noob - starting 10 gal nano w/ ?'s

saltyshoe_nano

saltyshoe_nano

New member
hello,

I am wanting to start a 10 gallon nano, I have a regular 10 gallon all glass tank, and a 50 watt heater, and a filter (120 vac-60 Hz- .12 amp- Aqua tech 5-15 filter) and a aquarium light (20" fluorescent Aquarium reflector 120 volt - 19 watt - 60 Hz) picked it and filter up for $5 at a garage sale! YAY...lol and an aquarium stand ( homemade from 2 x 4's and veneer plywood with 3/4 plywood for the top covered with a sheet of veneer on top) and some canopy plans in the making. I was wondering if the light,heater, and filter will be good enough for me to start??? Also do i need a power head?? If so, what type do you suggest??

Oh, before I go, do you suggest letting the sand settle before adding the live rock or put it together and then add the water, I talked to a few people and have had mixed reviews...... anyway, any and all suggestions will be helpful!!

Thanks for your time
shoe
 
If you plan on adding coral you need to up the lighting, IMO go with compact florecents, The company Current has really good lighting kits and spectrums needed to support coral life. A web site like Nanotuners.com is a good reference or Toofishy.com

As far as the filter you want to make sure it turns your tank volume several times an hour and a power head in the tank is great for movement, Most corals need the water movement to bring the nutrients to them. The heater is good as long as it maintains 72-78 degrees, the lighting and powerhead will increase your temp. Personally My heater in my AP12 barely turns on. I do not use a protein skimmer but try to do water changes 2X a week, one gallon each time. This is also a good time to clean the windows and move things around.
Do it right from the beginning by using RO water, don't rely on well or tap water, my friend thought his well water was good and now his phosphates and nitrates are out of control. I buy my water from a local REPUTABLE fish store. since I only have a 12 gallon tank. Some local fish stores will even sell pre-mixed salt water, if you can do that, go for it, saves mixing it yourself.
Put the sand and rocks in first and let the tank sit, don't start filtering or powerheading until all settles, us live sand and cured live rock if possible.
Have a lot of patients, you will have to wait several weeks for your tank to cycle.
Do it right from the beginning will pay off in the end, everyone has an opinion too, what works for some does not work for others. Find a local reef store, if possible, and if there tanks are awesome looking and look healthly, start asking questions. I am fortunate I live near Allentown, PA where Something Fishy is located (toofishy.com) His tanks are magnificent and their advise has always worked for me. You need to find people like that to make the hobby more enjoyable. Search out a local club, this is a good way to buy frags, rather than dropping $40-60 on one coral til you get the hang of it. The nice thing about nanos is small is good, and they will grow too.

Good luck
 
hey, sorry for the late reply but....here it is......

WOW

Thanks alot jdw for your imput,....I am going to a petco/petsmart tonight....to find a new bulb. I also wanted to tell you I am planning on joining SLASH - the St Louis Area group....the lfs by me isn't very good with their customer service...no names becuse they are probably a good fs (just caught them on a bad day maybe)

To answer your question
- is this my first saltwater tank?

Yes, this is my fist saltwater fish tank but I've had about 3 1/2 to 4 years of experience in Freshwater tanks and a year or so in Reptiles.

Why a nano?

The reason Im going for a nano is I am a High School Senior and I will be going to college soon and I really don't feel like haulling another 55 gal. Also my room right now is not big enough for another 4' tank. (its only a 12'x15' room:( )

A few more questions...

- what size/power of a power head would I need for the nano tank?

- do I need a Cleaning Crew for my tank if I keep up with the water changes? If so what do you suggest for the cleaning crew?? (stars,snails,shrimps,crabs???)

- what type of LR/coral and LS do you guys/girls suggest for me to get?? remember NOOB!!! :D

- what type of fish do you suggest?? Number of fish??-----would 4 or so be to many??

A little backround on me!!!

Well Im goin to college to major in Arts, ( game arts design) I love art and COLORS!!! so if you can use that for any of your references It would help...

Alright, well I hope to hear from someone soon Im leavin about 6 to go to the stores for the light!!!YAY!!! well thanks for your time and I would appreciate it if someone could help :rollface:

Thanks again Guys/Girls for your imput..

-shoe
 
- what size/power of a power head would I need for the nano tank? I would go with a MaxiJet 400 or 600.

- do I need a Cleaning Crew for my tank if I keep up with the water changes? If so what do you suggest for the cleaning crew?? (stars,snails,shrimps,crabs???) I do suggest a clean up crew, as they will get uneaten pieces of food and detritus that you wont get with water changes. I would suggest 5-10 hermits, and 2 or 3 of the big turbos, not the cheap little ones, they dont do anything.

- what type of LR/coral and LS do you guys/girls suggest for me to get?? remember NOOB!!! I recommend either only Fiji live rock (looks great, normally has lots of coraline) and I plan on using Tampa Bay Live Rock (dont have the website, I'm sure you can google them) they have good stuff too at good prices, sell both rock and sand. Corals would depend on how strong your lights are, but zoos and mushrooms are both easy and colorful. I also like the look of leather corals.

- what type of fish do you suggest?? Number of fish??-----would 4 or so be to many?? In a 10 gal, I would do 1 fish, or 2 small fish max! 4 would be WAY too many! Types of fish, gobies or small clowns.
 
- what size/power of a power head would I need for the nano tank?

Maxi-jets are popular, maybe a maxijet 600 with a hydor flo on the end (Go to Dr. Foster and Smiths website and type in hydor flo to see what it is).


- do I need a Cleaning Crew for my tank if I keep up with the water changes? If so what do you suggest for the cleaning crew?? (stars,snails,shrimps,crabs???)

Yes. Avoid things like stars and sea cucumbers. They cannot get enough food in nano's to survive so you not only risk starving them but also having them get aggressive looking for food (Food could be your fish) before they die.
Stick with
Nassarius snails (Maybe 5 for the sandbed)
Nerite snails (Good for the glass, just a couple)
Cernith snails (Good algae and diatom eater, maybe get 3-4)
and if you want hermits go with just a few scarlet hermits, avoid the blue legged hermits).


- what type of LR/coral and LS do you guys/girls suggest for me to get?? remember NOOB!!!

All live rock is not created equal. You have figi which sometimes can be cool but is usually the basic dense rock. Marshall Island has a lot of nooks and crannys and great shapes, great for aquascaping. Tonga Branch is good for bigger tanks but doesn't look that great in nano's and it doesn't have a lot of surface area.
For the small amount you need I would hit the LFS or see if anyone on the SLASH forum is selling any, ditto on the sand.

Can't give you advise on corals until you get the new light and let us know the wattage, etc...

- what type of fish do you suggest?? Number of fish??-----would 4 or so be to many??

99% sure 4 is to many, depends on what fish your planning on getting. If you want a peaceful tank get a little perc clown, firefish and a sand goby like a Yellow Watchman Goby or a smaller Blenny. I have the YWG but wish I had a Blenny, those things have awesome personalities. Not sure which Blenny could fit in a 10, check out www.liveaquaria.com and look around, lots of care info on that site.

A couple things

Before getting a fish always check here on RC in the fish forum and ask some questions to get some info. Several fish like the mandarin and the scooter blenny are picky eaters so you need to make sure you know about their diets beforehand. I made the mistake of getting a Clarki Clown in my nano and that thing was mean, killed a firefish of mine. After doing some reserch I found out they grow to be one of the bigger clowns out there and me cramming him in a nano probably caused his aggression.

Get a canopy or an acrylic top. 2 reasons.
1. Fish are jumpers, some are more prone to jumping than others (firefish are like dolphins when it comes to jumping) but all fish can jump out of a tank if they get freaked out.

2. Keeps the evaporation down. On that note look into getting a refractometer to keep your salinity in check, that is the first thing that can get you in trouble, water evaporates but the salt stays behind.


Great idea joining a local reef club. It's the best way to get in on group buys, get local advise and meet others for swapping corals.


Good Luck
Take it slow, like they say Rome wasn't built in a day :)
 
thanks alot

great info, of course I was planning to do research on the type of fish I decide to get but thanks for reminding me. :)

but thanks for your support and the great info/experience you gave to me.

thanks again
-again any help/suggestions are welcome

-shoe
 
Thanks mangus,

yeah it does help! alot, but I still would like others to put their 2 cents in if they have the time

thanks for the help
-shoe
 
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