10 gallon nano reef journal (pics)

[unwritten law]

I got an extra ten gallon so it's going to be a nano. This is my first saltwater tank but I've done a lot of research and with some help from other site members I feel like I got what I need to start.

So far I have:
Tank/Stand
Heater
Aragonite sand (15lbs)
Instant Ocean Salt Mix
Hydrometer
high pH kit/ alkalinity
and everything else that you can think of for fresh water tanks.

Whats being delivered this week:
Maxi Jet 400 power heads (110 gph) x2
20" 1x96W Coralife Aqualight CF hood w/ Quad 50/50
-plus mounting brackets since it's going to be open top

I will most likely wait for the power heads to get here before I setup the tank and fill it with water. With some help I found that you can get R/O water from wal-mart pretty cheap so I'm going to go that method.

For live stock I was thinking this.
Cleaning Crew
-About 4 hermit crabs, what ever type I can get at my SW LFS
-2 Astrea snails
-I dont know how many nassarius snails.
Fish
-pair of clowns (false)
or
-clown + goby
or
-goby + fire fish

I will later get corals when it's time. Most likely zoas and some xenia I can get for free from my friend (his grows like crazy). I like those firefish but I hear that they jump and with an open top I don't think it's a good idea. Any comments about the firefish or other livestock, like the number of nassarius snails. Also any suggestions on what else I could put in a ten besides what is listed.

Thanks for looking and reading.

 

[zoalover34]

Really you should only have 1 fish in a 10g..

 

[unwritten law]

I'm okay with only one fish, it's cheaper, haha. What do you suggest? I find that those Ocellaris Clownfish should be in a larger tank. I am still iffy about the firefish and the open top tank. I 'd rather have a fish that swims out in the open though instead of a goby that stays hidden or near the bottom.

 

[unwritten law]

ooooo..... sand. I got about 12.5 lbs of sand in there.

The reason I was thinking about 2 fish was from a few forum articles that seemed legit.
http://www.myfishtank.net/forum/nan...054-nano-reef-step-step-guide.html#post310189
Nanotank.com : Nano reef tank discussion forum

 

[unwritten law]

added 5 gallons of mixed water, the heater, thermometer, and an extra filter to get things moving before the power heads get here. I figured the filter would just help heat the water up easier.

Salinity is a little low but I'l get on that once I get more water. I don't think adding salt straight to the tank will do too much with out it already dissolved.

pH looks right about right... the picture makes it look a more like 8.6 but it really is more like 8.2

what I have sitting next to the tank... mmm yum

 

[unwritten law]

When adding more water, what is the best way? I already cleaned out and designated a 5 gallon bucket for it. I have an extra 50 watt heater, but what is the best way to mix the salt? Would putting that little filter in there as the temperature gets good be good enough? At first it just seemed like the salinity was too low for the amount of salt I was adding, like I couldn't get it to dissolve. I think heating it would help too actually. Does this sound all good?

 

[Lotus]

It's a good idea to have good circulation in your water bucket. It gets the salt mixed well. A cheap powerhead or pump will work.

The heater is necessary if your room temp is lower than your tank temp, although a pump or filter may warm the water enough in a 5g bucket. Don't forget that temperature can affect your salinity reading.

 

[unwritten law]

Thanks for the suggestions lotus. My room is is usually pretty cool, cooler than the rest of the house (I put the tank here to try and prevent too much evaporation). I'll probably use that filter since its basically just a pump or maybe an extra pump I have sitting around and for now use the extra heater just in case.

I am figuring it out fast that temperature does have a big affect on salinity and I should have realized this being a chem major. With the temperature, the salinity is now at about 1.023 @76 degrees Fahrenheit so it seems that is pretty stable. I'm not sure if that had an effect on my pH cause i'm not sure if salinity would effect it or not but maybe.

One issue I have come across is that my alkalinity seems on the low side. Can someone tell me what affect this will have and or how I can fix it, if needed.

 

[Lotus]

If that's one of those internal filters, then yes, you could use it in your saltwater make-up bucket (without the sponge). Really, anything that pumps the water is fine.

Some pumps put off more heat than others, so you'll really just have to see how it goes with the water temperature in the bucket.

It's so hot here that I only use a heater in the bucket for a month or two of the year. I forget that it's not always that warm in people's houses.

 

[unwritten law]

It actually might be warm enough with out the thermometer ill just have to test it out next time.... I probably will need to borrow a thermometer from one of my other tanks though.

 

[unwritten law]

2 more gallons of water... Ill add the rest after rock. Now I need to wait for power heads before rock even though they haven't been shipped yet (lame). Luckily my light is currently being shipped, too bad I don't need it for a few weeks and need the power heads now.

cleared up a bit, and mixing it with the pump and thermometer was much more effective with this last two gallons.

 

[unwritten law]

I'm not ordering from aquarium plants again.... they said the power heads were in stock but I guess not cause they haven't shipped them out yet cause they don't have them yet....and then the lady gave me an attitude since I was wondering why it hasn't been shipped yet....

I have an extra canister filter 180gph + small intermal filter 90gph + air pump...is that enough flow to start cycling some rock before I get the power heads... I'm tired of seeing an empty tank of water... I'd run the filters empty.

 

[Lotus]

I think those filters will be fine for temporary flow.

I only order from a few sites these days, usually the ones that send stuff out super fast or are only a state or two away. Because I'm only about 100 miles from Marine Depot, I can often get stuff the next day (ground shipping). They always send things out quickly. Foster & Smith is pretty good, too. I'm impatient, I want my stuff NOW!

 

[unwritten law]

Dr. F&S are good....

I went to the lfs and they only had ugly base rock right now.... so I gotta wait anyways...LAME.. I did talk to the guy there about a lot of stuff though, it was another kid working it cause the main guy is on vacation. I learn a bout some options, and was wondering if any of you guys used vinyl as a BG on your tank?... I think it would go on the inside and look a lot better than plastic on the outside...

 

[unwritten law]

So I'm out of town but my buddy picked up my delivered light... Aparrantly they sent a 24" 2*65W 50/50 instead of the 20" 96W 50/50.... The mounting legs should still work, it'll just over hang a bit. I am considering keeping it since I am getting a free upgrade I guess.

Any comments on this? I would have plenty of time to return it since I havent started cycling till this week. Does anyone think the extra light / heat will cause algae or temperature problems?

 

[Lotus]

It should be OK. One good thing about the 65w configuration is that the bulbs are a lot cheaper/easier to find than those quad 96w lights.

I guess you'll have to see if you hate the overhang on it or not.

 

[unwritten law]

It'll over hang 2" on each side but if you take into account the ballast on each side the ligfhts might fit over almost perfectly. Some pet store guy says I should've gotten T-5HO's cause of the heat on PCs but o well. He's one of the good guys who just likes to give advice and not force me to buy stuff. Actaully a Petco guy suggested I buy my rock online instead of locally. I wasn't gonna buy it there, just looking around at prices on a CUC.

I do have an extra 65W 50/50. It came with my 46Gallon FW fixture and I was too stupid when I bought it. The new one is actually just a 10K and an all Actinic but when I replace it I'll have one 50/50 so Ill just buy another 50/50 instead of two new bulbs.


Still no shipping confirmation for my powerheads. When i called to inquire about it they sounded like they lost the order and didnt give me a estimated time that they will even get them in, although they said they ordered them on tuesday (16th). Again... I probably wont be buying from there again.

 

[unwritten law]

Okay so since my LFS doesn't currently have rock I wanted to try and pick some up while I was back home (Maryland) just before I come back to school (West Virginia). Unfortunately they closed at 5pm and I didn't leave till 6:30 cause I was preoccupied playing Rock Band. So I ordered some from liveaquaria.com.

I have heard good things about it and its a lot cheaper per pound than locally. LFS has it at 7.99/lb, liveaquaria was 6.56/lb (shipped). It probably is cheaper if you order more but I just got the nano pack, which is 16 lbs. So if I got it at the LFS I would've paid $30.50 more for the same amount and would have to wait for it to come in, most likely another week.

I ordered it overnight delivery, which was like $5 more than 2 day to help with less die off. They will ship Tuesday and I should get it Wednesday. which is awesome. I have ordered from Dr. F&S and been very pleased so I hope to get the same amount of service from here. I probably wont order any other type of live stuff from here but it seems smart for this.


Still nothing from aquariumplants.com on my power heads.... I'll call again Monday or Tuesday and ask, since I ordered them a week ago. They were half price compared to my LFS but I guess I'm paying for it with my patience... Good thing I dont necessarily need them right now.

 

[Lotus]

Good to hear the rock is on its way. I bought a few corals from LiveAquaria, and was happy with the service.

 

[unwritten law]

Yup, I haven't heard anything bad about them before, and all their information and feedback seems really reliable. I'm gonna pick up my light tomorrow from my friend once he gets off of work... so 6 or so and see if I can deal with the unintended light. Hopefully he hasn't decided to keep it for himself.