I'm looking to convert my little 10 gal standard tank into a nano. It has been cycled for a while now, even to the point of being neglected altogether for over a month. Trying to get serious about it now! Eventually I'd like it to house some small SPS and LPS specimens. Any chance I could get away with a pair of clowns in such a small tank? Even just one clown?
First problem: The light needs to be replaced Right now it's just a 28W PC 6500K that I put on when I was using it as a hospital tank (very cheap mod to the freshwater light fixture from PetLand). I'm having trouble finding a VHO or PC bulb that will have enough output, yet fit over a tank that's only 20 inches long! Any suggestions?
Second problem: LiveAquaria doesn't seem to have hardly any cleanup crews in stock right now! I read on another thread in this forum that I should have nerite, nassarius, and margarita snails. Any suggestions for how many of each? Anything else I should put in the cleanup crew? Any recommendations for where to buy other than liveaquaria?
Third problem: How should I manage flow? Right now I have an old canister filter with nothing but mechanical filtration and charcoal in it (trying to avoid the nitrate problems these are famous for). Should I split the return line into multiple outlets, or scrap the canister altogether?
Finally: What is a good protein skimmer for such a small system? I'd like it to be as inconspicuous as possible.
Hopefully you all remembered to look away from the computer and rest your eyes somewhere in the middle of all that. Otherwise, send me the bill for the headache medicine
. Thanks in advance for the help!