starting a nano tank,HELP!

[torrid_07]

hey guys i want to start a nano tank and i need some help from experience.
i want to eithor do a 5 or a 10g
heres what i want to do
1) tank eithor 5 or 10
2)koralia nano ph
3) heater (what size?)
4) light(any suggestions) i was thinking cfls or something. i dont think i want to do sps unless i can get a light for super cheapo
5) hob filter or no?
6) egg crate bottom topped with sand and LR
7)water and my black & white perc with maybe some colorfull softies

let me know if you have any tips or suggestions towards my setup here
any help would be great!
thanks, jeff

[ScubaSteve]

I'd say 10g or 15g. The 5's are hard to run stabily (they's pico territory)... I tried it. really easy to do water changes though.

A 50W heater would probably be fine for that size. 100W to be safe.

I'd steer away from CFLs as they tpically have low output and very low colour temp, thus limiting what you can keep and would likely promote algae... atleast in my experience.

HOB, yes.

Egg crate? Meh, only if you feel you need it. It's nice to put under some areas of LR so that critters don't dig under them and topple them but I don't think it's necessary to do the whole area or any of it for that matter.

Softies would be fine with PC lamps. A coralife PC unit would likely be fine. Wait for a lighting deal around here if you want a higher power set-up. I had a 150W halide over a 15g and it was sweet. Remember, colourful corals typically need high light inorder to maintain that colouring; so softie or not, you might want to go for a higher lighting option.

Just my 2 cents.

[Rbacchiega]

I'd change out the HOB filter for a moded aquaclear fuge if ya can. A tank that small with frequent water changes and a good ammount of biological filtration (live rock) should be fine without a filter. Also, I'd agree and say go 10 or 15...15s have the same footprint if I remember correctly, just a bit taller than a 10 gallon

[torrid_07]

hey, thanks for the great info, i was absolutely thinking of doing the fuge mod to a aquaclear for sure!
do you guys guys know of any good pc lighting deals around at all for a 10g?
ive been thinking of looking around and probably purchasing by friday this up coming week for everything i need. il probably head to j&l on friday, since theyve normally got the best deals
any other suggestions would be awesome
and thanks again!

[viperfish]

Don't forget a skimmer, one of these should do the trick http://www.jlaquatics.com/product/tz-ps9002/Tunze+Nano+DOC+Protein+Skimmer+-+9002.html, I saw one on Canreef for sale today in Airdrie for an excellent price.

[torrid_07]

yeah i have always believed in having a skimmer, but all the threads and websites i have read have been saying its not worth it to have a skimmer in such a small tank. any suggestions on that?

[Rbacchiega]

I've run tanks up to 33 gallons successfully without a skimmer. Key is good surface agitation and frequent water changes.

Is there a reason you're set on PC as opposed to T5s? if you're wanting to only keep softies and LPS etc, you could find a nice 2 bulb or even a 4 bulb for relatively cheap and be able to grow anything (because we all know you eventually will get SPS) And they don't produce as much heat as PC bulbs

[lorenz0]

You can keep ALOT under PC lighting

to further more UVL released these and I would look into them if your planning on running PC's

http://www.nanotuners.com/index.php?cPath=76&osCsid=sukt9166dg7uqi0noit5kqpl10

They have only been released recently and I almost bought them before finally deciding on going with a viper MH cause of the price.

I have kept acans, hammer, torch, birdsnest sps, mushrooms (floridas, yumas, and other ricordias), zoa's.... basically your harder sps is what you will be limited from, esspecially in a 10gal.

Just run a fuge, chemi-pure and keep up with waterchanges and your set. also run a good salt, H2Ocean sells small buckets. I would reccomend this aswell

[torrid_07]

yeah im not 100% set on a light specifically. i just dont want to spend rediculous amounts of money on this little of a system. if i can go t5 or even a diy hqi i will but it all depends on money, see what i can sneak around my wifes eyes!
if you guys know of any sweet deals kickin around let me know

[lorenz0]

try to get your hands on a jbj viper. best bang your your buck for a light. you can get them used for about $150

[torrid_07]

yeah i was thining about that but what if i were to do something like this??
any thoughts on this?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yHvYnBEtcB0

[Arok3000]

I run the Fishneedit 70 watt over my 5 gallon.
Great value and has worked well for me so far. I got the 20k bulb, and once it breaks in, it really looks closer to a 14k. Otherwise not a single complaint about it.

[torrid_07]

do these fishneedit lights have built in fans at all for cooling?

[Arok3000]

No fans.
They run an external ballast. The fixture itself stays quite cool actually.

[torrid_07]

yeah that doesnt seem bad, would that be enough light over a 10g though? 70w mh
do you run any other lighting over your 5g? leds or anything for night?

[Arok3000]

No, I only run the one light.
If you're looking for a 70 watt, I suggested it over a DIY 70 watt pendant as the DIY will probably even end up costing more.
The 150 watt might be better for a 10 or 15 gallon. Plus then you can hang it higher to avoid any large temp swings in that small of a tank.

[torrid_07]

hey what size aquaclear should i use for my fuge on my 10g tank?

[gobytron]

you planning on picking up the sunpod still?
It has cooling fans and leds for sunrise/sunset...

Looks really nice to and the mounting legs are even included.

Let me know about tonight please.

[BlueWorldAquatic]

hey what size aquaclear should i use for my fuge on my 10g tank?

Should not need much more than an AC20. I run my 10 gal nano for 4 years now, with much issues with that and a Hydor Nano.

You can also choose the Marineland LED's for lighting, on my 10gal (12" deep), the par reading was just under 1000.

Ken

[sphelps]

I'd consider running a fair sized canister filter with adjustable flow. This way you'll get some added volume, better filtration and eliminate the need for the powerhead which IMO always look silly in small tanks. The canister will also allow for easier water changes, just change the water in the canister when you change your filter media. You can also mod the canister to include the heater to keep things cleaner.

100W of heat for sure since small tanks loose heat faster.

I'd skip the skimmer, nano's should have frequent water changes to keep parameters stable so a skimmer wouldn't be of much use.

Use lots of bio-media, either rock or something else, the same rules do not apply as in large tanks. You don't have to worry about high nitrates as you're only dealing with 10 gallons of water.

For lighting LEDs would be good for a nano, you can get a pretty good kit for around $120 which would be adequate for a 10gal with softies and most LPS.