Thinking of a Perc Nano

[caffeinefiend]

or you could not harm the fish and cycle with the dead shrimp or the LR...as far as how much, trying to run a 10g nano system without at least 8# of LR is going to cause you headaches

Do you mean just in the cycling process, or later too? If I cycle with, say, the shrimp...could I do that, and not use as many live rocks? Or would that just mess things up in the long run?

 

[caffeinefiend]

CYCLING : Well, what size of this "one piece" rock are you planning opn getting. I think any amount will be sufficient. I would just get a few small pieces.

I didn't know what size, yet, but my thoughts were along the lines of something like: if I get a pound or two of live rock, would that be enough for the tank? I'd have thought the bacteria and stuff would spread around to others...that's what bacteria seem to enjoy doing

btw, clownfish are a damsel, so if you wanted clownfish, and we aleready gonna cycle with a damsel, you might as well just get the clowns. All my cycle fish lived in a brand new tank, dont see why yours wouldnt.

So, you mean not getting any LR, and just throwing a clown right in? That seems rough....at least it would seem better to use a damsel first, just because they cost less and I would be throwing a bunch of money out the window right off the bat if something is wrong.

 

[something]

Conventional filters aren’t that useful in a SW tank from what ive learned, most of the filtration will come from the LR you should buy. I really wouldn’t recommend skipping on the LR if your just starting out in SW. Best thing to remember is that most of what you learned about FW doesn’t apply to SW (ie no real "plants" in a SW system, you have photosynthetic bacteria, algae, and corals, but no plants so to speak).

If you're on a tight budget, try buying ~5lbs of LR and buying 10-15lbs of the (cheaper) base rock, with time the LR will seed the Base rock. The shrimp just supplies the tank with a source of ammonia for the bacteria to grow on (and you avoid hurting fish), LR speeds that process up by supplying the tank with an established colony of bacteria. I would avoid using fish to cycle, its not that much faster and you hurt the fish in the process.

 

[1979camaro]

well, i think 20# of rock is too much in a ten gallon, but i suppose it depends on the density of the rock.

I implore you to use all live rock, especially on a tank this size...it may cost you $70 or so to get all the rock, but that will be almost all of the expenses for setup (other items you will need is a salt mix and a hydrometer). Besides, the LR will kick off the cycle in your tank if it is uncured, and if it is cured you will not have a cycle at all...I understand that you are on a budget, I think we all are, but waiting another month or so and saving up some money to buy the proper stuff is in your best interest. Doing SW on the cheap is hard, not impossible, but hard...and starting off without LR is a step down the wrong path IMO

you can use your aquaclear for waterflow but run it without the filter media