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My 10 G Nano

8K views 40 replies 6 participants last post by  Highland lake13 
#1 ·
Well today I finally found the time to download all the pics to the computer and start the thread. This is a 15 G long. I set up the tank during my winter break about 3-4 weeks ago. I added a little bit of live rock (one little piece) from my 12 G, after about 2 weeks diatom algea started showing up. 3rd week the copepods really started showing up. I let everything sit and cycle until today when i picked up about 16 pounds of LR.

Stocking plans:
CUC: 2 Astraea Snails, 2 Margarita Snails, 2 Cerith Snails
3 Scarlet Hermit Crabs, 3 Dwarf Blue Leg Hermit Crab
Other Inverts:
1 Pistol Shrimp
1 Skunk Cleaner Shrimp
Fish Possibilities:
2 Tank-Bred Ocellaris Clownfish
1 Diamond Watchmen Goby
1 Yellow Clown Goby
1-2 Firefish
1-2 Purple Fish

Here are the pics, not a great camera
 

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#3 ·
Neat rock work. I like it.
I would go with the two clowns and one of the others. I dont mess with gobies too much and have never had a firefish. Three fish is the most I would do long term as the clowns will get some size to them(relatively speaking). Whats a puprle fish? Or do you mean a purple fish? Royal gramma, blackcap basslet?
 
#4 ·
I meant to say purple firefish. I do like royal grammas but already have one in my other nano so I would prefer to try something different. Right now I am leaning towards a pair of clowns and a diamond goby. Obviously not right now. This weekend I will probably go to the LFS to pick up a CUC since the algae is starting to have its first big bloom.

I am not super happy with my LFS’s live rock selection. They hundreds of pieces to choose from but there was really only one rock of the size I was looking for with decent amount of coralline growth on it. Most of the pieces look like they were bleached and then put in their big holder where they keep the LR. I made try and get a pound or two from another store, we’ll see.

I will, also, rework to rock structure this weekend so that there is less rock touching the sand

Pics with the tank clearer:
 

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#6 ·
Is the purple/blueish thing on the LR a barnacle? if so what can i do to keep it alive because it a beautiful color.

Does anyone have any comments/suggestions/recomendations for the CUC
This is just a rough draft
2 Astraea Snails, 2 Margarita Snails, 2 Cerith Snails
3 Scarlet Hermit Crabs, 3 Dwarf Blue Leg Hermit Crab
Other Inverts:
1 Pistol Shrimp
1 Skunk Cleaner Shrimp
 
#8 ·
There is no artificial coral decoration in the tank, so i think you are talking about a piece of LR? You are the expert, but i do know there are no decorations in the tank just LR. But do you have any idea what that blue thing is?... it is very hard and just feels like part of the rock, if that helps
 
#9 ·
Soooo I just realized i wrote 15 G nano on the title when it is actually a 10, sorry for the inconvenience if anyone has the opportunity to change that it would be much appreciated.

That being said that next project for this tank is the lighting system. I am currently just running the lights that came with the tank. They are 15 Watts which I know is way too low for a successful salt water tank. I was wondering if anyone has any suggestions for a good lighting system that I can take . The tank dimensions are 20" long x 10" wide x 12" high. Any help will help

Will add pictures after I get my CUC
 
#10 ·
Soooo I just realized i wrote 15 G nano on the title when it is actually a 10, sorry for the inconvenience if anyone has the opportunity to change that it would be much appreciated.
Title change as requested.

I'm starring at that rock and I still can't tell if it is a barnacle. You may have just purchased a piece of barnacle rock, covered with growth. Either way, it is a cool looking piece.
 
#11 ·
Thank you for the change!

Now I see what your talking about, it is a piece of LR that appears was covered in barnicles. That piece is also the only one that has a decent amount of coralline growth of on it.

That aside does anyone have any ideas on the lighting?

Picking up second half of the clean-up crew today. Pics later
 
#14 ·
Time for an update:

During the weekend I purchased a CUC and with the help of the owner of my new favorite LFS and I changed it from the original plan. So the CUC includes 3 Margarita Snails, 3 Red tip hermits, and 3 yellow tip hermits. I rearranged the rocks and still don’t like it. I think I am going to buy a big piece of LR and move some of the other pieces into a tank my brother brought home (will be starting a new thread to tackle that big issue). Now that everything is in check and the Params have been level for a week or so is it ok to add a goby/shrimp pair into the tank next weekend? There is a Talbot’s Damselfish in the tank (from the other tank) but that is just until the weekend when I can turn it in for store credit. :lol:
Parameters
Temp: 79oF
pH: 8.2
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0.
Nitrate: 0-5
Calcium: 380
I don’t have a test for phosphate yet, I meant to get one this weekend but had a brain fart and forgot.

Wake, I love the Coralife Aqualight Quad Dual PC 1x96w and I know the Petco :evil: down the road has 2 of those exact fixtures for $79. So I will try and get one ASAP.

New Stocking plans (since I was given a new nano as mentioned above, new thread coming)

CUC: 3 Margarita Snails
3 Red tip hermits
3 yellow tip hermits

Other Inverts:
Pistol Shrimp
Skunk cleaner shrimp

Fish:
Yellow Watchmen Goby or Two Spot G or Orange Spotted G or Diamond Watchmen G or Catalina G
Pair of Firefish???

New tank set up
 

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#15 ·
You have a Asterina starfish that hitchhiked in on the back of that middle hermit crab in picture 2.

Catalina Gobies are coldwater. The other gobies or Firefish would be fine.

I see no reason for a phosphate test kit at this point. An alkalinity test kit is what you are missing and have an urgent need for. Alkalinity is necessary to correctly maintain the environment. Phosphate really doesn't tell you much, unless you are testing your source water.
 
#16 ·
Well that’s good I forgot to buy Phosphate kit then, i will instead buy the alkalinity test kit.
Alright than the Catalina Goby is out.

What should I add first the goby/pistol pair or the firefish?

If I wanted could I keep a pair of Firefish? Would they fight or cause stress for each other?

A YWG or any of the other gobies from the list above pair up with a pistol shrimp, right?

What's the deal with the Asterina starfish good, bad, beneficial, etc.?

Thanks for all the help so far everyone especially Pasfur and Wake!!!
 
#17 · (Edited)
Well this weekend wasn't as productive as I wanted but I did get some stuff done. I didn't get the lights because I forgot to go to the bank to get some more $$$. After about 20 min trying to catch the talbot's damsel fish i got and was able to return it. So i went up to the LFS and started browsing. I asked the owner what there selection was for goby pistol shrimp pairs. He started pointing to a few gobies, the cheapest was $45 and the pistol shrimp were $35 each :shock:. While I am willing to spend money on nice looking fish that are active, $80 seems a little much for a fish and a shrimp not amazing pretty and something that often isn't out. So I passed on them for now, and instead I got a yellow clown goby which I had seen in one of the display tanks for a few weeks. That was only $5 with the credit I got from the talbot's damselfish. There is also another LFS right down the street from the other, it's much cheaper, but one of their sumps cracked a few weeks ago so they had to unload a bunch of their livestock. Now they are rebounding and starting to get some diversity with fish. So like normal I have a few questions:

1. Is $80-100 too much for a goby/pistol shrimp pair?
2. What corals can i keep with the Coralife Aqualight Quad Dual PC 1x96w?
3. Can a clown goby be kept with a different kind of goby/pistol pair?

The last pic is of a clam hitchhiker
 

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#20 ·
Idk on the goby/pistol pair. My LFS has offered me a pair for $60, that's new haven county, CT.

I think that with good water quality, you should be able to keep almost anything (based on the depth of the tank) under those lights. I think that you will need a really good skimmer if you plan on keeping SPS in this small of a tank.

I think that the clown goby might be too much of a bioload in addition to a shrimp, goby and corals in a 10 gallon tank. I would say that this size tank is good for one fish, a few inverts and some nice corals.

Well I have made the choice to add a refugium to the tank. A standard 2.5 G tank will fit perfectly into the space that i have available. I think i want to do just one big chamber with a 4"+ sand bed, LR rubble, and a ball of Chaeto. So I am wondering.....

1. What light should I get for the refugium?
2. Would it be better if there were more than one compartment?
3. What sand should I use for the DSB?

I also want to stop getting RO water 1-2 gallons at a time.

3. Can I put 10 G of RO water in an otherwise empty 10 G tank, all mixed with salt, with a heater, and an empty mechanical filter for current?
4. Or should I buy a big jug to hold water in?
Any standard 6500k bulb. I use a GE Compact Flourescent energy saver with the equivalent to a 40 watt bulb. It has a base that screws in (like an incandescent light) and I installed it in a clip light.

How do you plan on running the water through the refugium? You will need an overflow box if the tank is not drilled, and a return pump. If you are doing it this way, I would do three compartments: An inlet, a fuge and a return section.

I would use aragonite sand for the DSB.

I used to (before I bought my RO unit) use 5 gallon buckets and have the LFS fill them. I would bring home about 20 gallons a week.

Hope this helps
 
#19 ·
So these next few days are going to be huge. It seems like I have a bunch of things to do. Well I have made the choice to add a refugium to the tank. A standard 2.5 G tank will fit perfectly into the space that i have available. I think i want to do just one big chamber with a 4"+ sand bed, LR rubble, and a ball of Chaeto. So I am wondering.....

1. What light should I get for the refugium?
2. Would it be better if there were more than one compartment?
3. What sand should I use for the DSB?

I also want to stop getting RO water 1-2 gallons at a time.

3. Can I put 10 G of RO water in an otherwise empty 10 G tank, all mixed with salt, with a heater, and an empty mechanical filter for current?
4. Or should I buy a big jug to hold water in?

Any input will help and I thank you in advance.
 
#21 ·
Well long time since an update! First off thanks Pasfur for the PM and Wake for the help you have given me so far.

I want to clarify some things. One my goal with this tank is not primarily a Coral tank, instead I would like to keep fish/inverts and use a few pieces of coral for different colors and for icandy. I think my stocking plans in the near future include either a purple or regular firefish in addition to skunk shrimp. For corals I really think I want to keep it simple. I am ruling out SPS because of my lack of experience and the fact that my system won’t have the ability to support them. Instead in a perfect world I would want 1 candy cane LPS, some Zoas, and some mushrooms. Everything I have read/researched leads me to believe these would be ideal for a system like mine.

Now my lighting I had a big trip to my LFS’s to set up my Refugium. In the store, as a total impulse buy, I bought the ‘Power Glo, T8, 18000 K bulb’ just because it was $10. It says that it is ideal for Marine Aquariums and Coral. I don’t know how truthful this is and the employees at the store thought it would be fine for the corals I mentioned above. My gut tells me it will not be satisfactory but I thought I would run it by here first. The Coralife Aqualight Quad Dual PC 1x96w that I thought was at Petco was instead is the http://www.marineandreef.com/Aqualight_Compact_Fluorescent_1X28W_20_Coralife_p/res53000.html . Will these work with the corals mentioned above or do I need to think of another option. I really don’t mind doing DYI projects if it will save me money because that money can go into other important things and DYI projects are fun!

Well the goal of this past weekend was to set up a refugium, and I give myself a D overall on the success of this weekend. I bought a 5.5G tank which will work great, the same model power head as the other in the tank, Chaeto, rubble, and 20lbs of aragonite sand. At Home Depot I picked up a great bulbs and an even better clamp on lamp for $3 because it had a little dent in it. SO I forgot to get glass/acrylic dividers for the refugium. But I thought that wouldn’t matter so I hooked up the system and I Thought everything was great until I realized that I had forgot to get an overflow box and I just had a bunch of tubes running through my tank. And as I was wondering how I could get an overflow box I heard I little drip followed by water pouring over and out of the refugium. So now I know my power heads don’t output the same amount thus I will need to get ball valves to compensate for this. Right now I have everything in the refugium just running as its own system.

New Livestock:
I was starting to see some leftover food in the sand pretty consistently and my sand bed wasn’t really being aerated to my liking so I added a Nassarius Snail. I also wanted to see if there was anything wrong with my water for shrimp so I got a cheap little peppermint shrimp to do a test before I buy anything expensive. And as I was unpacking the Chaeto crawling around in it was a tiny little Emerald Crab. Its about the size of a thunb nail, he is really active openly cleaning the rocks so that was a cool find!

I have been using ‘Purple Up’ in this tank for a while and now I am starting to small traces of coralline everywhere. It also keeps both my Calcium and Alkalinity where they should be. I only use about half of what they recommend (because that is what my LFS owner told me to do). So if anyone is thinking about starting a Nano I recommend ‘Purple Up’

Things to buy this weekend include:
Firefish. Maybe some type of coral if you guys recommend it, and maybe a Scarlet Skunk Shrimp but I think he will be added in another couple of weeks.
Thanks everyone for all the help so far






 
#23 ·
The Coralife Aqualight Quad Dual PC 1x96w that I thought was at Petco was instead is the http://www.marineandreef.com/Aqualight_Compact_Fluorescent_1X28W_20_Coralife_p/res53000.html . Will these work with the corals mentioned above or do I need to think of another option. I really don’t mind doing DYI projects if it will save me money because that money can go into other important things and DYI projects are fun!
I think you need 2 of there compact florescent bulbs, as opposed to 1 bulb, which is what the unit above includes. But yes, compact florescents will work for what you describe.

I Thought everything was great until I realized that I had forgot to get an overflow box and I just had a bunch of tubes running through my tank. And as I was wondering how I could get an overflow box I heard I little drip followed by water pouring over and out of the refugium. So now I know my power heads don’t output the same amount thus I will need to get ball valves to compensate for this.
I might not be clear on what you are describing. Are you trying to use one power head to pump water out of the tank into the refugium and another back to the tank? You can't do this, even with a ball valve. The only method to maintain the water levels is with an overflow on the display and a power head in the return.
 
#26 · (Edited)
BAD NEWS!!! If you have been watching the news you will have seen that Massachusetts has been having huge windstorms that are knocking out power. Well I fell victim to one of the power outages. I lost power Thursday night at around 10:30pm and finally got power back today at around 9pm. And since its winter, the house dipped to around 50-55F in the rooms that didn’t have fireplaces. And since the fish tanks aren’t in a room with a fireplace there temperature started to dip. So every hour I would put really hot water in bags and soak them in the tanks. In the night I stretched that out to every 2.5 hours. This did for the most part keep the tanks from getting too cold. Unfortunately I did have a loss. My yellow clown goby couldn’t survive the temperature dip (around 60-65F for about 36 hours at that temp). I consider myself lucky because A) I have power now B)It is amazing that the tanks didn’t get colder 3) I only lost 1 fish

With bad news usually comes good news and with the death of the clown goby it means that I now have room for different fish. I still would like a firefish but does this mean that I could squeeze two firefish and another type of goby. This would probably be pushing it but with the addition of my refugium I think that my system will be able to handle that load in addition to a few corals.

My LFS also just got an order of http://www.marineandreef.com/Current_USA_Satellite_1X65W_24_inch_p/rcu01003.htm in I know that this is only a single fluorescent light and for $30 more I can get the http://www.marineandreef.com/Coralife_Aqualight_High_Output_T5_24_inch_p/res08600.htm which seems to be the best option. Both are 24” fixtures so I will have to either hang from the ceiling or build a stand type thing to support it.
Wake how much should I expect to pay for the overflow? Just so I don't pay too much.

Any suggestions on the lights or the new stocking options it would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Cam
 
#28 ·
I used the CPR90 on my 46 bow and I would say that if you have to worry about power outages, then this is the unit to get! It is self priming when the power comes back on as long as the water doesn't evaporate from the back (which would take a while).
 
#29 ·
While those seem like great overflows I just don't think that I can justify spending over $100 on an overflow for a nano tank. I have been calling around to some LFS and they do have some overflows but no one would give me a solid price. Also I think in my refugium I will be doing an algae screen, and I will be doing that this weekend.

For stocking currently I have
1 Nassarius Snail
3 Margarita Snails
2 yellow tipped hermit crabs
2 red tipped hermit crabs
1 Emerald Crab
1 Peppermint

I want to add
2 Firefish
1 Bi-color blenny or Watchmen goby or Clown goby
1 Scarlet Skunk Cleaner Shrimp

Please give me any advice on stocking list.
 
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