Lurker to Poster....got some nano questions

[Bill_B]

Well after years of wanting a saltwater tank I think I'm gonna take the plunge and try a nano tank out.

first a little background.
Started fishkeeping when my 18 month old wanted a fish tank for his bedroom. got him a 10 gallon and it was in his room for about a year or so. he began to get bored with it and after we moved my wife's grandmother gave us a 35 (ish) gallon tank and stand so I set that up in the living room. currently got that going with a couple crayfish, a bamboo shrimp, some tetra's goromi, tiger barbs and thats all the names i can remember right now... got a list somewhere.

anyways

after thinking about it for a while, I think i'm going to take his 10gallon and set it up as a small saltwater tank. My plan is a couple of fish and maybe after its established i'll try for a corral or 2. eventually I want to upgrade the tank size wise, but need to find the space for the bigger tank (and budget...)

for equiptment I was planning on about 5 pounds live rock, plus a few LBs of "dead" rock that i hope will seed. a pool filter sand base, couple powerheads and a heater.

now my questions.

what light would be best? 2 powerheads right for a tank this size or overkill? anything I'm missing? i know i'll also need a test kit.

well if you read this far, thanks for reading and the input....

 

[thominil]

Welcome to AA! Ditch the pool filter sand as it is silica based and you would have a constant diatom problem. Go for dry aragonite sand. I would go with 2 Maxi-Jet 400 powerheads. For lighting I would go with a 2x20w T5 High Output (HO) fixture as it will allow you to keep a variety of soft coral and a few LPS without burning a hole in your wallet. Good idea with seeding base rock, go with 7-10lbs of base rock if you go with 5lbs of live rock. I would say go with one small fish and keep with that until everything in your tank is stabilized and you are comfortable with adding another one. I would say two fish max. in a 10g. You are going to have to watch the water parameters in your tank as it can go south pretty fast in a tank that small if you're not careful.

Maxi-Jet 400 Power Head, 106gph by Aquarium Systems - AquaCave
http://www.aquacave.com/current-usa-18-nova-br-extreme-t-5-fixture-br-2x20w-10k460nm-1136-2368.html

 

[Bige]

+1.

 

[Bill_B]

Now can I use a HOB filter and only one powerhead? i have a spare HOB that i used to use in my FW tank. Can I get the tank up and running without the light initially? like with just the live rock and live sand? then get that in a couple of weeks? keeping this going on a tight budget.... but i want to get my cycle started once i can.

 

[mrg02d]

Now can I use a HOB filter and only one powerhead? i have a spare HOB that i used to use in my FW tank. Can I get the tank up and running without the light initially? like with just the live rock and live sand? then get that in a couple of weeks? keeping this going on a tight budget.... but i want to get my cycle started once i can.

Yup, you sure can use an HOB and a powerhead. Depending on the GPH of the HOB, you might get by with just that and no powerhead. (Unless you have the powerhead, which would help rather than hurt).

You dont need a light during the cycle and is not reccomended anyways. No need to have an algae problem! Keep the tank warm, dark, and well ariated and you should be fine.

Matt

 

[Bill_B]

well since I posted this things have changed pretty dramatically. I purchased a 12 gallon Eclipse tank from Craigslist complete with a few corals 12lbs of live rock and a mantis shrimp (who sadly i don't think will be with me too long, havent decided his fate yet.

right now i'm just working on getting it setup the way I want it to look and stuff like that, once that is done I will get some pics posted asap.

i was thinking about a pretty quick upgrade to a larger tank, using this one mainly for the items it came with(got it for a steal) but its growing on me so IDK whats gonna happen long term.

i'm gonna be posting in DIY for some info on upgrading the lighting, but if anyone has any tips id like to hear them!

and before the question is asked, Pics to come, once its somewhat organized.

 

[Jimbo7]

i'm gonna be posting in DIY for some info on upgrading the lighting, but if anyone has any tips id like to hear them!

Watch your fingers when your reorganize, mantis's are mean SOB's

I'm in the planning stage to retro my 12DX with LED's. I'm hoping in the next week or so to order parts.

 

[Bill_B]

i'm interested to check out that LED retro, what kinda price range are you talking about?


well sofar I have the tank kinda organized, i think i'm gonna try and trade some of the coral frags with the lfs for some variety in the tank.

i was going to take some pics of the tank tonight, but the wife has the camera.... so that'll have to wait.