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Ryan98720 06/20/2017 01:19 PM

Critisism/Help with 10 Gallon Setup
 
I have an idea for a 10 gallon tank setup and I really want some advice and criticism on my plans.

I have a 10 gallon tank and a stand that i built for it. I plan on using this DIY PVC overflow (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZytENJZtJw&t=162s) down to a 10 gallon sump hidden in the stand. I will have a ball valve in line to adjust flow from the overflow and also a ball valve on the line from the return pump.

For livestock in the tank I would really like to get a small clownfish and maybe a goby. I really love the frogspawn, hammer, and torch corals as well as zoas. Maybe pulsing xenias on a rock in the sandbed to keep them from tanking over the tank. Also I plan to put some type of cleaning crew in to keep everything clean.

I cant remember how much sand I will need, but I was thinking about 10 lbs of live sand and 10 lbs of live rock for the display and then more rubble and sand in the sump for filtration.

The want to follow this(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-oanakiI7k) for my sump build. Basically 3 chambers, with the overflow pipe running into a filter sock. In that filter sock I want to put chemipure blue nano. In the second large well I want to put the sand and rubble rock and maybe macro algae like chaeto. Maybe even introduce some copepods into this section of the sump. Then the next is a bubble trap and the final section would be used for the pump. I would like to know what size pump would be good for a 10 gallon tank, and also how many times per hour should the water flow through the sump?

Eventually I plan on adding a DIY ATO if this is feasible.

Here are just some of the questions I have so far!

Questions
  • Where should the float switch for the ATO be located? In the tank or in the sump?
  • What type of light do i need? I don't want to get too crazy in terms of what corals I want to keep because a.) its only a 10 gallon tank and b.) I don't want to spend a whole lot of money on exotic coral species.
  • How often should i do water changes and how much water to change?
  • How do I know what size pump to use in my refugium?
  • Do I need to use a powerhead, or would the return pump add enough to provide enough motion in the tank?
  • According to the video the pic overflow will be 352gph. Is this too much for the tank I'm doing? I could use a smaller pipe and reduce this, or add a ball valve to reduce this. If i continue with this would a 400 gph pump be good enough or should i go with a 500 with a ball valve in the line to reduce the flow?

ReeferNoob4ever 06/20/2017 02:29 PM

I have a 10 gallon and I can tell you that I have nowhere near any of that stuff. I would say it's overkill, but that is purely subjective. I have a HOB filter, 2 pico hydor powerhead, a cobalt 100w heater, and an LED light. I currently have a clown fish, bubble tip anemone, birds nest, toadstool, mushrooms, hammer, hermit crab, 2 snails, and a feather duster. All going strong with weekly water changes of 2 gallons.

In your case the only question I can answer is to put the ATO in the sump.

Valentini89 06/20/2017 03:45 PM

Do water changes weekly, 10%
Get an inexpensive LED light, you will be able to keep softies
Some pumps flow rate can be controlled, but you don't really need that big of a pump. 400gph is fine
I'd stick a small powerhead in there about halfway down on the glass for added flow..

Ryan98720 06/20/2017 09:14 PM

@ReeferNoob4ever That is awesome! Do you have any pictures of your setup? I know that it really is a lot of extra stuff, but the last time I posted in a forum like this, everyone said that 10 gallons is hard to keep the water stable and to go bigger in size... So i figured that adding a sump would mean more water and easier to control parameters! But you do bring up a good point that I may have over complicated it in the process!

@Valentini89 Thank you for your advice! Do you have any recommendations for cheap LEDs that work? Would they be sufficient for either frogspawn, torch, or hammer coral?

ReeferNoob4ever 06/21/2017 01:08 PM

Ryan,

There is a good little LED light on Amazon I bought for 35 bux and it's doing everything well thus far for me. Some people don't like the color it emits and you have to set it on a timer. You can also manually switch it from blue only to both blue and white. My opinion is that nano tanks can be more difficult because mistakes are more impactful. However, so long as you are dedicated to weekly 20% water changes and replacing filter media 1x per week you will be fine. Don't dose or anything crazy like that, water changes will keep up with everything.

http://i1377.photobucket.com/albums/...psalrtaf8u.jpg

I'm still working on tidying up the wires and whatnot as this will be my office tank.

Stolireef 06/21/2017 06:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ryan98720 (Post 25122947)
I have an idea for a 10 gallon tank setup and I really want some advice and criticism on my plans.
Awesome that you're asking questions before adding livestock.
I have a 10 gallon tank and a stand that i built for it. I plan on using this DIY PVC overflow (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZytENJZtJw&t=162s) down to a 10 gallon sump hidden in the stand. I will have a ball valve in line to adjust flow from the overflow and also a ball valve on the line from the return pump.Nice overflow.
DO NOT PUT A BALL VALVE OR ANY OTHER VALVE ON THE OVERFLOW.
All flow is controlled from the return pump, never the overflow.


For livestock in the tank I would really like to get a small clownfish and maybe a goby. I really love the frogspawn, hammer, and torch corals as well as zoas. Maybe pulsing xenias on a rock in the sandbed to keep them from tanking over the tank. Also I plan to put some type of cleaning crew in to keep everything clean.Pretty good stocking choices. That said,
clowns can get pretty big for a 10 gallon. Better off with gobies, smaller wrasses, blenies, etc. Also, Xenia can grow like a weed. It's cool to look at but you need to isolate it.




I cant remember how much sand I will need, but I was thinking about 10 lbs of live sand and 10 lbs of live rock for the display and then more rubble and sand in the sump for filtration.

The want to follow this(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_-oanakiI7k) for my sump build. Basically 3 chambers, with the overflow pipe running into a filter sock. In that filter sock I want to put chemipure blue nano. In the second large well I want to put the sand and rubble rock and maybe macro algae like chaeto. Maybe even introduce some copepods into this section of the sump. Then the next is a bubble trap and the final section would be used for the pump. I would like to know what size pump would be good for a 10 gallon tank, and also how many times per hour should the water flow through the sump?For a ten gallon, you could probably get away with a Maxijet 1200 for a return. Other than that,
your setup sounds really good.




Eventually I plan on adding a DIY ATO if this is feasible.Great addition. Saves a ton of aggravation. I wouldn't DIY this. Get the Tunze nano topoff.



Here are just some of the questions I have so far!

Questions
  • Where should the float switch for the ATO be located? In the tank or in the sump?Sump. And see my comment above about Tunze ATO


  • What type of light do i need? I don't want to get too crazy in terms of what corals I want to keep because a.) its only a 10 gallon tank and b.) I don't want to spend a whole lot of money on exotic coral species.For the corals you like, you'll need a pretty intense light.
    Look for nano reef lights at places like Marine Depot. When you see one that looks good, ask here.



  • How often should i do water changes and how much water to change?

    [*On a small tank, I'd do 2 to 3 gallons per week.]

    How do I know what size pump to use in my refugium?
  • DWhy do you need a pump for the fuge?

    Do I need to use a powerhead, or would the return pump add enough to provide enough motion in the tank?
    Yes. Return pump is only for moving water from sump to tank. Use a small Tunze or other propeller powerhead for tank flow.
  • According to the video the pic overflow will be 352gph. Is this too much for the tank I'm doing? I could use a smaller pipe and reduce this, or add a ball valve to reduce this. If i continue with this would a 400 gph pump be good enough or should i go with a 500 with a ball valve in the line to reduce the flow?
See my comments above. You control water through overflow by dialing back your return pump. Never try to dial back your overflow.



Most important. Welcome to the hobby.

Ryan98720 06/21/2017 11:42 PM

Wow! Thank you so much for all of that Strolireef! And beautiful dog btw! I will definitely not put a ball valve on the overflow then thanks! I have heard that about the xenia and gsp, so would have to have them isolated on a rock in the sand bed. I have alsoheard a lot about clowns in a 10 gallon being too small! I really want one, so I think I'm going to go for just one, and if it starts getting too big to where I can tell that it is stressed in such a small tank then I will have a really good reason to upgrade to a 20! Thats also sort of why I'm doing a sump is because this equipment would be able to be changed over to a 20 gallon tank pretty easily! I will look into a tunze, but I just have a hard time spending that much on it since an ATO is sort of more of a luxury than a necessity, but maybe once I get the initial purchase of everything I can recuperate and then make that purchase!

How do I know what size pump to use in my refugium?
DWhy do you need a pump for the fuge? I accidentally said fuge, but I meant sump, and you've already answered that!

As far as lights go, could I get away with this with the corals I mentioned above (https://www.marinedepot.com/Lifegard...LTFILD-vi.html) or do I really need to go a bit more expensive and get this (https://www.amazon.com/MarsAqua-Dimm.../dp/B017GWDF7E)


Again Thank you guys sooo much for taking the time to look through my plan and give insight and advice! It really means a lot!

Ryan98720 06/21/2017 11:44 PM

I also just found this light if anyone thinks it would work
Wave Point Blade HO LED Aquarium Light Super Blue/10k - 9 inch

Stolireef 06/22/2017 08:40 AM

I would not go with either of the cheaper lights. You really need 3 watt led's to properly light corals. The mars aqua looks like it would fit the bill and they get pretty good reviews.

ReeferNoob4ever 06/22/2017 08:58 AM

I would say the ATO should be on top of your list for such a small tank the salinity can swing quickly, especially on hot days.

Stolireef 06/22/2017 09:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ReeferNoob4ever (Post 25124926)
I would say the ATO should be on top of your list for such a small tank the salinity can swing quickly, especially on hot days.

Yup. Smaller tanks need to be monitored very closely for water levels to avoid big salinity swings.

Ryan98720 06/23/2017 01:29 AM

Okay! So Ive looked into the ATO since you guys said no DIY, and I think I may have found one that would work. Its a bit cheaper and has pretty good reviews! What do you guys think?https://www.marinedepot.com/Innovati...FIDPAT-vi.html

Also I just went and got my 2nd 10 gallon tank today at a dollar per gallon sale, so now I need to start thinking about sand and live rock! I dont really know where or what type to get! Ive heard to go with a dried LR to avoid pests, and Ive also heard that caribsea live sand is a good choice. The problem is that they have so many different types and sizes that I have no idea that kind to get. I know I want a sand sifting goby so i would need some on the smaller side, but I also dont want it to be so small that it gets blown all around the aquarium! Any suggestions?

ReeferNoob4ever 06/23/2017 10:24 AM

Aragonite is my favorite. I have fine sand in my 10 gallon and it mounds up. I have aragonite in my 20 gallon and love it. I've also had crushed coral and I wasn't really a fan.

I like nasty wet live rock, but like you said you could get pests. So in your case, live sand and dry rock would make a good combo.

Ryan98720 06/23/2017 11:43 AM

Awesome! And the aragonite would be good for a sand sifting goby as well!

Stolireef 06/23/2017 11:53 AM

First, I would not go cheap on an ATO. Experienced reef keepers will tell you that when an ATO fails, very bad things happen. IMO Tunze is the best and has the best failsafes. The Tunze Nano would be perfect for your system. The extra 40 dollars will be well spent.

As far as sand and rock are concerned, you really can't go wrong with dry rock and dry sand (don't bother with the live sand, not worth it). If you want to jump start your cycle, get some ammonia and some cycle in a bottle (Dr. Tims, Bio-Spira) etc. But, you really don't need to do anything but add water, dry rock, dry sand and a grocery store shrimp.

ReeferNoob4ever 06/23/2017 01:00 PM

I second the TUNZE Nano. I have that ATO and the fail safe features have already saved my tank once.

Ryan98720 06/23/2017 05:16 PM

Okay! If Im going top of the line there I may need to cut expenses somewhere else for now! I'm pretty sure you wont be able to help me much with this, but I just found a craigslist ad for $45. In it he has some type of light, but I cant really make it out. When I asked what kind of light it was this is what I got! "It's a 20" aquarium light I'm Not sure the brand the bulbs are bulbs I got at the aquarium store and they were expensive "day light" bulbs. I'm selling as a package deal with everything. It's over $200 worth of stuff everything works as it should. If you just want the light it's $20 or $45 for the whole lot.
" So can any of you guys make out if this may work for my tank? Im going to ask a few more questions though! I still need a heater and a siphon and some powerheads And I could just resell everything else that I dont really need! Heres the ad!
https://bham.craigslist.org/for/6183227305.html
DO you guys think any of this equipment would be useful in my tank?

Stolireef 06/23/2017 06:02 PM

Nope. I know you're on a tight budget but there are certain things in reef keeping that you simply can't skimp on. Lighting is one of them. With that said, you can DIY a light fixture using either metal halide (on your tank 1x150W would be fine) or T5 (probably a three bulb would work) and do it on a very small budget. Or you could use something like this

https://www.reefbreeders.com/shop/nano-light-touch/

What you need to remember is that corals basically eat light (huge simplification but works for these purposes). Moreover, they eat specific wavelengths of light and need a certain intensity to thrive. The CL stuff is for fresh water fish only tanks.

Stolireef 06/23/2017 06:04 PM

As far as a heater goes, there are lots of options but... as usual, the cheapest ones can cause you headaches. Personally, I would only use a titanium heater in a reef. No chance of breaking glass etc.

Stolireef 06/23/2017 06:04 PM

Oh, and never buy a used heater. It's literally the most common point of failure on a reef tank. Most experienced reef keepers regularly replace their heaters.


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