10 gallon tank - T

A

AquaMan

[Im thinking about setting up a 10 gallon QT tank, or like a mini reef in my bathroom. What kinda filtration should I use on it if its a QT tank and what kind should i use if it is a mini reef tank.]
 
[one thing you have to worry about having a tank in a bathroom is chemical usage. Bleach, windex, that stuff with the scrubbing bubbles....all could be deadly to your tank inhabitants.]
 
[If it is something that stays airborne for any amount of time, it could be a problem. I had a quarantine tank on my kitchen counter, and it worked okay for a medicated event. But as you know, even grease can end up on everything in the kitchen as it becomes airborne and then later settles on stuff a few feet away.

What I did to clean a large mirror behind my 29g was to buy Windew Wipes. This avoided any issues. A bathroom uses quite a few products. Especially tub and shower sprays. Those are hard to work around - tough to breathe!]
 
[Patrick,

I too run a 10gal tank. I originally set it up as my QT tank, but after my 6-line killed one purple firefish and was working on the others I moved them to the 10.

The key with a 10gal (true for all tanks, but more so for small ones!) is _watch your stocking density_. This means two things really: first, don't overstock (you can, but water changes every 6 days are a hasstle). Second, don't change the bioload

I perform WC's in my 10gal every 10 days, but I would still say the water in this tank is the foulest of all my tanks. A large amount of chaeto and good circulation has helped, but two firefish is already probably 'overstocked''. Fortunately a lot of light and tons of algae (plus WC's like clockwork) keep it in line.

The second, watch the bioload, is also important. With a small tank, adding something large, or increasing the feeding can quickly cause a disruptioni of the ecosystem.

For filtration, I use the following method in my 10gal.
1. vigerous, but not overwhelming, circulation. If you have crap settling, you don't have enough water movement, and trouble is brewing.

2. 0-2" of sand. On one side of the tank the water exposes the bottom. Most of the tank has about 1" of sand. I used southdown and a small amount of sugar fine, and a small amount of about 2mm grain size (1 cup). These are just for esthetics.

3. Live rock with LOTS of surface area. My tank has really thrived since I added a thin piece of tufa rock (I cut it to 1/2" thick with a hand saw). Algae goes crazy on it. Sounds drastic, but live rock can be drilled to increase surface area as well.

4. Don't put too much rock in the tank!! 10gal is not a lot of water. I have one piece of big rock in the tank, and a few small pieces (3"). If you put too much rock in the tank, there isn't a lot of room to dilute pollution you add.

5. Don't disturb the tank! Nano's more than any other tank seem to be healthiest when I don't move around the rock.

5. Occassionally blow off the rocks: turkey basters works nice.

Anyway, hope some of these comments help. PM me if you want to have a dialogue sometime. We can talk at a meeting, on phone or by email.]
 
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