Milt's 10g Nano/Frag tank

[Miltonic]

well guys I could not help myself and I had to start a on a new challenge in sw but this time with a nano. As the tittle says its a good old 10 gallon, I want this tank to be mainly used for frags and have not decided If I want fish in it or not. I have it waiting to be sat up and all I have now is about 15lbs of dry rock, arag sand, heater, koralia 1 ph, and AC 30 to use for circulation/ mini refuge so it's a simple set up. I have not decided exactly which skimmer I want to use, I was looking at the Tunze nano, I also have no idea what fixture I'll be using but I was looking into using a 70watt mh but not sure which fixture I would use so suggestions are welcome

Here's a pic of my tiny tank, waiting to be filled, I'll be using a rock from my 90g to seed the dry rock and also some sand.

 

[Jeremy0322]

Uh oh, hes going at it again. I think the 70 watt will bake a tank that small, 7 watts per gallon in a 10 gallon tank, you may have soup if your not super careful.

 

[kyle209]

i would go with some t5 24inchs get 4 an they put of 20 watts a peice.

 

[Miltonic]

oh h*ll yes im at it again haha

Thanks for the tips guys but im really leaning towards the 70watt mh to try something different and of course I will be careful with it and not make coral soup. So any tips of any good fixtures pendants for it?

 

[yungreefer2410]

Aquarium Lights Hellolights.com good price for a 70w, i say go for keep it about 8'' above the water and maybe a fan will be needed

 

[Miltonic]

Thanks for that, the price is great since this is kind of a low budget build haha I won't get a light for it for another two or three weeks and im going to let it start the cycle without them. I also have to find something to hang the reflector from since I dont have a canopy of anything lol

 

[yungreefer2410]

build a canopy!

 

[burning2nd]

i have a setup thats what your triyng to build... IME Do not get a fish.. it will make things so much eazyer...

with the fish the tank was a pain in the azz... but now that ive moved him to a bigger diffrent tank. the 10g is nice... it runs it self.

 

[Miltonic]

build a canopy!

I would if I was a diy type of person and had the tools but I don't :/ I was thinking maybe one of those metal things that people use to hang plant pots haha

i have a setup thats what your triyng to build... IME Do not get a fish.. it will make things so much eazyer...

with the fish the tank was a pain in the azz... but now that ive moved him to a bigger diffrent tank. the 10g is nice... it runs it self.

Thanks for the tip about the fish but I do end getting one it'll be a small goby like a purple firefish.


Oh and im planning to fill the tank to start the cycle early this week like wednesday

 

[burning2nd]

well.... IMe

ive had 5.5's 10's 20's 30's

Even a small single fish in a tank like that just sucks....

but each is own..

i would go after sps and inverts

 

[Miltonic]

Thanks again I will keep it fish less and make a nice SPS garden with the awesome mh I'll be using for it. Tomorrow will be the day it will be filled up and ready to start the cycle, since the rock i'll be using to seed the others is already cured and I will be keeping the tank fish less does that mean I can start putting corals in it? but I won't sonce I dont have the light or skimmer yet

 

[burning2nd]

u dont really need a skimmer a tank that size your gonna need to do water changes...

the 10g next to me is fishless for some time, and is much eazyer then ever b4...

if the rock is cured and you only have it outta water for a few min, that you might not even get a cylce... but i would keep in mind slowness at first.

i have a 70w Mh over mine,

 

[Miltonic]

yeah I plan to do weekly 2 gallon water changes and since it'll be fish less no skimmer needed thatnks for the heads up. I can now concentrate on the lighting fixture i'll be using for now tank is filled with almost everything in place, I did a put a fully cured rock from my 90g reef to seed the base rock. What fixture are you using for your 10g? also Im still wondering if I should put a dead shrimp in there to get the bacteria to populate the base rock faster.

here's a pic of my new nano

 

[burning2nd]

when i get home ill post anew pic but im sueing the sunpod HQi 70w

i was never a fan of the shrimp thing.. i mean to get the cycle going ya... but if your useing cured rocked from a tank thats established already i think you wont need it... just give the tank afew weeks to get it self worked out test, and make sure its ready then start slowly.

its early i dont have a lotta time so ill get 2 ya tonight,

 

[Miltonic]

I ended up buying this fixture I heard they have some good rep and since this is a low budget project, I decided to give them a try. I went for the 14,000k color temperature bulb and see how it goes I may need to replace it though with a better one.

 

[squiers007]

Looking good. I like the fixture you picked out. I think your idea of using something designed to hold a hanging plant is a great idea so long as it can support the weight and keeps it a good distance from the water. Can't wait to see the progress.

 

[Miltonic]

Glad you like the idea, im going to the hardware store soon to look for one , my fixture should arrive within a week.

 

[Miltonic]

I received the Fish need it fixture today and im quite pleased with it so far even if it's been less than a day since I got it lol I never dealt with mh before so I have nothing to compare it to, im using the stock bulb but im wondering what would be be a better option. I left the tank running for a week with a rock from my 90g that was fully cured and some sand as well and well it basically had no cycle since all the rock was base rock and had nothing die off. I went ahead and placed a zoa frag and an orange Digi. frag to see how they do this week and go from there. I also placed a ball of chaeto behind a rock while I get a bigger AC filter to make a refugium out of.

Finally running with lights, I love the shimmer effect the mh make

Zoa frag after a few minutes in the tank

Digi frag, I just could not get a clear picture of its polyps grrr

 

[Miltonic]

Last week my tank went through the diatom stage that is now gone and now Im seeing tons of pods running around the rocks and sand. The tank is coming to life now, I'm also seeing a tiny bit of green algae growing but not much since the Astrea I added is taking care of it, the tank is approaching three weeks now. One more week and im going to start stocking with more hardy corals and see how it goes, the zoos and digi I have now are doing good so far. I may also end up getting a skimmer so if anyone has an extra one let me know.

 

[BigAl07]

Looks good