10g Nano

[MarkW19]

Hi guys,

I used to have a large saltwater tank, and was on these forums a lot, but time/money meant I had to sadly give up the hobby.

But, I now fancy a new project, and I'd love to try and tackle a nice 10g nano tank.

I've been looking at the Arcadia Arc tank, complete with internal power filter, 11w luminaire, 100w heater, powerhead (if really needed) etc.:-

I'll be putting some live (bagged) sand into here, along with a good portion of live rock. There'll be some invertebrates in it (1 shrimp and a few snails/crabs), and 2 small/suitable fish. I'd also love some simple corals that I don't have to do much work with, if anyone can suggest some.

Basically, I'm ashamed to say I've forgotten almost everything I knew before about cycling/water chemistry (salinity, temp, pH etc.) etc. I'm sure it'll all come flooding back though!

Could you guys give me some help? I'd like to know what the best way of cycling this tank would be (not with fish!!), what I should be aiming for in the water chemistry, when it's ok to add my first fish/liverock/invertebrates, and what maintanence I should be doing on the tank when it's up. How often should I do waterchanges (I'm thinking 20% every week or every other week), change/clean the filter media, and what do I do with the new saltwater I make before it's good for the tank - I used to have a RO unit, but I sold it, and to be honest it took ages to filter the water. As this tank will be a lot smaller than my old one, a 20% waterchange is no big deal, and should be quick/easy. Do I just need some dechlorinator put into the water before I add the salt, how long does the salt need to be mixed for with a powerhead before it's put into the tank, etc.

Any help on starting up my 10g Nano would be appreciated!

Thanks

 

[lando]

Moved to nano forum...

Welcome Back! It is nice to see decided to "jump" right back into the hobby again.

I'd like to know what the best way of cycling this tank would be (not with fish!!),

Cured LR and some established substrate would sure help. For a fishless cycle I prefer the good old shrimp method. Toss in an ucooked shrimp from the grocery store and let it do its work.

what I should be aiming for in the water chemistry, when it's ok to add my first fish/liverock/invertebrates

Same as before...NH3 and NO2 must be zero. NO3 below 5ppm (or lower) is prefered. You may slowing begin adding livestock once the tank has cycled.

and what maintanence I should be doing on the tank when it's up. How often should I do waterchanges (I'm thinking 20% every week or every other week), change/clean the filter media, and what do I do with the new saltwater I make before it's good for the tank

20% water changes every week would be a good habbit to get into. All water for changes should be pre-mixed and aged for at least 24hrs. Both temp and Ph should match that of the tank water. As you know, RO/DI is best. If do not intend on getting a home unit then source out a good place (such as LFS) to get it.

 

[MACATUA]

The good news is it would not be too expensive to buy 2 gallons a week from the LFS to do water changes. My LFS charges $1.25, which is high if you have a big tank, but for 2.25 a week you never have to buy a RO unit!

 

[MarkW19]

Cheers for the quick replies guys, it's good to see all the usual names again!

Just been doing some major reading up/reacquainting over the past couple of hours, and I've decided on: temp: 25°C (77°F), pH: 8.2, salt: 1.022. Sound good?

Hopefully the little filter the Arcadia tank comes with - along with about 6kg of LR - will be enough for filtration.

Sadly, my only 2 LFS stores have closed down in the past 2 years The nearest one is an hour's drive away - it's worth the drive for things like sand, LR, fish/inverts etc., but not for PWC water. I really want to avoid RO/DI if I can - is it adequate to just dechlorinate some tapwater?

I read that the cured liverock should be added AFTER the cycle, so that the life on it doesn't die. Or should I just put it in with the established sand right from the start?!

I've not decided upon my 2 small fish yet, but I definitely want a blood shrimp, and 4 small red/blue hermit crabs. I'd also love a small orange starfish - would this be possible in the 10g?

Thanks!

PS. Does the raw shrink method stink?! This tank is going to be in my living room

 

[MACATUA]

clown goby is a cool fish for a Nano, or a pair of Clowns are very comfy in a 10

 

[MACATUA]

Tap water will just make for algae problems and water quality issues

 

[MarkW19]

clown goby is a cool fish for a Nano, or a pair of Clowns are very comfy in a 10

I'd love 1 ocellaris tank-bred clown in there (had one of these before), and one other fish...

Tap water will just make for algae problems and water quality issues

How about bottled distilled water from the supermarket then?

 

[MACATUA]

i used the Culligan machines at Walmart before, carbon filters and is def. better than nothing!

 

[MarkW19]

i used the Culligan machines at Walmart before, carbon filters and is def. better than nothing!

Cool, think I'll do that then! Is there a difference between "Distilled" and "mineral" water?!

Does anyone know if I can have a small orange starfish (if so, which species) in my 10g nano? And do I add the cured LR before my cycle, or after?

Cheers.

 

[MarkW19]

Anyone? Can I use bottled distilled water from a supermarket?

Also, should I add the LR before or after the cycle?

Thanks.

 

[roka64]

Personally, I wouldn't use distilled or bottled water. I would invest in an RO/DI and use that.
I would add the LR during the cycle. If it is cured, you may see a small cycle or maybe not any at all. Make sure you test your water.

 

[MarkW19]

Thanks.

I'm just concerned with the LR as I don't want the cycle to kill any of the bacteria/organisms on it. But, I guess it'll also help the cycle as well.

I'm going to use the raw shrimp method - after how many weeks would you add the *cured* LR (I'm intending on 6kg/13lbs)?

 

[lando]

I'm just concerned with the LR as I don't want the cycle to kill any of the bacteria/organisms on it. But, I guess it'll also help the cycle as well.

I would not worry too much about that. If you are placing in cured LR at the begining and using some established substrate (maybe a cup or two from the LFS) I suspect your cycle will be minimal.

 

[MarkW19]

I would not worry too much about that. If you are placing in cured LR at the begining and using some established substrate (maybe a cup or two from the LFS) I suspect your cycle will be minimal.

OK, cool.

Well, I was intending using some of that bagged livesand, along with (as you say) 2 cups of sand from my LFS. Along with the raw shrimp, should I be putting all my cured live rock in right from the beginning then?

Also, will the raw shrimp method smell? :|

And what about a small orange starfish - will that be possible in my tank (along with a tank-bred ocellaris clown, one other small fish, blood shrimp, 4 hermit crabs)?

 

[lando]

should I be putting all my cured live rock in right from the beginning then?

I would. However, if all of your LR is cured and you seed the sand bed with established substrate, I would hold off on the raw shrimp. get the tank up and running, and let it sit for a few days. Add some flake food to the tank and see how it responds. It is very likely that you will not need the tank to experience a hard cycle due to the cud LR and LS. I will caution that livestock must be added VERY slolwy and parameters must be checked daily until you are comfortable that your tank has cycled.

And what about a small orange starfish

Not a good choice for smaller tanks. Stars are cleaners and opportunistic feeders and generally require much larger tanks in order to have enough detritus and "left-overs" to survive.

tank-bred ocellaris clown, one other small fish, blood shrimp, 4 hermit crabs)?

One O. clown and one other small fish (I recommend clown goby only) would be the absolute MAX for that size of tank. Invetrs look fine.

 

[MarkW19]

I would. However, if all of your LR is cured and you seed the sand bed with established substrate, I would hold off on the raw shrimp. get the tank up and running, and let it sit for a few days. Add some flake food to the tank and see how it responds. It is very likely that you will not need the tank to experience a hard cycle due to the cud LR and LS. I will caution that livestock must be added VERY slolwy and parameters must be checked daily until you are comfortable that your tank has cycled

Cool, sounds like a plan. How will I know that my tank has cycled then using this method?

 

[lando]

How will I know that my tank has cycled then using this method?

This is where frequent water testing comes into play. In theory, using established bilological media means your tank has already "cycled". The benefical bacteria should already be established. But...this is where you proceed with caution. As a tank's bioload increases (i.e. adding a food soruce or livestock) the biofiltration will be tested. If it can handle in increase in bioload (confirmed by testing NH3, NO2 and NO3) then you should be okay. Using established media does not mean your tank should skip a cycle but rather the cycle should be greatly decreased. One to two weeks of testing should give you a good indication of how your tank is doing.

 

[Innovator]

No offense to lando, but why not just use uncured live rock and wait the two week cycle out without any of the guesswork? The uncured liverock will completely cycle your tank if time is not of the essence.

 

[lando]

No offense taken but...why not use cured LR if it is available and speed up the process? I, by no means, advocate rushing things in this hobby, but if you have the opportunity make things wasier then why not? When I started my 12gal nano I used 25lbs of fully cured LR and some well-setablished LS in my substrate and I experienced no cycle what so ever. In fact, I had corals in tank a week later. Please keep in mind that I filled the filtration compartments in my nanocube with cured LR rubble as well. The point being, using cured bio-media will greatly reduce the cycle time required for the tank.

 

[Innovator]

I agree it can and has been done, I just personally see no point other than issues of time. Well, that and I prefer uncured live rock lol. No worries, just my humble opinion