Basics for a Nano?

[jenni1979]

I am just wondering what are the basic things needed for a nano? I want lots of coral, maybe one fish, but I can do without the fish. I have a 10 gallon tank with a light hood that has 2 25watt incandescent light bulbs, which I know I will have to upgrade. I also have a Skilter that I might add on. I also have a Tetra filter and a small power head. I am going to take some water from my 55 gallon that has been set up for about six months now. I am going tomorrow to get some cured live rock from the LFS and I may just buy that play sand that you can buy at a hardware store. I have heard good things about that sand. Okay, so is there anything else that I may need, or do you have any suggestions for me on what I have setup right now?

 

[marvida]

It sounds like you've got the basics. You will need to do something with your lights. 2X32 PC's fit a ten & will be enough for softies & some LPS. The Skilter is what I started with & if you do some retrofitting it will get you by for a time. I am going to skip the "nanos are tough" speech, just take your time & be patient. The fact that you only want one small fish will help you.
Good Luck!
Ken

 

[bdhough]

Well. If you have a glass top setup you can buy the new coralife power quad 96 watt lamp. Its about 80-90 dollars delivered to your door. With that you can do just about anything you want. If you want something a bit cheaper i know coralife also makes screw in pc bulbs. They are 10 watt 50/50's. That should be enough to do some easy corals. As far as filtration goes a good wet dry filter will take care of your filtration. Here is my 12 gallon. Just an eclipse filter. The water is about as crystal as it gets. The kenya tree in the middle on the bottom is now 10 inches tall and the brain is twice bigger than that. The picture was taken in May and i've since moved some of the corals to my 20 i set up but you get the idea.

 

[jenni1979]

Thanks. Nice tank! I am doing some research on it right now. I may try to keep some maxima clams too, so I may need maximum lighting. Haven't decided just yet, but I think the is the main thing I need to focus on is lighting.

 

[jenni1979]

Any idea where I can get those lights for under $100?

 

[bdhough]

Which lights? The halides? Well i dunno. I can tell you, that you can keep clams under pc's, BUT the kind that will work will eventually be as big as your tank. Aside from that power quad light i was talking about i don't know of anything better for a 10 other than a halide pendant but those run 2-3 hundred or more. I personally would look into the power quad. My tank in that picture is just 2 15 watt flourescents. Under my 130 watt pc's in my 20 i have some healthy sps's mushrooms, a xenia, and frogspawn. Again it depends on the sps and the water conditions and alot of other factors that differ for everyone. I'm fortunate enough to know guys who grow a multitude of different corals(mainly sps) and are willing to frag them and sell them. They could also arrange for me to get baby clams 2-3inch for about 20 dollars. I would recommend in your research you get to know the coral guy at your local LFS. Also get your hands on coral books and read. I have two different ones that are great references.

 

[jenni1979]

Oh, I was talking about where can i find the pc quad lights for under $100. I have been looking and the cheapest I see them is like $125.

 

[bdhough]

Dang. Just checked the site where i was thinking and they are up to 97 dollars plus shipping now. They used to be 75 dollars plus shipping. That was all summer. I guess they jacked the price up. Keep your eye out on ----. If you are doing a 10 then you need to look for a 20 inch fixture.

 

[jenni1979]

Okay. Thanks guys. I saw a good deal on ----. I may check that out.

 

[cprdnick]

Hey bdhough, when you said "as far as filtration goes a good wet dry filter will take care of your filtration". Were you talking about a hang on or a sump wet dry? Is it a no-no to use a trickle wet dry on a 20 gal?

 

[bdhough]

In a small nano you don't need to have a skimmer to clean your tank with. I can attest to that because i've had a 12 gallon eclipse nano and my water is crystal with just the filter that comes with it. Live rock is your main filtration in a saltwater tank. If you want to run carbon in yoru tank every now and again it wont hurt but its not necessary. A sponge somewhere in the water flow will also help to collect larger debree that gets sucked up. At the same time the trick with a nano is to get it to be stable. Its is subject to rapid changes if you don't know what you are doing. Another key is water changes. I have found they aren't entirely necessary but if you wish to keep corals they are. If you are not a big fan of water changes then doseings can take care of things. But there again is the potential to really screw things up by over doing it.