New to the nano thing. couple questions

[vdubfiend]

Been lurking around here for a bit.. some very impressive tanks in here!!! I currently have a 135 gallon reef going and decided to put some extra stuff to use aha :) anyway i picked up a 20gal (tall) last night for cheap and was planning on using an 20gal long i have for a sump/fuge... Tank will be lit with a 24" PC (1 10k & 1 actinic.) Just getting ready to have some glass cut to set up the fuge... AnyWAYYYY.. looking for some ideas for overflow, return pump or anything else... THANKS !!!!

[Kogo]

[welcome]

[vdubfiend]

i was wondering about skimmng for these nanos... i know some run one and some dont.... my fuge will be almost the same capacity as my tank... can one get by with a strict water changing regimen?? TIA

[vdubfiend]

me again hahaha
would it be better to go bare bottom without a skimmer??

[vdubfiend]

went and got the glass cut and siliconed in..
in the past i used a 4" dsb in the fuge along and half that space was full of cheato and the other half was caulerpa. but i was thinking/reading about a bare bottom fuge and a big ball of cheato. i guess the idea is to just siphon out the detritus from the bare bottom of the fuge... hmmm

[spf9992001]

I like the idea of a bare bottom fuge - seems like it would be pretty easy to neat/easy to clean.

[ciachef]

I started with a dsb fuge on my 45 but found it to be too much of a pain as far as cleaning went. I ended up removing the sand and going barebottom with a clump of chaeto and found it to be much neater. I found no difference in my nutrient levels either way.

[phenom5]

i was wondering about skimmng for these nanos... i know some run one and some dont.... my fuge will be almost the same capacity as my tank... can one get by with a strict water changing regimen?? TIA

me again hahaha
would it be better to go bare bottom without a skimmer??
n the past i used a 4" dsb in the fuge along and half that space was full of cheato and the other half was caulerpa. but i was thinking/reading about a bare bottom fuge and a big ball of cheato. i guess the idea is to just siphon out the detritus from the bare bottom of the fuge... hmmm

hey vdubfiend. i'm going to roll all these answers into one because they're all kind of related.

i've ran my 10g skimmerless w/ sand & a fuge...and fugeless w/ a skimmer & BB. IMO/ IME both can work on nanos, it really depends on what your trying to do with the tank.

having said that i would either go with a fuge & sand (skimmerless or with a skimmer, your choice), or if you want to go BB i would skip the fuge altogether, and add a skimmer. i would not run a BB tank skimmerless, and i would not run a fuge on a BB tank. the whole point of a BB tank is have very high flow, with a skimmer set to skim wet. you want it that way so you can keep the detritus and junk suspended in the water column so that it get skimmed out of the tank before it has a chance to settle somewhere and begin to breakdown. ultimately, while you could probably be okay w/o a skimmer on a BB, you'd be doing things the hard way, and in reality you be looking at lots of water changes, and almost daily siphoning of detritus. the fuge, in theory would be there merely for the sake of the fuge. even with a BB fuge, detritus would collect in your ball of cheato, then the nutrients that the cheato would be there to reduce would be caused by having the cheato, hence the only reason you have the fuge is the fuge. i hope that makes sense...:thumbsup:

[vdubfiend]

great thanks for the help... what skimmers are you guys running ?? i want something that is going to actually work well as i have seen quite a few that just dont do much... i have been very happy with my asm g3 on my 135 :)

[ciachef]

I run my nano skimmerless. Its a 12g nanocube and how I have it setup dont have room to fit a skimmer.

[All Delight]

I use the jbj nano skimmer, $6.00. Works great!

[mr pink floyd]

i have a 29, and go by with a weekly 5 gallon, monthly 10 water change

[Cutiewitbooty]

I have a skimmer made for a 75 gallon on my 10 gal right now lol Along with a fuge, don't have any chaeto in it yet though.....waiting to get my light.