need help starting my nano

[niloc16]

i'm currently running a 55g tank and i'm a rookie i guess since i've only been in sw for 7 months but i study constantly. i need your guys advice for a 10g nano i want to start. i have bought a 50/50 96w corallife pc for the tank, the tank came with a penguin mini filter and heater but i have a few questions. is skimmer necessary? what fish are really happy in a 10g. i dont want them to just survive, but do well. i'm going to get about 10 - 15 lbs of live rock depending on space. i'm really picky with my live rock. crushed coral about 15 lbs. for corals i'm thinking mushrooms, zoanthids, i would really like a brain but still unsure if the lighting is sufficient. maybe a frogspawn, hammer or torch. any advice would be really appreciated. i do weekly water changes now on my 55g so from what i've studied, i'm thinking i dont need a skimmer on the nano if i keep up with the changes. oh, another question, amount of flow needed? i thought maxijet 400 maybe 2. do i need the pengiun or should i remove it? thanks for any help

[i have crabs]

in a 10g if you want the water to stay good enough for the corals limit yourself to mabey 2 small fish,and instead of a powerhead why not get 2 filters to provide flow if you only keep 1 get a mj600 not the 400 i had 2 400's in my old 20g and i felt ripped off for my 60bucks,as far as the skimmer goes if you keeping corals i would get a prysm pro skimmer mabey a used one if possible just because the surface skimmer will keep the top of the water from getting that oily film wich can be a big pain/problem in a small tank.

[TheReefGeek]

I would setup a 5 or 10g sump with a small skimmer on it. The tank will really benefit from the additional water volume, and you can keep all your filters and heater hidden which in a small tank is really nice. Or depending on your tank locations, hook the 10g and 55g together with a common sump.

In a 10g with a sump I would do:

Clownfish x 2
Green or yellow clown goby
Cleaner shrimp
Snails
Couple hermits

Under 96w lights I would keep:

Feather duster
Toadstool
Xenia
Kenya tree
Zoos
Star Polyps
Mushrooms
Colt

If all goes well in a few months could try high up in the tank:
Frogspawn
Hammer
Torch
Plate
Candy cane

[niloc16]

thanks alot. i have a prizm that i just took off the 55g but i was given the sales pitch on it when i first started, and because i didnt do enough research on it. so i upgraded it to a remora aqua c. i was thinkin of using the prizm on the 10g but i didnt know if it was necessary. my plan was to get a coule percula's but i wanted some input first. now with the maxijet 600 should i get an adapter to go that rotates for wave motion or is directing it off the glass sufficient.

[TheReefGeek]

I would use 2 powerheads, and direct them upwards and towards each other. This will give more random flow, and break the surface tension of the water for you.

You can always put the prizm on if you need it. You can run it occasionally as well, because it is a bit unsightly.

[niloc16]

the prizm does look pretty bad on the back. thats a good idea for the orientation of the powerheads. currently i use maxijets on my 55g, would seio's be better in the nano or stick with some more maxijets. i find the maxijets quiet so im concerned about switching.

[TheReefGeek]

Seio's take up more room, so in a nano that should be a concern too.

I don't know about the noise factor for Seio's.

[dufferdan]

I agree with ReefGeek on on maxijets placement. I would use the skimmer, unless you plan on weekly water changes. (I would still use it regardless) I'm a big proponent of skimming, can't skim enough.
Cheers
Dan

[niloc16]

well i'll stick with my original plan of maxijets then. 2 X 600 model i think should do well. the penguin filter also puts off a nice current. hows the packing going dufferdan? i'm dying to set up the nano with the 96w but i gotta get some live rock first. tryin to convince the wife to go tonight. we'll see i guess

[niloc16]

i'm going with a pair of perulas, but if i was to add a firefish in the mix, is the tank large enough? for the 3

[niloc16]

i finally got it running, i went to hidden reef and got about 10lbs of some really good live rock, #2 grade crush coral and put about 5 lbs along the front and left behind the rock bare for better circulation, 2 maxijet 600 opposite each other and fired up the light. i just took some pics tonight i'll try and post tomorrow. this might sound like a dumb question, but with fully cured live rock is there still a cycle time on the tank. my 55 i didnt use live rock to cycle, so i'm not sure how long it takes. i've heard from some people that with fully cured live rock, once the water clears they add fish. my plan was to test in couple days and see whats up the ammonia and nitrites but just curious on your experience.

[Pan]

for cycling a tank uncured is usually preferred but either way it can take 2-6 weeks for your tank to properly cycle. Mine took 5 weeks the first time....

[i have crabs]

change some filterfloss and mabey a scoop of sand from your 55g tank if possible to seed the bacteria and get things going quicker,thier will still be a cycle period but you could mabey start adding a small clean up crew like some hermits or mabey some snails after a few days or a week.

[Matt]

I think you'll like the intimacy of the nano. I love the look of firefish, but I"ve lost two to jumping (one through an absurdly small opening). If you keep them, make sure you've got the top very secure.

I have that same light over my 10g. I've successfully kept torch, colt, mushrooms, zoos (not really robust growth though), halimeda, anthelia, and several other corals that don't come to mind. All of these corals have also been fragged and migrated to my larger tank and they ALL did better and grew faster under the MH on that system.

As for skimming, I've dabbled with it on that tank, but the aesthetics suck, and ultimately we just do water changes. I have a small HOB filter and a MJ600 in there for flow.

Good luck. I love my nano!
Matthew

[niloc16]

i figured it would still take time to cycle, that's why i wanted to double check with you guys, because when i heard that within a week i could add fish i was kind of weary. i've heard alot of people adding cleanup crew after a week but anyway, thanks for the input guys. the tank looks great today. the water is finally settled after adding the sand a day and half ago. i'm really happy with the aquascaping. at the store i actually had a piece of cardboard the size and was the laying rock out there to pick the right pieces. i wish i could figure out how to get pics on there and i would show you

[niloc16]

i think i figured it out. here is a full tank shot last night, no livestock yet just the aquascaping finished. what do you think?

[dufferdan]

Hey, That's looking good Niloc16! Nice Rock Scaping.

[TheReefGeek]

I think you need a couple larger pieces in there, and I always like the look of arches/caves, they provide shade for lower light corals, and a spot for fish to hang out.

[niloc16]

thanks for the suggestion, i was thinking i needed another piece for the upper rh corner of the tank. its been 3 days now and i checked amm and nitrite and they are both zero, i mean there wasnt a trace of either, can it be cycled already

[TheReefGeek]

Did you use live rock from an established tank?

If you did then you wont get a cycle.

If not, was there much stuff that died off to create some ammonia for you?

What I would do in either situation is throw in a small chunk of shrimp into the tank and let it rot, creating ammonia. If you tank is cycled, then it will break down the ammonia without a spike. If it is not cycled, then this will kick off cycling the tank. Either way you know what is happening.

[niloc16]

the live rock i bought came from hidden reef out of their tanks, they had been in the tanks for about 2- 3 weeks. there is some die off on the rocks that have fallen onto the substrate.

[niloc16]

last night i bought 5 turbo snails and 2 perc's for the nano. they perc's are doing really well and the turbo's, man do they move. i dont have any in my 55gal, i was amazed watching the in the 10g. i still want to get nassarius snails for both tanks, i gotta make a trip to j&L next week and pick some up.