10 Gallon Nano

[cookiemn]

Finally, after gathering the equipment and buying the LR and LS I finally started my nano. Here are the specs:

15 lbs of live sand (from Coral Beauty in Seattle)
12-15 lbs of live rock (also from Coral Beauty)
Penguin Mini with no Bio Wheel or filtration
Minijet (freebie from Coral Beauty)
JBJ PC 2x35 watt

I will post pics after the tank clears up.

BTW, Coral Beauty is expecting their first shipment of Marshall Island rock next week if you are interested. They said that the rock is supposed to have a lot of life in it. If this is true I plan to use some in my nano and my new 60 gallon that I set up yesterday. I am getting that itchy finger to go out and buy livestock.....

 

[Alice]

Nanos are great; have fun with yours. And you know we'll hold you to those pics.

 

[Aiptasia]

I'd go ahead and add the reef janitor squad now. The tank is going to cycle through distinct phases as the LR cures (diatom bloom, algae bloom, etc.) so it's good to have the janitors in place to combat these problems up front. Even supposedly "cured" LR is going to have some die off during shipment, or from the pet shop to home, so be prepared for this. Scrub off any orange/yellow sponge with a toothbrush. Once this sponge comes into contact with air, it dies, but don't worry it can grow back with time.

If you're using wild caught LR, I'd also handle the pieces with gloves and give them a bath in carbonated water prior to putting them in your tank. Go buy a 5 gallon white plastic paint bucket from a hardware store that's never had any chemicals in it (cleaners, etc.) and rinse it out. Then, buy three gallons of carbonated water at the store (plain CO2 mixer water, no quinine, mixer section) and fill the bucket with it. Take your LR pieces and put them in the carbonated water bath.

The carbonated water will drive out pests, such as mantis shrimps (thumb splitters, the reason you wear gloves when handing LR), urchins, bristle and fireworms. Let each piece soak for a half hour before you're ready to arrange them in the main display tank. Repeat as often as necessary to drive any potentially bad critters out, inspect the LR for sponge or undesireable algae patches, and scrub off with a toothbrush.