Quick Nano Question....

[StingrayKid]

I've been away from the forums for a while and have been looking into a 10g Marine tank. As I've seen today when I logged on and looked through the Marine forums, Nano tanks seem to becoming more popular. As many people have said, I know the challenges assiciated with Nano Marine tanks. I too also have a source of info thats does these small tanks and deals with saltwater all the time.
But my question is: Do I need a Protein skimmer in a 10g tank with 10lbs of Live Rock and a Powerhead? Or, will the Live Rock and the current take care of the job the skimmer does? Here is a list of equiptment I will be using in the set up, skimmer prohibiting...

-10g glass tank
-Heater
-Thermometer
-10lbs live rock
-Crushed Coral substrate / Marine Sand (I havnt decided yet)
-Power head
-Lighting fixture with a Marine coral Bulb
-Hydrometer
-Saltwater test kits

I dont think I will be adding any Vertebates to the tank, but i will probably buy some snails, hermit crabs, and maybe some shrimp. So much for a quick question...

 

[FrAnK3333]

I would read parkers 10 gallon dairy, I would get a protein skimmer.

 

[parker313]

No, you don't need a skimmer for a 10g. I've done some reading and from all of the recommendations I've come across, the consensus seems to be that a 10g is about the biggest you can do and get away without a skimmer. I am planning on getting a skimmer shortly b/c I'm having some algae problems and lost some hermit crabs last time I went out of town. I go out of town fairly often so I want to make sure to have a skimmer helping me out while I'm gone.

You could push the LR up to about 15lbs just to be on the safe side with no skimmer...

 

[StingrayKid]

Awsome, sounds good. I'll post more about my progress soon.

 

[StingrayKid]

I do have a few more questions though.

-First off, if I add roughly 10-12lbs of live rock on the first day I set up the tank, what do I need to know about the future cycle, and what readings am I looking for?

-What should the SG of this tank be?

-I've seen people set up their live rock in a pile in the middle of the tank in the Nano reefs, is this necessary or, can I scatter the peices?

Thanks.

 

[parker313]

If you add that much live rock (and it's good, still wet, live rock) then your tank is instantly cycled. If you order rock through the mail, it must be cured. I'm not familiar with that since I got mine right at the lfs.

SG should be around 1.023

You can set your rock up however you like. If you're planning on getting a goby or other shy fish, it's nice to leave them some caves, but you can do whatever you want!

 

[StingrayKid]

Great! And I am getting my rock from an LFS so this works out perfectly. I just washed my crushed coral I bought at the LFS today. Yet another question... I washed this stuff for hours today and it still produces a fog. Do I need to wash it more, or will it settle? I set up a syestem in my bath tub where I ran water into a bucket with the crushed coral in it and took a gravel cleaner tube and funneled water out as new water came in. I did this for about two hours and now im just soaking it in the bucket and the water in with it is still cloudy. Is this normal?

 

[parker313]

I dunno - I used marine sand, not crushed coral....

 

[StingrayKid]

Oh well, I'll keep up with a thourough washing regement.

 

[StingrayKid]

More Questions...

Okay, as I browsed thorugh an article on Nano-Reef.com, it mentioned that a certain type of heater was reccomended. Any old heater for the apropraite sized tank would do right?
Also, is there any special lighting equiptment I'll need? Or, will a simple Flourescent strip with a nice Marine bulb do for a live rock/polyp Nano-Reef tank?

 

[parker313]

Yes, any old heater will do just fine.

Lighting - it depends. Yes, a standard Marine bulb will be OK for the softies, esp. if you keep them up higher in the tank. You can forego the hood altogether and upgrade to a power compact lighting strip for not much more though. I got a good deal on a light strip that holds 110w total - 55 daylight and 55 actinic. It's 24", which is slightly longer than the 10g tank, so it just hangs over the sides a little on each side.

I'm really glad I spent the little extra $$ on the better lighting, the difference is just amazing.

I got mine from www.aquatraders.com, but I know some other people have had trouble with them.......

 

[StingrayKid]

Well, when I decide to get more corals and such, I will upgrade.

Yet another question.... Whenever I think if it would work I always feel like a newbie to fishkeeping. The question is: Could a larger wattage heater for a tank work out? For example: I have a 200w heater. It would certainly fit in my 10g Nano-Reef tank, BUT, would this over heat the tank or something? I never really thought about doing this until recently, and I've always took the reccomended tank size listed on the box or whatever.

 

[StingrayKid]

I also wanted to add that I decided not to add any fish in the tank. It might make it a bit boring, but, I want to play it very safe and take it very slow as this is my first marine tank and Nano's require a lot of work.

 

[parker313]

Heater - I dunno, I never thought about it either I guess if something goes wrong and your heater's auto shut-off breaks, you're going to see a MUCH faster and more serious problem as it would overheat much quicker...

I'd stick with the recommended wattage.

 

[Navarre]

A skimmer isnt "essential" but its very very strongly advised to stop smilar algae blooms that Parker has mentioned and also help keep water peramters stable. As you are a bginner i would add a skimmer as this wil help your water perameters.