New 8 gal bow nano

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WhatItDo

New Member
Hello all, first time on the site.

I have kept SA/CA cichlids for a while now and jsut the other day decided i wanted to try a nano reef.
I am totaly new to salt/reef tanks. Anyways today I got a 8 gal bowfront, 27watt PC light, 50 watt heater, and a little filter/skimmer that came with the tank.

I plan to only keep live rock and maybe a few small corals.

I also got 20lbs CaribSea arag-live aragonite reef sand. I was wondering if this is too much sand for this tank???
Also I dont like the little filter very much. Could anyone reccomend a good filter for a nano tank. I was thinking of jsut gettin a rena XP1 as I use the XP's on my big cichlid tanks and I really like them.

Is a skimmer mandatory on this tank???

Here is a pic just after setup
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skipm

skipm

Moderator
Staff member
:welcome to the board!
I would stay away from using a canister filter because you will want to clean the sponges at least weekly and this would be a pain with a canister filter. I use a hang on style filter with my favorite being an AquaClear. You can definately go skimmerless on this tank, all you need to do is weekly partial water changes to keep the nitrate levels in check (this also has the added benefit of keeping your nutrient levels up).
Feel free to post any questions that you have and remember that the biggest thing you need to set up a reef is patience.
 
TimSchmidt

TimSchmidt

New Member
The setup looks great so far. Now to stick some live rock in it and wait a couple weeks :) I second the hang on back filter (Aquaclear is a good choice, but I have an old penguin bio-wheel that I might tinker with you just want good water capacity to possibly mod into a refugium).
 
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WhatItDo

New Member
Thanks for the replys. ALright I guess I'll just break out an old AC and double sponge it.
With live rock is it better to buy litttle bits at a time and build it up, rather than buy like 8 pounds at once??
I will probably add a little power head to the set up to get some water motion aswell.
 
TimSchmidt

TimSchmidt

New Member
Well coral comes on LR most of the time so leave a little expansion room. However at first I think it's better to put all the LR in at once so you only get one cycle. Search for the Aquaclear modification, it's a good read.
 
EDGRAY

EDGRAY

New Member
Just passing by to say :welcome and glad you join to nanotank and same as NANO world :mrgreen:
 
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drty811

New Member
welcome to nanotank

as for the AC mod, i have just about all of them and the one i will stick with, is no mod. take out carbon and sponge and fill the basket with LR rubble and leave alittle space to put the carbon back in. i had better success and water quality with this set-up. plus i was using a AC110 on a ten gallon. HTH
 
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WhatItDo

New Member
I just got out my old AC110 lastnight and was cleaning it out. So I just take everything out and fill it with rock. Dont I need some type of mechanical filtration??? as an AC110 would take up the entire back of the tank. Also wouldnt I need another light over the AC??

My current light is a 27watt PC with one side actinic and the other 6500k. I was wondering if this is going to be enough light. Also shouldnt it be actinic/10,000k instead of 6500k???

If you could direct me to any websites with good articles for a newbie that would be great. at the moment I dont even know how to properly change water for a salt tank, with adding new salt and all that for water changes.

As of now I still jsut have the tank filled with live sand, and a little cheap power filter for filtration. THe salinty is a bit high. Do I jsut take out some water and add some fresh water untill its at the right level?? does the salinty level matter that much for only having live rock??

sorry for all the questions, I am having trouble finding answers myself.
 
J

Jennie

New Member
During the cycle you can remove a little bit of the saltwater and replace with freshwater, just give it a few minutes before you test your SG so that it mixes well.

:welcome to Nanotank
 
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drty811

New Member
as for the AC thats all i had in the chamber was LR rubble. i didnt have any mechanical or chemical filtering.
http://www.nanotank.com/forum/viewtopic ... 3&start=30
lighting i use 18w corallife mini fixture. either one will work
http://www.marinedepot.com/aquarium_lig ... sp?CartId=
your lighting will work fo rthe time being, at a later time you can change the bulb to a 10,000k/actinic. its enought light for low light corals.

for water changes. mix your RO/DI or RO w/ salt of choise. if you have a extra PH and heater, place in container and let sit for about 24hours before using. for the rest, do whatever it takes to take water out of tank and replace with new. do in small quantities and let new water mix with old.

just a note the search engine on this site works great, most of all the info you need in under beginners area. HTH
 
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WhatItDo

New Member
Today I bought a 4 pound piece of live rock. After I had added it to my tank, I noticed a few small anemones on it. At first I thouhgt this was cool, but I just read an article on live rock and now think they are the dreaded aiptasia anemones. I tried to take a picture but cant get a good one for the life of me!

Should I jsut take the rock out of my tank as it was only $$20 not a big loss to me, and buy some more from a different LFS?? Not to sure if I want to go through th whole process of injecting them with solutions as this is my very first piece of rock in the tank.
 
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drty811

New Member
you can use joe's juice or if you have a syringe use lime juice. well since you dont have anything in your tank, pull the rock and use and old tooth bush and scrub them off. Joe's juice is the best way though.HTH
 
EDGRAY

EDGRAY

New Member
Guys i think he said he didnt want to do that.... and well all i can say is that a friend told brandon (user here) that to do it faster was to get the LR and ways knowing were was the area of the aptasias and burn them you know with a candly or lighter hope this work for you and i think is faster than joes juice .. and since there is no coral on the rock. HTH

EDDY
 
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reefman23

New Member
A true peppermint shrimp should take care of it. If you like the rock and the shape and all that, dont take it back. I had Aiptasia on my LR when I first bought it. I killed alot of the large ones with Joe's Juice and then got a peppermint that kept it in check... never saw another aiptasia again.

Jesse

ps. Just add the shrimp after your tank cycles.
 
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WhatItDo

New Member
Thanx for the info guys. I decided to just take the rock out. I am going to go buy some nice fiji rock tomorrow as well as a AC power filter.

One thing I was wondering was is my light going to good enough??? its about 3 watts per gallon. Would I be able to keep any type of corals with this??
My tank is an odd size ( a lil over 17'' long) and I dont think i'll be able to find a different light fixture that would fit it ( The light I have now has adjustable length mounting clips).
 
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drty811

New Member
you can get a 20" inch fixture, it would hang ove the edge though. i also think they make a 16" fixture also.
 
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