30, or I could make one myself. Aquaclear powerhead 201 is $12 and EboJager 100W heater is $15, Rena 100 air pump is $15 from Big Al's. Total of above is $182. If I need a protein skimmer, and want to keep it outside the tank, this is the cheapest I've seen: an AquaClear 200 filter ($20 @ Big Al's) with a CoraLife Super Skimmer I ($14 @ Big Al's) in the media compartment. Grand total for all hardware is $216, plus shipping charges. So, how'd I do? 1) Have I put together a workable setup? 2) Do I need a skimmer? 3) Can I do it cheaper? 4) Can I do it better, but for not too much more $$? Once I figure out what hardware I need and how much it will cost, I'll have to face the cost of what's going to live in here. There's just so much I have to learn! Thanks for the advice. Link to comment
mhmh Posted January 10, 2003 Author Share Posted January 10, 2003 From other forums, I see I don't need the skimmer. Also, I shouldn't use the blue bulbs from AH Supply, I should get them from Hello Direct. Do I need to use RO/DI water, or can I just dechlorinate my tap water and add aquarium salt? Do I need a glass cover before I put on the lights? Is the Aquaclear 201 enough circulation? Advice, anyone? Link to comment
Orange Crush Posted January 11, 2003 Share Posted January 11, 2003 Originally posted by mhmh From other forums, I see I don't need the skimmer. Also, I shouldn't use the blue bulbs from AH Supply, I should get them from Hello Direct. Do I need to use RO/DI water, or can I just dechlorinate my tap water and add aquarium salt? Do I need a glass cover before I put on the lights? Is the Aquaclear 201 enough circulation? Advice, anyone? You're doing a lot of talking to yourself here X) But I'll help with what I can You are correct on the skimmer, water changes should do ya fine As far as your water source, you'd want to find out what your tap water has in it before committing to doing that. I get RO from my supermarket for $.75/gallon and $.35 for refills, so it's not bad at all going that route. A cover will cut back on having to top off your water, but might also cause you to overheat. That's something you might want to check out and see what happens. Also, do a search for 10 gals in the members nanos section, and there's a page you can go directly to (the big orange members button) that will link you directly to a pile of members' nanos. Lots of pretty 10 gals there. And by aquarium salt, I'm assuming you know you're not using the freshwater salt. Don't mean to make you seem like a dummy, but you can never be too sure That's all for me, and I'll leave the rest of your questions for those more knowledgable. Link to comment
mhmh Posted January 11, 2003 Author Share Posted January 11, 2003 Originally posted by Orange Crush You're doing a lot of talking to yourself here X) But I'll help with what I can knowledgable. Thanks for replying. This board is a bit light on help for newbies compared to others. I seemed like I was talking to myself because I got advice from other boards and wanted to run it by members here for other opinions. The supermarkets around here don't have "bring-your-own-bottle" filtered water, so I'd have to continually buy distilled water. I'm hoping to avoid that inconvenience. Do I really need more than a "bare-bones" unit? For instance, Aquatic Reef Systems has a countertop DI filter that says it's "ideal for smaller tanks." True? I really wish I could find a FAQ specifically about RO/DI! Link to comment
Satchmo Posted January 11, 2003 Share Posted January 11, 2003 Yep, I think you're off to a great start. The 2x36w kit from ahsupply is a fine choice. You can get the bulbs through them, but I don't like the color rendition you get from their actinics. Personally, I would get a 10K and an 03-actinic from www.hellolights.com Skip the skimmer, it's not a neccessity and you can always add it down the road if you decide to. The AC200 is insufficient circulation for a reef, IMO. Use the AC, throttled down (and sans media IMO), combined with an additional small powerhead and you'll be in business. As for the cover glass, that's up to you. I use one. If you go without, you'll be scraping salt creep from the bulbs and reflector which is a kick in the pants. As Orange Crush said, this may increase heat problems, but I haven't found that to be the case with my setup. Add a fan to your hood if you have to, no big woop. RO/DI, yes. Other than propper lighting, using completely pure water is the most important thing you can do. Look into a company called "Glacier" which places RO machines in supermarkets. Oh... you're in Queens. I don't think they're around here, but maybe you'll get lucky. Some LFS stores sell the stuff. If you have to, buy bottles jugs, it's well worth it. Don't forget to add the basics to your BigAl's order like a thermometer and hydrometer. An additional powerhead and a 5g bucket is also highly recommended if you're mixing your own seawater. An idea for you... I know a guy in Astoria who is leaving the hobby. You can probably pick up a bunch of his equipment/sand/rock on the cheap (if it's not already spoken for). If you're interested, his handle is candyredanemone on www.aquariacentral.com I've seen his setups and they are (were?) well cared for. His name is Julio, tell him Kevin sent you Link to comment
chvynva916 Posted January 11, 2003 Share Posted January 11, 2003 That was a good question about the skimmer. We should start a thread debating whether to use a skimmer on a nano. Link to comment
Orange Crush Posted January 11, 2003 Share Posted January 11, 2003 For the record, I didn't mean anything by my comment that you were doing a lot of talking to yourself. Just an amusing observation on my part. Link to comment
mhmh Posted January 12, 2003 Author Share Posted January 12, 2003 Orange Crush, I took your comment in the spirt you intended it. chvynva916, you're using a skimmer, so you probably researched it. How about creating a FAQ out of what you found out? Then it would be easier for us newbies to see the pros & cons in one place. When I do a search in General Nano Reef Discussion, titles only, for "skimmer", it came up with 65 threads. That's a lot to sort through. Link to comment
chvynva916 Posted January 12, 2003 Share Posted January 12, 2003 I agree that skimmer questions should be a part of any reefing FAQ. However, if I were to post something like that it would just be buried in the 65 other posts you found. If you search the web a little (try www.reefcentral.com, or www.reefs.org) you'll find some great info on skimming and skimmers. Obviously you know that about half the nano-reefers on this board use them, the other half don't, and there are all combinations of beautiful/horrible and skimmer/no skimmer tanks out there so I guess they aren't always necessary. If you have specific questions about skimming in general, or how my tank has benefited from skimming I'd be happy to answer them! Link to comment
mhmh Posted January 12, 2003 Author Share Posted January 12, 2003 Thanks, chvynva916. When I was researching other boards for my FW tank, it seemed to be easier to find pluses and minuses about a particular subject together in one place. For example, this article about undergravel filters. When I see someone asking "Should I use undergravel filters?" I give them that link, or someone else likely will. But for nano-reefs, I can't find a discussion of both sides of the skimmer debate. I'd love to see that, as well as a comparison of various ways to get RO/DI water into your reef, and how much lighting is necessary and the various ways to accomplish that. Maybe in a few years I'll be knowledgeable enough to write something myself and post it on a Web site. Link to comment
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