Getting interested

[tippmann03]

Seeing all of these great looking tanks makes me want to set one up. Going on the basis that i know little about a nano tank, if i was to set up a 10 gallon at some future point, what would i need to purchase, roughly how much is it going to cost, and what am I going to be able to put in it?

 

[cprdnick]

First, you would need the tank. duh j/k.
At walmart you can get a 10 Gal starter kit for like 35 bucks.
It comes with a heater, HOB filter, 15 watt NO lighting, and the hood.
That what I have as a sitter (its been sitting with one damsel and a snail in it for 3 months) right now. Eventually it will become another nano reef. It works great at the moment, it's quiet, with the help of an extra PH it's got great flow. I have a CC substrate which is going to change to LS someday soon, and a small plenum, that is gonna take a hike I think.
I don't have a protein skimmer, but would certainly recommend one on a 10 gallon, just for safety sake.
Another road to turn down would be to buy just the tank and start with your own DIY puzzle on the equiptment.
Walmart sells just a 10 gallon glass for around 9 bucks. This way you can do whatever you want when it comes to flow, heating, and lighting without having to execute some perfectly good equiptment to make room for your preferred equipment.

 

[tippmann03]

I'd rather pick and choose parts then get a kit, but i need some help on what to get. I'll get a 10 gal glass tank, and a 50 W Ebo Jager Heater, As far as the hood goes...could i get something like an eclipse hood? or would this not provide enough lighting? is a protein skimmer necessary? what is a decent about of LR, like 20 lbs? would i need a power head? And how much live sand, 2-3 inches?

 

[black99l]

I have had a 10 gallon running for some time now. what i did was bought a little filter (LR will do most of the filtering), i put a 20 lb bag of LS in, purchased about 25 - 30 lbs of LR. purchased the lights (96 watt power quad retro kit), threw a clown in and some mushrooms, put a small power head in, then started to stock the tank. I would definatly suggest a skimmer, i purchased a small blue moon bulb as well. then get a clean up crew, i perfer the scarlets, snails, and cucumber.

 

[overanalyzer]

I would build your own hood instead of a eclipse system - allows more lighting opportunities ....
You might also think about a 20 long or 20 tall instead of a 10 - a little more forgiving than a 10 and might be easier to start with.
I use the tetra tec HOB filter to run carbon and to put my heater in ... I like it for the built in heater and the minisurge it can create.
I would also get two small powerheads - one blowing across the bakc and one providing an alternating current to the HOB filter.
Skimmer - debateable. Makes the tank more stable .... thinking when I upgrade to a slightly larger/different tank I will get a CPR bak-pak.....
No one mentioned this - but you need to get a test kit and make sure you know how to use it!

 

[tippmann03]

i dont have a large area to place the tank so 10 gal is optimal. if i got a tetra tec HOB filter, would i still need to get a powerhead?
Ok so here is the run down so far then....
10 gal glass tank
1 Tetra Tec Hand On Back power filter (heater built in)
1 Micro-jet powerhead by maxi-jet
lighting:would something like the 20" Coralife Aqualight 96W work?
20 lbs live sand
25 lbs live rock
what is the most compact skimmer that i would be able to use for this?
I am all set with Test kits

 

[overanalyzer]

Sounds good with what you got ... would hold off on teh skimemr for a while - if you keep the bioload light you could get away without one initially

 

[tippmann03]

is 96 W enough lighting? what kind of lights should i use in it

 

[black99l]

the 96 watt bulbs are fine for a 10g, that is what i use. i was told that i could have any type of coral i choose and i shouldn't need to worry about it getting enough light.