Hi JoeSmo: I am a newby myself but felt like giving you a hand here.
Last month (August 2nd) I decided to go into SW. I began planning for a 10gal Nano and ended up with a custom built pre-drilled 20gal tall tank with a 6gal
sump. I am still cycling it (nitrites are fading down now).
First: For Soft Corals T5HO should do the trick. Please read around on recommended light settings for Nano SW for low-to-medium-light demanding, hardy soft/stony corals. My custom built 20gal tank has 24" of height with 6" of aragonite sand as substrate. I use six 20W T8 (2 Power Glo, 2 Marine Glo, 2 Resun D-20W) and four 24W T5HO Marine Glo. My tank has the footprint of a standard 10gal (20"L x 10"W).
Two: A couple of small powerheads (I am using two AquaClear 20) should provide fair although not optimal circulation. I am looking into
DIY wave/surge systems now. If you can get a small Koralia I suggest you do it.
Three: For a tank so small it would be pushing the limits to consider just one Clownfish OR Firefish OR Orange Spot Goby. The shrimp should be welcomed if compatible with your chosen fish.
Four: You don't really need a protein skimmer as in "must have one" but it surely is a good addition for removing organic compounds before they build up. I use a small Resun SK-05 for the sole reason no other small unit was available and I am overall satisfied with Resun quality in
FW. Please look around for real users reviews since some units in the market are a waste of money.
Five: Calcium can be easily added by a simple
kalkwasser reactor. I intend to use it for automatic top off (ATO) by means of DIY gravity drip system. I purchased Kent's Marine Kalkwasser mix.
Six: Consider using
RO water only. I purchase mine in 5gal reservoirs from a company that sells it for human consumption locally (kind of crazy idea but cheap RO water for me). Using treated tap water is likely going to create some unwanted problems in your saltwater chemistry. I believe once cycled your water parameters will tell you when to do a
water change. Since top-off is usually needed more frequently than in FW, it's like small partial water changes are being performed constanly (only that
RO/DI water is used since salts do not evaporate).
Seven: If you are not using a sump, consider using a somewhat big powerfilter (e.g. AquaClear 70) to fill it with chumps of live rock only, this way you have a
HOB refugium/sump and you get some more space in your 10gal tank. If you go this way you may not need more than one powerhead.
Eight: I would add the following:
a) Read, read, and then read some more (e.g. check this thread on Reef Central Online
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...readid=1031074)
b) Get as good live rock as you can from the start.
c) Invest in a good SW, Reef and
magnesium test kits.
d) Aim at stable temperature. In small tanks as ours, temp changes can happen very fast.
Pepetj
Santo Domingo
