Wanting to start a new nano

[littlej2455]

Hey,

I have been into salt water aquarium for about 5 years now, but I have never had a nano before (so this is all new to me). I have an old 10 gallon tank that I want to use for this. I have a filter and heater for the tank already. I was thinking of adding a very small power head in the tank, just to increase water flow. I want to add a couple of corals in there also. I also plan on putting about 12lbs of live rock and about 10lbs of live sand. My main question is, do you think it is worth having a nano skimmer and UV on the tank? What is the best lighting for a nano with few corals? What kind of fish do you suggest?

Here is some of the equipment that I have found so far:

JBJ NanoZapp Inline UV Sterilizer
Reef Octopus Nano Skimmer
Coralife 36013 Mini Aqualight T5 Light Fixture (I would probably change one to the Aquatic lighting)

Any suggestions will be helpful! Thank you so much!:fish:

 

[rtirado]

You could get away with HO-T5's if you don't plan on doing any SPS.
I think a UV and HoB skimmer on the small tank might be overkill though.
Staying low-tech might be better, good old water changes

 

[littlej2455]

So you think the lighting fixture I have posted above will be good? And that will be good for soft corals? Thanks for your help!

And I have read that sometimes the UV and skimmer might be too much, so that's good advise. Any suggestions with fish, and does 10% water changes weekly sound like a good number?

 

[littlej2455]

I have been looking at the price of some T5 HO, and they seem to be the same as the 29 gallon biocube. Do you think I should just go that route, or is it worth buying the T5 HO?

http://www.marinedepot.com/AquaticLife_T5_HO_4_Lamp_Light_Fixtures_w_Lunar_LEDs_24_Inch_T5_Fluorescent_Light_Fixtures-AquaticLife-AK01035-FILTFIT54U-vi.html">http://www.marinedepot.com/AquaticLife_T5_HO_4_Lamp_Light_Fixtures_w_Lunar_LEDs_24_Inch_T5_Fluorescent_Light_Fixtures-AquaticLife-AK01035-FILTFIT54U-vi.html</a>

I was looking at the 20".

Or has anyone ever tried LED lights?

Marineland - Reef Capable LED Lighting Systems 18" - 24"

That was the other one I was looking at.

 

[rtirado]

The LED setup would work if you are doing softies only. But yea lights will be the most costly part of your setup, lol. As you saw in my video I went with a 150w MH setup with a strip of actinic LED's from Ecoxotic for a little extra color. I went that route because i didnt want to be limited in the future. Lots of good deals on here for lighting options though.

I do have an 18" T5HO Dual lamp Nova Extreme fixture for sale if you are interested. PM me for more info.

 

[littlej2455]

Do you think the MH would produce too much heat for a 10gallon?

rtirado;714739 wrote: The LED setup would work if you are doing softies only. But yea lights will be the most costly part of your setup, lol. As you saw in my video I went with a 150w MH setup with a strip of actinic LED's from Ecoxotic for a little extra color. I went that route because i didnt want to be limited in the future. Lots of good deals on here for lighting options though.

I do have an 18" T5HO Dual lamp Nova Extreme fixture for sale if you are interested. PM me for more info.

 

[rtirado]

No, my MH doesn't heat up the tank too much since I have it elevated enough above the tank and I have a fan built into the arm that turns on every 30 mins to cool down the surface of the water and MH fixture. My temp stays right at 78-79 all the time.

 

[littlej2455]

Ah very neat! Im very jealous! Do you have any pictures of that, or links so I can see the pricing of that?

rtirado;714744 wrote: No, my MH doesn't heat up the tank too much since I have it elevated enough above the tank and I have a fan built into the arm that turns on every 30 mins to cool down the surface of the water and MH fixture. My temp stays right at 78-79 all the time.

 

[rtirado]

http://www.jbjlighting.com/prod-k2-viper-deluxe.html">http://www.jbjlighting.com/prod-k2-viper-deluxe.html</a>
Retails for about $290 or rather it did, they discontinued that model.

 

[littlej2455]

That does look very nice. There are so many options.

Any fish ideas? I don't want a large bioload so I want to keep the amount very low, just 1-2.

 

[rtirado]

10 gal you can do 2-3 fish pretty easy, but you are limited to the smaller guys obviously. Just go to the LFS and pick some out, lol. Just make sure you pick them all in the same aggression range. Your LFS can help out with that, I'd suggest running up to Canton to talk with Jenn at Imagine Ocean. She helped me get my 10 gal setup.

 

[littlej2455]

Oh I didn't know there was one in Canton. I've been going to Optimum Aquarium in Kennesaw. Thank you so much for your help.