Trying to set a 10G nano reef.

[Raul]

which ATO is recommended for a nano setup ?

[raleigh19]

JBJ ATO would be fine

[Raul]

so far everything looks good, I added ammonia instead of shrimp to raise betweetn 3ppm to 4ppm and well today it is already a .5 ppm ofcourse my nitirites are around 2ppm to 5ppm but that was fast , i guess live rock and live sand really help to speed up the process.

I already moded the AC50 intake to work as a surface skimmer (saw something similar for a ac110 ) at least I will assume I will only need to take care of the sponge frequently and also see less foam in the surface, the only problem it looks ugly :)

here some pics:

http://i1072.photobucket.com/albums/w376/raullozano3/387dad05.jpg

http://i1072.photobucket.com/albums/w376/raullozano3/44604b00.jpg

http://i1072.photobucket.com/albums/w376/raullozano3/c4d33fcf.jpg

[johnnymisty]

Paint it black so it'll kinda blend in with the background if your worried about looks

[myjohnson]

JBJ ATO would be fine

Really?

You like those?

I broke mine in a drunken rage one night b/c it keep on beeping. Shzt pissed me off.

I've used 3 different kinds....I recommend skipping the cheap stuff and going straight for the elos or the tunze. ATOs gave me a lot of problems on my last tank.

[semper]

I have three jbj . They work fine. Going on a year.

[mnemenoi]

I broke mine in a drunken rage one night b/c it keep on beeping. Shzt pissed me off.

LOL, I thought I had the market on that behavior

[Raul]

Paint it black so it'll kinda blend in with the background if your worried about looks

what type of paint or any pvc paint ?

[johnnymisty]

I've heard of people using krylon fusion just let it dry real good for 24 hrs

[Raul]

so far so good zero ammonia, nitrites still 1~5 ppm, one thing I notice one of the live rock there is some sort of plant or it might be part of the death corals, but i notice it hides more when I add like small amounts of salt to adjust the salinity, but since I do not have any experience on marine not sure what it is, and not sure if I should remove it or not.

here is the pic:

http://i1072.photobucket.com/albums/w376/raullozano3/0d5319af.jpg

and if it is coral should i try and start feeding food to it, even that i am cycling.

Also I am starting to see or maybe they were already there purple spots in the live rock.

Ha this SW is totally a different animal from freshwater .... :) I am a total n00b.

[Raul]

So it is been a week, and it seems the tank is close to cycle, i been feeding ammoia very small quantities, and well every morning AMMONIA is 0. nitrites are almost 0 so I will give is a day or two, now ofcourse my nitrates are around 40 to 80 ppm since I been dosing ammonia.

how to I lower the nitrates, I know live rock it is supposed to help, but should I do a partial water change like 50% and stop dosing ammonia ?

And for that when I take saltwater i have to put the same quantity and salinity correct?. BTW i got the refractometer that thing is much simple and fast to use.

[Raul]

well so far the thank is doing good, running with some diatoms as expected, but added some few corals and waiting on the CUC, but so far it i like it.

parameter are stable,

http://i1072.photobucket.com/albums/w376/raullozano3/013.jpg

[ometh]

Very nice.

[Raul]

Here is an update pic, but I already added some fish, the corals and the shrimp and crabs and I am a happy camper, parameters all look good. I went for percula clowns people say nay I say yay!! Diatoms are dying well they are being eaten by the CUC. Poor zoas I scared them when I added this guys.

And I need to say the ATO is a must with a nano, it has really help me with the salinity to keep it on the spot.

http://i1072.photobucket.com/albums/w376/raullozano3/IMG_0251.jpg

http://i1072.photobucket.com/albums/w376/raullozano3/IMG_0250.jpg

http://i1072.photobucket.com/albums/w376/raullozano3/IMG_0248.jpg

http://i1072.photobucket.com/albums/w376/raullozano3/IMG_0252.jpg

[kyletc]

Here Is my DIY 10g rimless