New 10 gal nano

craig_08

craig_08

Member
I have recently set up a ten gallon nano and it is currently cycling. I have a 3 inch caribsea aragonite bed and 16lb of carribbean live rock. For circulation I am using a Skilter250, Minijet 101, and Minijet 404 (101 is facing surface). Hitchikers include lots of kinds of sponge (probably die), some sort of orange thing (closed polyps, tunicates?) yet to be identified, and red caulerpa. I built my own canopy wired with three screw in fixtures. In the fixtures I put 2x19W 6500k bulbs and 1x10W Coralife 50/50 bulb. I put reflective surface on the top and added a 13W bookworm with a actinic 03 replacement bulb. Grand total of 61W of light for cheap over a 10gal. Pictures to come....
 
craig_08

craig_08

Member
Here is a picture of my DIY canopy. Since this was taken I added a top, a 13W bookworm with 03 Actinic bulb, and a reflector above all the lights.
 
craig_08

craig_08

Member
Ok, now for the rock. This is a few weeks ago but now the coralline is now coming back in full force!
 
craig_08

craig_08

Member
Added two aestrea snails to help with a bit of hair algae forming. I am still excited that I have coralline. Please all you nano people give me some advice on where I should go from here. (Other than take it slow, test often, and research research research....)
 
legend

legend

Member
nice pics...i would get a smaller heater though, something more compact. Visi-therm make pretty small heaters.....
 
blownpony

blownpony

New Member
Hows the tank doing? I want to set up a tank like yours. Went to the LFS last night and they told me it was to small and wouldn't work. What are your plans for fish? I want a goby and pistol shrimp which I think would be fine in a 10 gal.
 
craig_08

craig_08

Member
The tank is doing great. It just got finished cycling and coralline is beginning to form on the glass a little and all over my LR. A tank like this will work but it definately will take a lot of research and attention to detail and a lot of time. Minor mistakes in a larger reef tank are major mistakes in a nano. A pistol shrimp and a goby would be a perfect choice for a 10 gal. They have a very interesting symbiosis. I haven'd decided whether I want to put in a purple pseudo or a clown and a bicolor blenny. Good luck on the tank if you decide to go for it. Read up first.
 
blownpony

blownpony

New Member
I've been doing some reading. Worst thing is everybody says something different. Not really sure which way would work the best. What do you have for a cleaning crew? Thanks for answering my questions.
 
craig_08

craig_08

Member
I currently just have two astrea snails but I haven't really had that much to clean as of yet. I will probably get two hermits eventually. You are right, everyone has their own way of doing things many of which are successful. Get ideas from the successful ones and chose the one that is the best for your space, money, and ability but also learn from the failures. As for me, I couldn't afford the huge 96w pc's or metal halides so I picked an economical alternative.
 
marvida

marvida

Member
Nice job!
I think you're right on track. One thing I noticed when I set up my 10 gal was that when I had a goby and a clown I couldn't keep the params under control. After I took the clown out & stayed with just one fish everything settled down.
My Tank
 
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