live stock for a 10g

[liverock27]

I have just setup and about to start cycling, so this is information for me for about 6-8 weeks from now, but I have setup a 10g tank with a 20L sump/refugium(refugium is about 3/4th of the 20L. I have a 20" 96w powerquad lighting system/legs, so no top(atleast for now). I am turning the water over about 10-12times an hour. I also have a small maxijet powerhead. I have about 20lbs of LS and about 16lbs of LR in the 10g tank. In the refugium I have a 2" LS bed and some base rock along with my heater. I am interested in coral, after the tank has been around for a few months, and was wondering what kinds people recommended for my setup. Also any advice on my setup would be helpful. I have taken the blueprints for one of BangGuy's DIY autotop offs and I am trying to scale it down to my requirements and to also fit in a storage closet next to my tank. I wish I had a way to put a pic of my tank on here, but I will try for a later date. Thanks in advance for any help (good or bad) given.

 

[marvida]

It sounds like a real nice set up.
As far as corals I think softies, LPS. Maybe some monti's if you want some.

 

[liverock27]

Thanks, those were a few of the corals I have been researching.

 

[overanalyzer]

Yeah most softies and several types of LPS would look good.
as for an autotop off I took a rubbermaid container of the appropriate size. Drilled a hole fo some airline tubing and then siliconed the tubing in place. Not very scientific but I regulated the flow by tieing a knot in the air tube and letting it drip in slowly to the tank .....
Cheap, effective and I got to use the knot tying section of my boy scout handbook (not really) ....

 

[liverock27]

Thanks, i was looking at using a system like that, but with a valve at the end, but the knot woult work great too

 

[dskidmore]

Autotopoff:
I saw someone had a DIY auto topoff. It was just a 2 gallon bottle, inverted, with a long tube taped into the cap and sealed. The bottom of the tube rested at the water line. Vaccum holds the water in until evaporation exposed the end of the tube, air went in, water came out. After the water rises above the tube opening, the vaccum kicks in again stopping the flow.

 

[overanalyzer]

Originally posted by DSkidmore
Autotopoff:
I saw someone had a DIY auto topoff. It was just a 2 gallon bottle, inverted, with a long tube taped into the cap and sealed. The bottom of the tube rested at the water line. Vaccum holds the water in until evaporation exposed the end of the tube, air went in, water came out. After the water rises above the tube opening, the vaccum kicks in again stopping the flow.
Hmmm not sure I would trust the vacuum to be strong enough to stop the water flow .... how big a piece of tubing??

 

[liverock27]

I found an aunto top off that BangGuy posted, that uses a 5 gallon bucket that has an inverted office water cooler that's opening is resting in a larger PVC pipe that has a notch cut out(so the water and bubbles can escape) sitting in it. Then you fill the water in the bucket to match the level of the water in the sump. Then you take airtubing and attach it in the bucket and then run it to the refugium and start a syphon. When the water level in refugium drops the water in the water cooler will make up the loss.