AnnaEA

I have an empty ten gallon tank, a maxi-jet 1200 power head, and 12" Catalina Aquarium single bulb compact fluorescent hood that has a combo 10k daylight/actinic blue bulb in it.

I'm thinking that this all, combined with a HOB filter and a heater, should be everything I need equipment wise for a 10 gallon FOWLR set up...

Am I missing anything? Any good sources for info about nano set-ups?

A Sneaky Fatman

www.nano-reef.com

excellent site.

I've been browsing there for a while, after looking into setting up a nano reef.

AnnaEA

Cool - I'll check it out. Thanks!

ranga97

I am looking at converting my FW to a Nano.
More successes, and pride.
Mine is a 20gal tall, but only has 24w light, so I, as some other threads have said, could only keep mushies and maybe zoa's up close near the top (top half at least) and then let them move down to where they feel comfortable.
As for fish I am looking into Ocellaris clownfish, maybe 2.
But I need help for two more tankmates...
I also will have a cleanup crew.

locoyo386

It all sounds good, but how are you planing on using the maxi-jet? If as a powerhead it might be too strong for that small tank. I only use about 300 GPH in all my tens (10 tanks). For a fish only tank, that should be plenty. Basically the key is just to keep the water moving so that things don't really settle down.

Also, what are you looking to keep in that tank?

AnnaEA

Well, I have no idea about how to use the maxi-jet -- I don't know anything about marine tanks. I was wondering if it was too strong. I might use it in the sump then - do you think that would reduce the flow enough to be okay for a 10g display tank? I'm thinking a 10g sump underneath the main tank....

Right now, all I really want to do is put in some live rock and live sand, and watch the tank and see what it does. I know I don't want fish for a good long while yet -- maybe in '12. I guess it be a LRO tank - live rock only! rofl. I find the idea of live rock fascinating, and the stories about hitch hikers and what grows on peoples LR entrance me. Maybe after it's been running six months or so I might want to add some colorful shrimp.

Sadly, I just found out that the local LFS that did marine stuff is going out of business I had been planning to spend a lot more time there hanging out and looking at the marine tanks.

harpua2002

That light you have will allow you to keep some mushrooms and zoas/palys (probably nothing else though). IMO that's a nice way to ease into keeping corals- these are some of the easiest you can keep. They are not too picky about light, or even water quality.

If you plan to use a sump, I would suggest having the back of your tank drilled. Hang on overflow boxes are a nightmare IMO. A sump isn't necessary if you don't want to try one. Your powerhead should provide enough flow for a 10 gallon. A small goby would be a nice addition to your tank when you are ready for fish.

AnnaEA

I wasn't think of overflowing - I was think a hose drawing water out, and a hose pumping water in, and the powerhead itself down in the sump tank. Is this a workable idea?

Speaking of boxes, I also have this thing - I know it's for the salt set up, but what is it? Is it an overflow box? It's clearly designed to hang on the back of the tank.

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harpua2002

I can't tell if that is supposed to be an overflow box or a refugium... I don't see a part that is supposed to hang on the tank.

It might work for a while to have a hose drawing water out and another pumping water in, but in the event of a pump failure or power outage the outcome won't be good.

I suggested having the back of the tank drilled because you can have it drilled near the top... in the event of a power outage or pump failure, the water will only drain as low as the hole. You can set up your sump with the water level such that it will not overflow with loss of power. Then, it's easy to use PVC to plumb the return from the sump up and over the back of the tank. I have a 50 gallon set up this way. There's a link in my sig with some pics if that helps.

ranga97

Yes, as said above, just having a hose will cause great problems when no water is returning to the display tank.
The design of an overflow prevents this, so that when the pump fails, the overflow has a limited siphon level, and then when the water level rises again, the siphon continues.

If you drill your tank, there is no need to worry about if the overflow is working, because the water doesn't have to raise up and over the tanks walls.

Everything from Harpua is decent, he knows what he is talking about.

locoyo386

Hi there,

Personally I think that the maxijet is too strong to use as a powerhead. If you go with a sump, you could use this as your water pump, but it might still be too strong for that size tank. Personally I just use power filter with a "nano" powerhead for internal water movement.

The box you show is an "overflow box", they are used to run sumps. That would hand on one side of the tank and siphon water into from the display tank, then it just drops as an overflow effect into the sump. Sometimes, when not done right, these boxes can cause problems. They are actually easy to use when setup properly.

Too bad about the store, it seems to be going on quite a bit these days.

Well if you want to set it up just as sand and rock, it would be very simple to just buy a power filter ($30 or so) and run it that way. Later you could get a "nano" powerhead for internal warter movement. If you get a power filter, get one that is reated for at least 150 gallons per hour, but preferebly one that is rated at 200.

locoyo386

Hi there,
Actually I was wrong, that is a hang on the back refugium. The left side of the second picture shows the bulkhead that is used in the incoming water. The right side of the same picture shows the PVC that goes into your tank. Actually this box could be modified easilly to fit as an overflow box.

AnnaEA

Okay, so sumps work on siphon principles, combined with a pump to bring the water back up level? I need to get myself a good book about this....

My idea is to run LRO for a year or so, just cause it'll be cool to watch the LR grow into the tank, and so that I get plenty of practice maintaining a SW tank before I start getting too spendy with fish. I'm sort of think uncured LR, since from what I am reading it's more likely to bring a wide variety of organisms with it, and I know I don't need to worry about cycling the tank for fish.

Harpua, I hadn't thought about power outages -- our power goes out here a lot, and that would definitely make a drilled tank worthwhile. On the box, the hangar is between the two pipes in the second pic, in the middle of the tank - the edge of the tank would go behind the white piping.

Thank you all for the advice, and for bearing with my ignorance!

harpua2002

I'm a girl.

ranga97

OK
Sorry!!

locoyo386

That's why the pink thingy on Gender,

harpua2002

Yeppers!

locoyo386

Pretty much that's exactly how they work.