Thank idea this spring, 75g to 10g?

[fretbuzz520]

Ten gallon soft nano-reef

10 gallon display tank

Possibly 20 gallon sump

Need to decide on sump design, that way I can decide on what size or rating of pump, where to drill etc.

Skimmer/live-rock with light/refugium/return Or will the live rock with light be in the refugium? I see a lot of people going with cheato so I'll probably go that route.

I plan on using the skimmers capacity for carbon

I still need to do research on which corals get along with which other corals

Any dosing necessary? Most say not with reef crystals and weekly water changes

Where do you all keep your pre-mixed water change water? I’ve been using a garbage can with a heater and a powerhead. How many use RO/DI water and how many use bottled water or distilled water? Anybody use conditioned tap water?

I’m trying to get an idea for how much maintenance time I’m going to need to set aside. I’m also going to be running a discus freshwater tank.

Planned inhabitants: royal gramma, green mandarin, coral banded shrimp, a few hermit crabs, a few snails, harlequin star, mushrooms, zoanthids and polyps. Under PC lighting. Does wattage of actinic bulbs count towards the total wattage?
The skimmer is a red sea prizm pro deluxe I believe. That will be in the first section of the sump, then I will probably have the refugium and then the return.

re-cap on the questions:

*Any thoughts on the argument that all beneficial bacteria coming from the refugium will be killed in the return pumping process?

*Any thoughts on the argument that actinic light does not count for overall light? Again, I am going with softies, mostly shrooms and polyps so I certainly don't want to fry them.

*I've seen a few beautiful nano-tanks done by people who say that they do not dose anything because the weekly water changes replenish that yet...this place says differently

“Calcium and alkalinity, being rapidly depleted in most reef aquaria, are not well controlled, or even significantly impacted by such small water changes. In order to maintain them with no other supplements, changes on the order of 30-50% PER DAY would be required.â€Â

 

[SaltWaterNewb]

*Any thoughts on the argument that all beneficial bacteria coming from the refugium will be killed in the return pumping process? It will not be killed. Pods and things of that nature could be, but not the bacteria.

*Any thoughts on the argument that actinic light does not count for overall light? Again, I am going with softies, mostly shrooms and polyps so I certainly don't want to fry them. I think it adds little but is mostly for looks.

*I've seen a few beautiful nano-tanks done by people who say that they do not dose anything because the weekly water changes replenish that yet...this place says differently Depends on the coral load and size of the tank and how often and how much of a water change you do.

“Calcium and alkalinity, being rapidly depleted in most reef aquaria, are not well controlled, or even significantly impacted by such small water changes. In order to maintain them with no other supplements, changes on the order of 30-50% PER DAY would be required.â€Â

 

[Ritsuko N]

SWN has pretty much covered the bases. But I will add a little more to them...

*Any thoughts on the argument that actinic light does not count for overall light? Again, I am going with softies, mostly shrooms and polyps so I certainly don't want to fry them. I think it adds little but is mostly for looks.

Actinic light produces light of a slightly different color spectrum. This spectrum of light also penetrates water much better than the other colors of light in the spectrum. Can you do a tank with 50/50 or striaght up day lights? Maybe...I havent personally tried it yet. Also the light in the 420 nm range will add greatly to the colors of your corals if they have good color when you get them. I have often had SPS corals color up considerably when placed under lights that are heavy with light in the 420 nm range as compared to the LFS when they were purchased. Yes the wattage from these bulbs count! I would at least use a 50/50 bulb. YMMV.

*I've seen a few beautiful nano-tanks done by people who say that they do not dose anything because the weekly water changes replenish that yet...this place says differently Depends on the coral load and size of the tank and how often and how much of a water change you do.

“Calcium and alkalinity, being rapidly depleted in most reef aquaria, are not well controlled, or even significantly impacted by such small water changes. In order to maintain them with no other supplements, changes on the order of 30-50% PER DAY would be required.â€Â