Very first tank 10G nano

[cooldip]

Hi everybody!

I've been wanting to get into the hobby since summer, and now I finally have the funds to get my tank started. I've been lurking around for a while on here and several other forums learning as much as I can about nano reefs.

Here is my setup:
Standard 10G tank
Stock lighting (will upgrade before I get corals)
AC20 no mods
8lbs live rock
10lbs live sand
100W heater
Koralia nano 240

I picked up my LR, LS, from my friends uncles LFS. He also threw in some water from his established reef for me too.

Order of pictures:
first day putting in sand rock and water
couple days later after water was clear
just painted the background black this weekend
got my test API kit today and the parameters look like

pH 8.1 ammonia .25ppm nitrites 0ppm nitrates 160ppm+

I haven't been dosing the tank with an ammonia source, because I don't want to use the shrimp method, nor do I want to do a fish cycle. But it seems to me that I'm nearing the end of the cycle. I don't understand completely why my nitrates are off the charts, and why I still have ammonia if I have no source of it.. Could it possibly be because I got the water from an established tank already and the live rock already being cured? I also noticed diatoms (or at least what I believe to be) developing a couple days ago on the sand bed and live rock.

Looking forward to some feedback!

 

[Khij159753]

The ammonia is probably a small amount of die off from the rocks. Your nitrates are off the chart because of the used water. You should still dose up the ammonia and go through a true cycle though.

What are your future plans for the tank? It should be a great build! I'm following. Ill help all I can

 

[cooldip]

Oh, that makes sense. Yeah that's what I was thinking too, my friends uncle made a joke when giving me water from his tank and called it "super water" haha... Yea tomorrow i'm going to pick up some pure ammonia (I will do the shake test!) and try to dose it up to 3ppm and test from there.

Well i'm in school right now and finals are next week, and i'm planning on leaving for home on the 13th or 14th and leaving the tank untouched until probably the beginning of January. So I figure the best thing to do is to wait to stock until I get back. Unless its OK if I pick up one or two snails to get rid of the diatoms if the cycle completes before I leave. But my future stock would probably include a CUC (probably 50/50 hermits and snails), a shrimp (pistol goby combo maybe), and hopefully I can add a pair of clowns. I know its not recommended to have a pair of clowns in a nano, but I've seen many 10G's who are having no troubles with it.

 

[Khij159753]

Hmmm.... I'd like to know how much work they do on their tanks and how big the clowns are. Haha. I don't see a problem with a few snails and hermits. But I wouldn't do anything but a pistol goby combo in a 10 gallon.

 

[pairenoid]

wow the rock work looks amazing, i wish i could do that for my 20 long

all i got was big boulder like rocks

 

[Dvsfx]

I think a pair of clowns would work fine, i have a BV damsel and a pixey hawkfish both nearly full grown in my 10gallon , i due get the odd little fight break out between the two because they are both semi aggresive but nothing serious, all my equipment is quite overpowered though as it was set-up on my old 40 gal. Im sure someone will tell me my tank is problematic aswel but i have never lost any life besides the passive fish i tried to introduce an my hawkfish killed in there sleep. Goodluck to you and ill be following your process