10 gallon nano build need advice!!

[chikay10]

Its my first time setting up a reef tank and I have a spare 10 gallon and I wanna start a nano reef I need help on what equipment would I need for soft lps and maybe some sps if possible.
What led should I get?
Filtration hob or canister?I have no room for sump
Water flow/water circulation how much gph should I look for?
And last how much live rock would I need?

 

[Bectan01]

Cool! I want to set up a 10g too (I have a 2 year old 55g reef) if its your first saltwater you have a lot to learn! If you had the choice to go bigger I highly recommend it, the bigger it is the easier it is to maintain. There are also not many fish that fit in a ten so you may be disappointed that you can't have nemo Having said that, it's not impossible. This is what I plan for mine - for lighting I am going to pick up a par38 LED globe (dimmable) it has a normal BC base. I am looking at 2x tunze nano stream powerheads, a heater of course, roughly 20pounds of live rock and I already have the sand. Because of the big tank I already have text kits, a refractometer and tubs for water and all the other bits and peices.

 

[chikay10]

Im not planing to have fish in it anyway I want just plain corals and some cleaning crew. On par38 any suggestion what online site to buy cheapest but good enough. And how often do you think id be doing pwc with 10 gallon just to keep water parameters stable?

 

[Pisces3473]

Im not planing to have fish in it anyway I want just plain corals and some cleaning crew. On par38 any suggestion what online site to buy cheapest but good enough. And how often do you think id be doing pwc with 10 gallon just to keep water parameters stable?

When I had mine I changed 2-3 gallons per week. And testing at least once per week until you get comfortable that things are stable. The one thing I noticed was I had to check the SG before topping up, it seemed one week I was topping up with RO/DI and the other with SW. Your first SW tank, VERY EXCITING!

 

[chikay10]

http://item.mobileweb.ebay.com/viewitem?itemId=330869453636
What do you guys think about this par38?

 

[Bectan01]

It doesn't have all the info you are looking for in that spec sheet - I have seen 36w dimmable CREE globes that will grow anything - usually cost around $90 (they do here in oz) As a general rule you want each LED pendant to be 3w each and try and look for 12000 - 15000k in the whites

 

[chikay10]

Ok thanks on that info...do you think a hang on refugium would be a good a filtration? http://www.aquatraders.com/Hang-On-Refugium-with-Protein-Skimmer-14in-p/43016.htm

 

[Bectan01]

Yes I do, I have thought about one of these too. My only concern is the amount of stuff in and around the tank, I want to keep the display as neat as I can. Mine is a 10 tall so was just going to go natural with the filtration (like my 55)

 

[Wolfsblood]

Check the link in my signature, I outline how to build a DIY fuge out of an Aquaclear 70.

 

[chikay10]

Any tips on cycling?..

 

[Pisces3473]

You can buy bacteria in a bottle or use a raw shrimp. The raw shrimp method is quite popular. Just throw a raw shrimp in the tank, but put it in a panty hose first. Wait a few days for decomp to start then remove and test daily.

 

[chikay10]

Raw shrimp?? From the market??..shell on or off???

 

[Wolfsblood]

Haha...I don't think it matters as long as it decays

 

[Rmckoy]

I have a 70 gal I used 2 shrimp from the market .
I didn't put them in anything but luckily when I bought the live rock there were bristle worms and they are the decomposed shrimp .
It is probably the easiest and safest way to cycle a tank .

 

[czwicky]

Whites don't come in 12-15k light temp. The overall light temperature for corals can be 6500k-20000k. It depends on what you like. Generally a higher Kelvin rating will give you a more blue look while a lower will give you a more yellow look. I like my lights in the 12k range as it gives a nice, clean white light. With LEDs and dimmable channels you can get just about whatever light temp would float your boat for a reef tank

 

[chikay10]

Best inverts/clean up crew to put in a 10 gallon?..any suggestions??..

 

[obscurereef]

If you have an inch of sand or more, nassarius snails are great for cleaning up leftover food
-blue hermit crabs
-ceriths (don't do much, but can help a little)
-nerites
-serpent sea star

There's more, but those are some popular ones.

Hermit crabs and marine snails for saltwater and reef aquariums

 

[Surfer]

Nice, ill be following this thread. I'm doing a SW for my Evo 8 this summer.

 

[chikay10]

After 2 months

 

[chikay10]

I started with a ac50