Eclipse 12 Nano Tank Setup

Hi guys.
This is my first post so please be kind. I found this website a few days ago thru an internet search on cloudy water. I have an Eclipse 12 that I'm turning into a nano reef. I'm coming from a goldfish background so much of this stuff is brand new to me. I rushed into this thing not knowing how much prep time was required in the beginning but luckily I found this site before I got into too much trouble. I've got about 10 gallons of salt water that I made and 20 pounds of live sand in the tank right now. The live sand totally clouded up my tank and my water is still a little cloudy right now after 2 days. I've put some water clarifier in the tank but it seems to just product a silt on the top of the sand. Is this normal or is the silt going to hurt me down the line? If I have cloudy water, does this affect my water test readings?
I've attached a photo of my test results. Could someone try to look at the photo and see if I'm right? The results that I'm reading are:
Nitrites: 0ppm
Nitrates: 0ppm
Ammonia: .25
PH: 8.0
Specific gravity: 1.021 (Not pictured)

I'd also like some opinions on next steps I should take. I'm guessing about 10-15 pounds of live rock?
Also, I'm using a standard Eclipse filter and biowheel and a 50watt heater. Is there anything else I definitely need? (I know lighting sucks on the Eclipses but corals and anemones, etc aren't being considered right now.)

My primary objective is to have a nice healthy tank that I can have 4-5 small damsels and maybe a small clown fish. Please let me know if this is reasonable. When I bought the live sand and salt, I was expecting to get some fish the next day. I didn't even know what a nano reef was 3 days ago. Luckily I had the clouding problem that probably saved a couple fish's lives. I plan on going slow and steady from here. I know I need to do alot of catchup, but I'd be grateful if someone could point me in the right direction.
Thanks in advance.

Never done saltwater myself. But I definately agree that the Eclipses' need better lighting. And since the tank is just now being setup, I say now is the time to do it. I have an Eclipse 6 and for my 6 gallon, I got AHsupply's single 13W kit. Their double-13W kit should be perfect for you. http/www.ahsupply.com/twox.htm

Good luck on the nano!

EDIT: Ooops, they are 13W kits not 16.

Hi and welcome

The Eclipse is not the most efficient selection for a nano tank but it's do-able. The lighting is not good and is not that easy to upgrade although there are retrofit kits out there when you are ready.

Thoughts:

1) Stop adding clarifiers and chemicals. Sand settles on it's own unless you got that sugar powdery type

2) Sand, about 1lb per gallon....so, a little heavy on the sand1/2 -1 1/2"

3) You should get your live rock in there, 12-18lbs

4) Silt shouldn't change the actually readings chemically but could make it hard to read accurately if the test aliquot is filled with silt

5) Too many , too many fish....the tank is too small for a clown, ie, if you want to be kind to it. Stay with 1 damsel , 1 firefish, or a pair of neon gobies. SH

Thanks for the quick replies.
Wendywc: Thanks for lead for the lighting, I think I'm definitely going to upgrade sooner rather than later.
Steelhealr: I've read plenty of your posts and it seems everyone else has much respect for your knowledge so I was hoping you'd reply. Thank you. Some questions back:
1. It is the powdered sugar type. What else can I do? Much of it settles to the ground and collects on the acrylic. If I try to clean, it just clouds again.
2. I put the sand in before I found this site and I read about dsb's so I thought the more the merrier. Should I take some out?
3. Once I put the live rock in, should I take out the Eclipses filter and biowheel?
5. 1-2 fish? That's fine with me, but my wife will be disappointed that Nemo won't be moving in. My lfs was selling a clown setup with 2 clowns in a 6 gallon Eclipse setup. That's why I thought 4-5 fish would be ok.

That powdered type makes a mess. I'd change it out for aragonite before you put anything in. It will compact later and become like a brick.

DSB's don't work in nano systems. There is not enough surface area for it to work and it instead becomes a nitrate trap. This is pretty much accepted 'dogma' in the nano tank world.

Yes...take out the wheel and filter media. I"m not sure what the flow rate is, but, you may need an additional powerhead for circulation.

People put them in.....you can do it..but...hey, personal call. I think it's pushing it for the fish and for the system. A pair of percs in a 12 gallon is tight fishwise as they can get to 3 inches (inche per gallon doesn't fly in nano systems). These tanks can be very unstable as you will see and nano tanks can't handle 'pollution' well. Just develep good water husbandry....we keep water, not aquariums. SH

FYI, the Eclipse 12's filter is 150 gph... pretty good flow, but I'd definately go for SH's suggestion and add a powerhead.

Agreed....you could add a Maxijet 400 0r 900. SH

steelhealr said:

Agreed....you could add a Maxijet 400 0r 900. SH

Click to expand...

SH & Wendy,
I'll probably go for the 400. I like the calmer looking reef tanks where the fish aren't being blown away.

SH, I think I mislead you on the sand. The stuff I have is Nature's Ocean Bio-Activ Live Aragonite (20lbs). 99.9% of the sand stays on the bottom but there is a small amount of the powdered sugar stuff that stays suspended in the water or settles to the bottom on top of the good sand. Any movement will make this stuff suspend again. I'll attach a pic - powdered sugar on the left of the picture is only a 1/2mm thick, the stuff on the right is the majority of the sand.

If this is indeed the stuff that I should avoid, I'll try to return it to the lfs - it cost me $35.

Also, I measured the sand bed. It's about 1-1/2inches deep which is within the range given in the FAQ?
Thanks again for all the feedback.

That IS fine....the other stuff looks OK. Most substrate looks like uniform coarse white beach sand. The problem is that if you dont' stir up your sandbed periodically or don't keep some sort of sandsifting crew in the tank, that type of sand will compact and literally get like solid concrete. If it's just a dusting, I wouldn'nt worry too much about it. It MAY become a pain during your water changes tho'. Once kicked up, you'll have to turkey baste it off the LR and coral (if you go that route). SH

Hmmm, turkey baster. That's a great idea. I've been trying to figure out how to syphon off just the powdery stuff without removing a bunch of sand and water. I'll try this before I get me live rock this weekend. Here's a pic of the tank so far in case anyone was curious.
GF

so how did this work? Can we see lights?

goldfisher said:

Thanks for the quick replies.
Wendywc: Thanks for lead for the lighting, I think I'm definitely going to upgrade sooner rather than later.
Steelhealr: I've read plenty of your posts and it seems everyone else has much respect for your knowledge so I was hoping you'd reply. Thank you. Some questions back:
1. It is the powdered sugar type. What else can I do? Much of it settles to the ground and collects on the acrylic. If I try to clean, it just clouds again.
2. I put the sand in before I found this site and I read about dsb's so I thought the more the merrier. Should I take some out?
3. Once I put the live rock in, should I take out the Eclipses filter and biowheel?
5. 1-2 fish? That's fine with me, but my wife will be disappointed that Nemo won't be moving in. My lfs was selling a clown setup with 2 clowns in a 6 gallon Eclipse setup. That's why I thought 4-5 fish would be ok.

Click to expand...

that person that told you you could only have 2 fish was not totally correct. I have the same tank with 5 fish happily in it. It has a royal gramma, two clownfish, a blue velvet damsel, and a bicolor angel (pygmy angel). The fish you chose should be just fine, i think you could even get more if you wanted to...depending on the damsel, because some like to live in groups such as the green chromis. Now if you wanted a butterfly or a non pygmy angel such as an emperor or a french i would caution you because they grow rapidly and have space requirements. Clownfish do not have large space requirements and you could get atleast two in a nano. If you decide to get more than one, make sure they were originally in the tank together, i.e. buy them together or they may fight.