25 gallon tall

[daReefer]

I have decide to start a nano it will be a Eclipse 25gal tall w/ hood 5500k day lightf.
I will add 15lbs of sand and 22lbs of fiji pre-cured live rock.I will have 2 301 powersweeper for circulation and a visi-therm deluxe heater(200watts).

my questions are:
1 how often do I do a water change?
2 do I turn on lights?
3 do I need to add snails and crabs?
and any more information is welcome
TIA

[daReefer]

p.s. I want to go skimmless

[reiple]

my questions are:
1 how often do I do a water change?
daily is good. A quart or two daily.

2 do I turn on lights?
of course. but 5500K lamps? better replace it with 6500-6700K dalight lamps at the very least.

3 do I need to add snails and crabs?
maybe a few. these are additional bioloads. And in such a small space they can be opportunistic. A few turbos and maybe a small blue legged hermit crab.

with daily wc you can go skimmerless!

[daReefer]

the tank is a eclipse with hood and the

[dhoffroad]

are you talking about during the cycle?
if so just do stuff like you would if it was set up ,weekly water changes,lights on (day) lights off (night) as far as the clean up crew goes try and wait till the cycle it finished.
as far as skimmerless goes just keep up on your water changes.

[daReefer]

yes I was. a friend is going to help me make a 10gal refuge. by adding a refuge does this add to water volume, and filter in a natural way

[dhoffroad]

yes it adds volume, and "filtration" cause you still will put some LR in the fuge.the good thing about adding a 10 gal sump/fuge set up is that you can put a skimmer in there and wont have to worry about having one in your main tank. that is what I would do . so it sounds like the next issue you are going to have is lilghting I would start looking into something other than the stock lights. good luck

[daReefer]

thanks what kind of lighting can I use that will fit in the hood?

[Dingo]

You don't need a skimmer. I would recommend 10-20% weekly water changes, not tiny daily ones. That would be a huge PITA and you'd never keep up over time. You can retrofit that tank with PC lights that are a more appropriate wavelength. I suggest that you go to nano-reef.com and do some research.

[dhoffroad]

no you don't NEED a skimmer. but eventually you will skim unless you are one of those die hard anti simmer people (LOL). look arround for retro kits a couple places are hellolights.com and I think, ashsupply.com .

[ckreef]

Originally Posted by dhoffroad

no you don't NEED a skimmer. but eventually you will skim unless you are one of those die hard anti simmer people (LOL). .

Not sure about that statement. I skim all big tanks but would never consider skimming a 20 gal or less tank. Just way to much of a PITA. If you are a gadget junckie then get a bigger tank and load yourself down with gadgets. If you want a Nano go as simple as possible and save yourself the hassle.

In a Nano a 1 or 2 gal water change (10 gal or less 1 ---- 10 - 20 gal then a 2 gal water change) will be more then sufficient to maintain your tank properly. A skimmer is just way to much hassles for only 20 or 30 corals.

[dhoffroad]

ok but we are not talking about 20gal or less, we are talking about 35 gal of water eventually getting corals, inverts, and possably fish(?) not 10 or 20gal of just corals. any way not here to battle . You are right a nano is suposed to be simple so yea keep it simple.And yes, I guess I AM a gadget junkie (LOL)
10gal
96w
DIY LED moon lights
ac300 fuge w/ 13w pc
auto top off
closed loop SCWD
10gal fuge/sump with SKIMMER in the works
all on and in DIY stand