Here it is... 20 gallon nano tank build

[ordi260]

[ordi260]

A word about filtration...i had a good talk with ray about the filtration for my tank...do you guys think the biological filtration from the live rock with the use of a small (appropriate for my tank size...) protein skimmer is gonna be enought or should i look into adding other means of filtration???  Note that i dont have a sump!

[Severum]

I'd say that live rock and a skimmer should be just fine. If you notice you are having nutrient problems you can start adding other components.

[ordi260]

Any ideas about the skimmer type i should use??? I am a very regular water changer (im used to it)...so i wouldn't mind doing it weekly or twice a week if needed...

i was thinking of getting a small prtoein skimmer to start with and see if the parameters are good and upgrade later on, if necessary because my tank is quite small.

I guess it depends of the bio load anyway...any ideas???

What about my sand bed... 3 quarter inche to an inch is gonna be OK eh?

[SWFitzy]

Do not put the eggcrate in the bottom. It is not good for your tank.

Some coral suggestions are Bubble Coral, Torch Coral, Elegance coral and long tentacle plate coral.

As for a skimmer, go to Ottawa Inverts. They have some good deals on later models.

[Vincenzo.]

Ya get a hob skimmer, they are some nice affordable models. Or place a add for a used..

If u want a mech filter, look into getting a small one and make it into a chaeto mod. Cheap simple and good for pod pop.

for 20g aim for 20-30lbs of LR.

up 2 an 1'' is fine for ur sand bed. Im a fan of DSB i had 2.5''/3'' .... But words of wizz-dumb, NEVER stir ur sand bed when its that deep. Or ull end up like me..

[ordi260]

Updates!!!!

Just purchased 25 lbs of totoka and indo live rock!!!

Tank is full of salty water (adjusting relative gravity to 1.020 rights now)

So cycling start now!!! 

What water temperature should i aim for?  I settted the heater to 78...any ideas?

Ill be adding the live rock in there in the next hour...place everything nice and clean and rinse / add sand later on!

Lots of pictures taken...ill post them later tonight!

[RossW]

This is an excellent article which will address your heat question and may make you question your saltinity also

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-05/rhf/index.php

[ordi260]

Alright so here is the liverock!

Tank with backdrop.

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[ordi260]

Ebay stuff just arrived!



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[ordi260]

Natural Wave and Digital Aquatics PC4.

Digital aquatics ReefKeeper lite (Ill hang it on my stand's door later on)

Tank with saltwater in

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[ordi260]

Live rock and aragonite in place (its not too cloudy...im surprised)!   

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[ordi260]

Living room's lights off and fixture on!

That's about it for today...temps is now stable at 80 F and salinity (RG) at 1.021.

Should I put the lights on or off during the cycling period?

What's next on the to do list???

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[salvini55]

bump up that salinity to 1.025  looking good. Is that a wooden airstone skimmer?

[dakrazyone]

setup is looking good, keep the pics coming

[ordi260]

bump up that salinity to 1.025  looking good. Is that a wooden airstone skimmer?

Yes its a wooden airstone skimmer... I took it on ebay cheapo style (less than 15$) I bought it just to help before i buy something more effective (probably a HOB event tho i find the very big and UGLY!!!)  Reef octopus HOB BH-1000 might be a choice...also heard about aqua C remora...don't know wha to choose...any ideas?

Do you guys have any links to a salinity calculator...something that would tell me how much salt to pour in to bump it up from 1.021 to 1.025 in 20 gallons volume...?

[beertech]

You should be using a refractometer or at least a hydrometer to measure your salinity. Don't go any further until you have one of these to check it. You measure it when you mix it before adding it to your tank. 

[LEROY]

How do you know your specific gravity is 1.021? If you are following the directions on the bag "1/2 cup per gallon" then that is more of a guideline than an accurate way of measuring your specific gravity. Since you are cycling your tank when you do your next water change you can bump up the salinity, but I believe it is best to do that by .002 per week. When mixing your water it is best do so over a 24 hour period and to have good circulation and the temperature will have an effect on your SG reading and your best bet is to have the fresh salty water temperature and SG matched to your tank water (once you have inhabitants). Getting it right takes some fine tuning and once you start mixing every week you will find that you will be able to gauge how much salt to add if it's too salty add fresh RO water to take the level down accordingly. Hope that helps.

[ordi260]

Hi everyone! 

I think i might have written something incorrectly! (Sorry about that...) 

I already have a hydrometer, my question was if there is any chart that would allow me to see how many salt is needed to bump it up from 1.021 to 1.025 in a volume of 20 gallon.  Leroy answered it by saying no.

Quote from leroy:   Getting it right takes some fine tuning and once you start mixing every week you will find that you will be able to gauge how much salt to add. Quote
I was thinking about something like:

Example: to bump 20 gallons of water at 1.021 you need 5 gallons of water at 1.035 but apparently there is no way to calculate that, i looked online and didn't found anything.

Thanks for your help!

[ordi260]

Talking about water changes...what are my daily / weekly tasks during hte cycling period???