New 10 gal Nano tank

[dudah]

I have just recently (2 days ago!) set up my tank (see specs in my signature below). I have several questions:
1) Since I have added mostly live sand, cured live rock, and sea water how long will it take my tank to cycle? Will it even cycle?
2) What can I expect to see while it cycles (assuming it does)? Will it just be a scaled down version of a "full-cycle"?
3) Does anyone have any experience with a 10 gal tank not having a protein skimmer? I am trying to start a reef tank and to go with as simple a setup as possible. Any suggestions would be helpful!
Thanks!
Dudah

 

[michelle13]

I have a ten gal and when I set it up it went through a cycle. It took it about 4 - 5 weeks to finish. I only have 5 lbs of live rock (adding more later) and a DSB, so yours might not cycle like mine. Why don't you want to run a skimmer? I would think you would need one in a tank this small?? Correct me if I'm wrong!

 

[foxface402]

I got a 20 gal and it's running on a fluval 304 and 20lb lr. the lr is enought to take care of the tank with a good filter.

 

[foxface402]

Oh yeah when I set up my 20 it didn't cycle. secret I took water ls and lr from 150 ga,l I cheated

 

[newreefers]

I also cheated and took sand and water from my big tank, so no real cycle. I am planning to add fish next week.

 

[dudah]

Originally posted by michelle13
Why don't you want to run a skimmer? I would think you would need one in a tank this small?? Correct me if I'm wrong!
I have read in some books and posts that as long as you have enough LR and LS in your tank it will provide enough filtering. It is supposed to look more realistic also, not so perfect with no particulates. And with a deep sand bed and no skimming, stratification of the sand bed in terms of bacterial layerings will happen. That is what is supposed to provide the filtering. The one downside is that there may need to be more water changes but I have heard that this may not always be the case.
I thought this was very interesting and wanted to see if it is possible. Since I am starting a small tank (less money initially and therefore less to lose!) I thought I would try it.
Thanks everyone for the help!
Dudah

 

[pufferfreak]

All I would recommend is to keep your livestock level, for instance fish, down to a minimum. Also keep a constant watch on your water parameters because 1) it is a small tank 2) you are not skimming. Many people also use filters called ecosystems which are like refugiums just a little more complex.

 

[dindi]

Don't have a skimmer in my 10 gal, it's been running 1 year now, I only have one fish though, water conditions are excellent so far. See my stats

 

[tangtang]

What's going to happen to the live sand once it settles below the cc? Will it have any value?

 

[dudah]

The CC is not much bigger than the live sand so the settling will hopefully be minimal. But if it does happen that is where different types of bacteria will live (hopefully). In the deeper sections of sand there will be no or little oxygen and different organisms will thrive there (similar to in a plenum). These different layers are supposed to provide a more thorough filtering and balance in the system. Also the live sand particles themselves are not what is valuable, it is the organisms that live in it that are. If the sand settles the organisms will migrate to the area where they "like" to live.
I have not experienced this myself, I have only read about it. I am very interested in this type of approach and want to see if it can be done. The less equipment I have to worry about the better. It will seem more natural to me and if it works I will have the satisfaction of knowing I have built a system that can take care of itself. If it doesn't then I will know what NOT to do!!!
Dudah

 

[dindi]

I don't have cc in any of my tanks, I believe in sand, not south down but agronite sand. You buy it but from a LFS. Jeeze who in their wrong mind would use playsand?chemicals,silicates and god only knows what else Just use live sand

 

[tangtang]

Hi Dudah!
This is the best news I've heard re: substrate! Are you serious about the cc and live sand substrate mixture?
I've wanted to change over from cc to live sand in my 180 FO; but, don't want to take out all the cc. I've heard that was the best way (to remove the cc and then add LS). Do you have articles you can share with me? I really like the idea of "mixing" and not wasting the cc. I love the idea that the cc that started on the bottom can migrate to the top and become live in the process... <smile>
Linda

 

[dudah]

I am serious about cc but there is one thing you should know. The cc I have is fairly small (about .5-2mm diameter). It is not the traditional cc that you buy as decoration in a fish only tank. I got it for some variation in my sand size. So I have a mix of silt-sized all the way up to about 2 mm. The mix is about 75% silt-1mm and 25% up to 2mm.
And as far as the sand migrating, I have been reading up on some of the dsb stuff from Ask Dr. Ron (reefcentral) and others on this subject. And depending on the size of your organisms that live in the sand relative to the size of the individual sand particles, there can be some movement of the sand particles.
I would assume that two things would happen:
1) The organisms in your sand will move particles of sand and cc relative to their size (larger organisms will move larger sand). This can be good and bad. The good: It will help to keep the sand from forming a cement-like solid. The bad: If the organisms you have in your tank that move in the sand are eating your sand "bugs" then that can be bad for the overall health of your sand. You may need to apply more frequent refresher kits for detritivores, etc.
2) some natural settling will likely occur, this being sorted based on the size of the sand grains in your bed. This is caused by the movement of water, etc in your tank.
I am relatively new to this hobby but I have some experience in similar areas that could apply here as well.
If anyone sees anything that looks screwy in my thinking please let me know.
Also, good articles can be found on reef central, reefs.org, and this bulletin board by searching the posts for things like: dsb, detritivores, Live Sand, etc. Another good reference that I have found are some of the articles by Eric Borneman and Dr Ron. You can find info on them by searching google or he message posts.
Hope this helps!
Dudah