10g Nano

[canadianbudz604]

hello.... i am new to the darkside and any guidance would appreciated... I have the following equipment:

10g tank regular
Hydor Koralia 1
20" 96w Coralife Quad 50/50 Fixture
Top Fin 30? Filter
Heater
Small adjustable heater
Some small CPU fans to keep the light cool

Now is the lighting good enough to do a reef tank?
I plan on using the live rock and live sand to filter the tank, maybe some Chaeto?! The little filter I have will probably just for flow
I am starting out very slow, as I want to learn... One thing about the water changes and top ups: Do I just add fresh RO water to top up the evaporated water? I am just going to be starting to cycle the tank in the next week so any help is appreciated. Thanks alot

[canadianbudz604]

No help for a new guy?

[Nano]

yup fresh RO for top offs, nanos require regular water changes. how many K are your lights? they should be adequate for reef. I dont think you need to worry about keeping flourescents cool tho so I wouldnt worry about fans too much unless you are finding heat to be a problem. sounds like your off to a good start so far.
Welcome aboard!

[canadianbudz604]

The lighting is 10000k iceberg white and acitnic mix.... it is a quad tube so it goes white/blue/white/blue.... 96watts will give me like 9.2 watts per gallon so i should be able to keep all sorts of different corals? I plan on changing the water once a week, as I do this with my freshwater tanks anyways... any tricks or tips with the cycling? I plan on putting 2" bed of live sand and 10 pounds of live rock in right away... should i wait for that much rock and only put half?

[Nano]

you could keep coral with that for sure. as for cycling and live rock, I would do dry marco rock and live rock, about 50/50 or so, it save a bit of $ and the marco rock is really nice. it also slims your chance of getting unwanted pests. I would cycle for 3-6 weeks or until you see 0 ammonia/nitrates. you can speed up cycles by adding a piece of shrimp to the tank to kick start the ammonia cycle, and just let it rot away. this could save you a week or 2. if you go all live rock put it in all at once, with dry rock you can add it when ever you want. keep in mind your stocking list is limited and should be small especially with out a skimmer or sump. but you can still have a beautiful nano, lots of nice 10g reefs out there, its amazing to see what some people can do with so little space!

[canadianbudz604]

Hmm dry macro rock.... Not sure if they have any of that at the store here.. Probably gonna start out with easy corals like mushrooms, polyps, kenya trees and stock list will be a cleanup crew and probably just one or two fish max maybe a small damsel and definatly a yellow watchman goby (gotta be one of my fav fish). what type of shrimp will be good for this tank? Don't wanna overstock

[Nano]

I personally stay away from damsels as they are very aggressive. as for shrimp.. just do a cleaner shrimp they are fun to watch, and the help keep you tank and fish clean from parasites

[canadianbudz604]

Any other livestock suggestions? Also should I buy any supplements like kalwakalesser or something

[canadianbudz604]

Because my tank is so small, could i just put the chaeto directly into the tank? or do i need a refugium? Also when do I put the chaeto? after cycle im assuming.... is the 20" 96w cfl too much lighting for the 10g? Any help/tips is appreciated. I am setting up and starting the cycle this weekend.

[Nano]

you could put it in the tank, but it'll take up space. nothing wrong with it though, why not just get a small aquaclear to put it in, with a small light if you wanted to?