puddleglum
Community Member
Hello all,
I got into freshwater aquariums 25 years ago and have kept a lot of FW tanks. I occasionally looked at reef setups, but never have taken the plunge. I have done a fair bit of reading of online articles and various forums, but am not silly enough to declare myself to know much.
I am thinking about setting up a standard 10 gallon as a nano-reef, trying to keep things as simple as possible. These are what I am interested in and what I am thinking might work for me:
1) Zoas and Ricordeas are the corals I would be most interested in. Some other small softies, and maybe small LPS that would do well in moderate light could be carefully considered.
2) No fish to start. Maybe one fish once the tank is well established, but I wouldn't miss not having one.
3) Sexy shrimp seem like a good interesting tank addition. Maybe one or two dwarf hermit crabs (one red one blue) as something else to watch.
4) Primarily small snails like dwarf ceriths for cleanup crew. Maybe one or two medium snails that are interesting to look at.
5) I really like the shimmer of an LED spot. I am thinking a single Kessil 160WE might be enough light for zoas and ricordeas.
6) Live rock, no skimmer. Weekly water changes of the needed amount.
7) Powerhead that can be set to random flow, and turned down to match the tank size. Something like a Jebao SOW-3.
8) I can't do bare bottom, but am considering a little aragonite coarse sand/small gravel that gets vacuumed regularly.
9) Absolutely must have an ATO - the Xp Aqua Sumpless ATO2 seems like just what the doctor ordered.
10) Keep another 10 gallon underneath the display tank with a glass divider - 20% as ATO reservoir, the other 80% holding salt water with a heater and pump for mixing and doing water changes.
Some of my thoughts, interested in any feedback you all may have,
Thank you,
-pg
I got into freshwater aquariums 25 years ago and have kept a lot of FW tanks. I occasionally looked at reef setups, but never have taken the plunge. I have done a fair bit of reading of online articles and various forums, but am not silly enough to declare myself to know much.
I am thinking about setting up a standard 10 gallon as a nano-reef, trying to keep things as simple as possible. These are what I am interested in and what I am thinking might work for me:
1) Zoas and Ricordeas are the corals I would be most interested in. Some other small softies, and maybe small LPS that would do well in moderate light could be carefully considered.
2) No fish to start. Maybe one fish once the tank is well established, but I wouldn't miss not having one.
3) Sexy shrimp seem like a good interesting tank addition. Maybe one or two dwarf hermit crabs (one red one blue) as something else to watch.
4) Primarily small snails like dwarf ceriths for cleanup crew. Maybe one or two medium snails that are interesting to look at.
5) I really like the shimmer of an LED spot. I am thinking a single Kessil 160WE might be enough light for zoas and ricordeas.
6) Live rock, no skimmer. Weekly water changes of the needed amount.
7) Powerhead that can be set to random flow, and turned down to match the tank size. Something like a Jebao SOW-3.
8) I can't do bare bottom, but am considering a little aragonite coarse sand/small gravel that gets vacuumed regularly.
9) Absolutely must have an ATO - the Xp Aqua Sumpless ATO2 seems like just what the doctor ordered.
10) Keep another 10 gallon underneath the display tank with a glass divider - 20% as ATO reservoir, the other 80% holding salt water with a heater and pump for mixing and doing water changes.
Some of my thoughts, interested in any feedback you all may have,
Thank you,
-pg
