Live Rock from liveaquaria.com

[ericsze]

I think I'm going to order some Live Rock from liveaquaria.com for a new 10 Gallon Nano reef. They are running a special this week, 45# for a little less and $100.

The question is, since there is some die off during transit, and since I'll have to semi-cure it again, can I use the curing process to cycle the new tank?

Also, for FOWLR tanks (up to 30 gallons), is a skimmer necessary? Each tank has DSB's.

 

[loganj]

Yes, you can use the rock to cycle the tank.

As to the skimmer question, my usual response is if you are willing to run a skimmer on the tank in question for a couple of weeks and drink what's in the collection cup, I'll concede that the skimmer isn't needed. Nano tanks are somewhat different though. While any tank, IMO, benefits from a skimmer, most folks with nanos control nutrients with water changes. On a 10, I think this will be the easiest way to do it...especially if you aren't going to use a sump. There isn't a lot of room in a 10 for a skimmer and not a lot of room on the back either. Depending on your bioload of course, I'd say about a 2 gal change per week would be plenty. Maybe even 1 gal.
On tanks 20 gal and up, I think a skimmer of some sort should be used...at first anyway. Reefrunner has a truly awesome 20 gal reef and I'm sure he can give you some pointers about running nano tanks. I believe fishfreek also has a 20g reef going.

 

[fishfreek]

Um, you where not planning on ordering the 45# box for the 10 gal where you? I bring this up because I really doubt you can even put 45lbs of rock in a 10 gal tank and have much room for water.

This is one of the problems with a nano tank is that alot of the standard bundles wont work well because of the smaller space.

Yes you can cure the rock in the tank as your cycle. I run my 20 gal with no skimmer and keivin runs his 20 gal with a skimmer. I do weekly waterchanges of 4 or 5 gal to compensate for not using a skimmer. I also top off my tank from evaporation every other day.

For a 10 gal tank I would say 1 small fish or at an absoulte max 2 small fish would be your fish limit.

If this is your first tank I would seriously suggest you look at a 29 gal tank or larger simply because the larger the tank you start with the easier the upkeep on the tank will be.

 

[loganj]

Good point about the 45lbs not fitting in the 10. I think you'll find it crowded in there with anything more than 18-20 lbs. As fishfreek pointed out though, 45lbs should go nicely in a 29 and startup costs on a 29 won't really be much more than a 10. You can do a DSB in a 29 and still have room for water too.

 

[Biggen]

They (liveaquaria.com) has 22# for around $79. I ordered it to supplement the LR I already have. But even that would be too much for a 10. You might have to go with another vendor that will let you buy the exact amount of LR you want.

I have to tell you, though, that I was not happy with the 22# LR I received from liveaquaria. There was hardly any coralline algae on the rock. Looked like base rock to be honest.

On the other hand, I loved the 45# I received from them a few months ago. Lots of life.

Go figure...