Newbie Here! Need Expert Help Please!

[Justindew]

Hi everyone I just joined up over here as I have been keeping freshwater planted tanks for several years and figured I would try out a nano saltwater tank. I know I am in for a big learning curve. I have tried to read up as much as I can. So my setup consists of the following.

SeaClear 4 Gallon Acrylic Aquarium
Hydor Inline Heater
12lbs Live Sand
6lbs of Dry Rock- I couldn't find any live rock in my area other then petco.
18 watt Power Compact fixture 10k spectrum for now
Large canister filter with all the compartments empty. Using just for flow and to keep equipment out of the tank. I also like the canister filter as it nearly doubles my water volume which I think will help keeping things a bit more stable. I think the canister says it pushes 400gph but it is one of those ebay specials so I would say it is more like 200gph or so. Is this to much flow?

On to the questions I am hoping the local experts could help me out with. As I have searched on the internet and haven't found much.

Question 1: I was told by my LFS that with time the dry rock would become live rock if I used live sand which I did. Is this true? If so should I buy a small piece of live rock from petco to seed the other rocks? Or will it be alright leaving it as is?


Question 2: The canister filter I am currently using has a 9w uv light built in. Is it beneficial to use the uv light or is it pointless in the saltwater enviroment? Also I wondered if I changed the design of the filter slightly if I could use the filter as a macro algae compartment. I have included a schematic of the changes I would make. Would this work? I would be switching out the uv bulb for a 9w 10k bulb.

http://dewberrycrafts.com/FreeDownloads/ProposedCanisterFilter.jpg


Question 3:Lastly what kind of cleanup crew is recommended for a tank of this size?

So glad to find a great forum like this. I look forward to learning all I can learn from these forums. So many of you have some pretty amazing nano setups. Any help you could offer me is greatly appreciated.

[bnumair]

welcome to RC.
1. Using Live sand will eventually seed the dry rock over time, yes. i personally an not a fan of petco so if u cannot find a local fish store pick up a few pieces of live rock then i wouldnt worry about it.
2. UV filters are somewhat helpful in saltwater as they kill anything floating by them. usually parasites bacteria algae etc.
Note: saltwater hobbiest are NOT great fans of canister filters. more towards sump setup. but in your case tank being just 4 gals it may work.
3. CUC in that tank would consist of just few snail of various kinds, algae eaters and sifters.

[xCry0x]

1) The term 'Live' means that at a minimum the object has bacteria on it that convert ammonia>nitrite>nitrate (similar to FW tanks). Idealy 'Live' also means it has a fully functioning load of micro-organisms which is where a salt water tank differs from a FW tank. If you buy quality live rock the rock will have that deep purple coraline algae encrusting on it, sponges growing on it, possibly random free-bee corals and also stuff like pods (essentially ocean ants, which help process waste).

I am assuming you bought 'live' sand from petco- if you bought it in a bag that stuff is generally a waste as most things dont live long in a sealed bag with no climate control.

You really need at least 1 live rock to seed the tank, on a tank that small I would use all live rock since it wont be too mcuh extra money.

2) UV lamps are used to sterilize water & kill algae - some people like them some dont. I would say a UV filter is pretty far down the 'must have' list. The canister filter itself is great and you are absolutely correct in that it is a great way to add extra water volume to a nano as well as a place to hide things like a heater. It is quite common for people to even use an Aqueon HOb like an AQ70 and have it serve the same function in small nano tanks.

Personally, I would replace the light with a normal bulb but keep a few shelves. Being able to add a pack of carbon and a phosphate sponge (Optional - if you have phosphate issues) will be very valuable as well as having general filter pads in order to have some sort of mechanical filtration to get crud out of the water. After that you can definitively throw a wad of chaeto algae in the bottom and it should grow like crazy.

3) clean up crew depends on what you have in the tank. If you want fish; in a tank that small you would be best served not having fish - MAYBE something very small like a clown goby (i have a yellow clown goby and it is a very fun fish imo and I would recommend one for any reef tank.) A lot of people put sexy shrimp in a small nano instead of fish - they are interesting little shrimp and add some life to the tank.

For clean up alone you could throw a probably 3-4 nerite snails, a couple of ceriths and maybe 1 nassarious snail if you are going to be feeding meat to the tank (nassarious are carniverous).

[BurntOutReefer]

IMO too much flow on the filter....your sand will never settle down.....secondly, your macro algae will clog the filters pump....better figure out a way to screen it...but a good idea nonetheless.....just IMO

[Chaotic Reefer4u]

sounds like your off to a pretty good start, can you post some piks? "welcome to reef central"...

[Justindew]

So I ended up getting a piece of petco liverock to seed my system as the closest place I know of to get any other live rock is over an hours drive. I broke it into several smaller pieces and noticed a lot of small snail like creatures and what not inside of it. So I am hoping that is a good sign. I have spread the pieces throughout my tank. I am still contemplating what to do with my canister filter but for the time being I will just be using it for water flow. Thank you for all the outstanding suggestions and help it is greatly appreciated. It seems rather daunting starting up a saltwater tank. So much more care and maintenance is required. I have included a few pictures of my new setup. Do you all think I have too much rock in there for such a small tank?

http://dewberrycrafts.com/FreeDownloads/Tank1.jpg

http://dewberrycrafts.com/FreeDownloads/Tank2.jpg

http://dewberrycrafts.com/FreeDownloads/Tank3.jpg

[calk me Q]

rock is quite too much~~most nano tank is forstated with polyp,candy cane or so,wich can be put at the bottom on the sand. Also i cant see any wavers except water outlet ,that i think wont be produce essential wave for corals~ i like ur new idea on the filtration ,however i'm not in favor of it,the algue may grow and finally clog the pump~hope to see a wonderful tank