micro reef startup advice

[thisanthrope]

I am wanting to startup a 10 gal. to a micro reef aquarium. I know this is not recommended but can be done with the proper maintenence. I have purchased so far the live sand, some base rock, and the salt to mix the water. I have access to deionized water source because I was told that tap water would produce too much algea....Is this true?

I also wanted to ask about filtration. I plan on using a off the back pump and filter. I would probably be better off with a protien skimmer but I do not have the funds for it. would a undergravel system be better than a hanging pump and filter?

any other pro and con advice or examples of a small setup like this would be appreciated.

 

[d9hp]

tap water would produce too much algea

YEP!

Dont worry about a filter, just use the LR and LS. I think there are lots of cons, but IMO they do not out weigh the pros

 

[thisanthrope]

thanks for the advice but no filter...dont you atleast need some current?

and if I could include a question, how much florescent lighting per gallon can I use to keep corals and anonyme versus having the other expensive ACTINIC, 50/50 lighting.... or would I be better off?

 

[steve-s]

The hang on filter without the skimmer would be just fine.

If you do not have an RO unit, you could purchase the proper water from the local grocers.10 G should not cost that much and I would not suggest tap water.

I have a ¾g nano reef that works just fine that way.

Cheers
Steve

 

[fishfreek]

its stronly discuraged keeping an anenome in a tank let alone in a small tank and it being your first saltwater tank. Anenomes can live decades (estimated) in the ocean but many strugle to live longer than 1 year in an aquarium.

For an anenome I would say lighting in the range of 5W+ per gal. So for a 10 gal tank at least 50watts of actinic and 10K specitrum.

For many soft corals you can get buy with less light. On average I would shoot for 3 - 5 watts per gal.

With out a filter you need plenty of live rock (for a 10 gal tank i would shoot for 15lbs of LR) and a sand bed of 3-4" in depth.

For water movement you can use power heads.

Dont forget a heater to keep the tank at 80F or there about.

 

[d9hp]

Hey steve, is that that azoo tank? Doesnt it come with a 7 watt PC? I think I am gonna buy one. It has that sweet little filter too

 

[steve-s]

Hey steve, is that that azoo tank? Doesnt it come with a 7 watt PC? I think I am gonna buy one. It has that sweet little filter too

Yes it is, I have two of them.

It comes with a 7w PC and a 60lt/hr HOB filter. Great little tank

Cheers
Steve

 

[loganj]

Having had a 10g reef for a while, I can tell you what worked for me. First, no anemone...especially not in a new tank. You can light it with two 15w 18" bulbs and get decent coraline growth. I don't know if you'd get much in the way of coral growth though. That's what I started with...ended up with 2x36w PC. I would probably use one Hagen PowerGlo and one MarineGlo for bulbs. Get the short Lee CC skimmer and a good dual outlet air pump. That'll do a good job skimming the 10. The only drawback is it has to go in the tank. My 10 was pretty stable with this setup and had great coraline growth. I had 2 MJ400 powerheads for flow. I had several snails, hermits, a fire shrimp, and an ocellaris clownfish. I used a 50w VisiTherm heater. It wasn't a high tech tank, but I had a great time with it.

 

[d9hp]

Ok, now i just have to get one for the other side of my desk...

 

[thisanthrope]

great, thanks a bunch....let me get this correct.

*I will need compact fluorescent because I do want to grow coral

* dont need a skimmer just let the live sand and rock filter but I will need power heads for current?

*coming from a freshwater planted tank I do 1/3 water change every two weeks, do I do water changes in the similar manner to a reef tank or just top off the tank when water evaporates?

 

[loganj]

*I will need compact fluorescent because I do want to grow coral

You might be able to have some of the low light soft corals with two 15w bulbs...it would be absolute minimum IMO. Check out www.ahsupply.com for PC lighting. They have some 13w PC's that you could probably retrofit into a hood.

* dont need a skimmer just let the live sand and rock filter but I will need power heads for current?

You don't have to have a skimmer. It will help with water quality. Many people who have nano tanks rely on water changes to keep water quality up and replenish trace elements.

*coming from a freshwater planted tank I do 1/3 water change every two weeks, do I do water changes in the similar manner to a reef tank or just top off the tank when water evaporates?

Both...top off the tank with either RO or distilled water...no salt. Salt doesn't evaporate. You'd be suprised how many folks overlook this. I'd do a weekly water change of about 20% in addition to the top off. You'll need to top off every day to keep salinity in check. It may seem excessive, but it will guarantee you have good water. Once you gain some experience and get used to the tank, you may be able to extend this some with no detrimental effect on the tank.

 

[gooyferret]

What about the addition of Ca guys?

Salt doesn't evaporate

Thats really weird I use Intant Ocean salt and my salt evaporates right with the water....HMMM Interesting....Why does my salt evap and no one elses does? I have a salinity test and i have to !ALWAYS! add salt??? HMM thats frustrating.

 

[loganj]

You may get some salt creep around the top of the tank. The water is the only thing that evaps though. All the salt, minerals, ect... are left behind. I top off with pure water every day and my salinity stays the same. On a small tank with a lot of salt creep, I suppose you might lose enough to affect salinity. Funny you should mention it though. The 180g at the eyecare center is just the opposite. SG seems to slowly creep upward on that tank. After the last water change, it was at 1.025. Yesterday, when I checked it...with water levels the same, it was up to 1.027. It's done that a couple of times. Go figure