Question to start a 10gal nano reef tank.

[brtql8t]

There may be a dozen of these type of question in here, so my appology first for asking it again.

I have a couple 10gal tanks laying around, would like to start
a nano reef, so here are the questions

1) How thick should the live sand layer be?

2) I plan to have the sand sitting on an undergravel bed and use
a power head connecting to the vertical tube to circulate
tank water through the sand bed. Is that recommended?

3) I plan to keep SPS, couple clowns and a dotty back plus the
usual cleaning crew of snail and hermit. What kind of lighting
should I get? If needed I can build my own cover for the
lighting

4) What is the purpose of a refugium? how is it useful to my
tank? do I need one?

5) What kind of skimmer is adequate for this 10gal nano reef
tank? Is a sump tank recommended for this size tank?

6) Is and RO needed? What does DIY stand for?

7) Finally, can some kind person point me to sites where I can
learn how to raise code pod?

I am sure there will be more questions, but these will do for now.


Thanks much.

[Medaka]

1. Whatever looks good to you...doesn't really matter unless you have creatures that live in the sand like some fish and snails..

2. Nope, most people just use plain sandbeds.

3. Metal halide lights are best for SPS.

4. Don't need one. There a refuge for animals (pods) and a place to grow macroalgae in which usually will outcompete nuiscance algae ...and adds more water volume. Sometimes they can also be used to house small skimmers or heaters.

5. Don't need a skimmer, but allot of people use piccolo's or lees skimmers or bakpaks.

6. You should use RO or RO/DI if you can.
You should buy a TDS meter to test the water to, just to be sure. (once I bought "ro" water from the fish store that was worse than the tap water)
DIY stands for Do It Yourself.

7. http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issu...3/breeder2.htm

[Drew_P]

Great post Medaka.

In addition you might want to check out the RO/DI FAQ.

http://reefcentral.com/modules.php?s...showpage&pid=2

Drew

[brtql8t]

Thanks much for the answer and pointer. Time for me to do
some reading ;-)

[stagefright13]

I had a ten gallon to start but keeping the water good was too much work so I got a 29 gallon. But if ya really want to do the ten gallon the following link has good lighting for it and stuff cheap:
http://ahsupply.com/index.html