Some questions about my nano

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Hi all. Just need some advice :)..

Ok so i got a 60L tank. i got a 50W heater and a 1500L/H internal power filter..

my questions are, would the heater be enough to keep my tank at 26 or would you suggest getting a bigger heater. I think for summer it should be fine, but not sure when winter comes if it would be strong enough,,

then can the 1500L/H pump be to strong for my 60L tank..
there is a lot of movement in the tank, and in the one side of the tank, all the sand keeps blowing away,, is this a problem, or do you think once the live rock is in it should be ok..
Hear is some pics, hope you can see what i am talking about..

thanks in advance..

tank1.jpg

tank2.jpg

tank3.jpg

tank4.jpg
 
mmm, some changes i would consider then.

A) Rather get one of those hang on back filters. Its gonna be more sufficient as that internal pump is just gonna cause u headaches with filtration/cleaning in the long run. + It is going to build up alot of spikes in such a small system.
B) Your lighting is not sufficient for corals. Get 2X T8 Bulbs 1 Blue and 1 White to start with. That should get you going for very basic corals.
C) Live rock is a must. If you wish to keep the internal canister filter (Which i wouldnt) then placing some in your tank would stop such a turbulant flow in such a small system.
D) Oh and your heater is fine. Lights will add to temp.

my 2c
 
Hi there, welcome to MASA. Please share more with us regarding your setup.

How long has the tank been running?
What are the water parameters at the moment (ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, kH, salinity and pH)?
What water do you use for evaporation top ups and for the salt mix?
Are you going to put live rock in?

A small tank like that has very little room for error. That power filter is no good for a marine setup in my opinion. You also don't have a protein skimmer which is good to have. Some guys will say it is a must have.

Please read my signature as there are a lot of info there regarding starting with marines.
 
No One, a protein skimmer is not a MUST in such a small system but would be advantages. Personally I would leave it out in that system. If you keep your coral and fish load low ule be fine.
 
No One, a protein skimmer is not a MUST in such a small system but would be advantages. Personally I would leave it out in that system. If you keep your coral and fish load low ule be fine.

Will be fine without a skimmer if you do regular weekly water changes ensuring that the new made up water has the same temp and salinity as the current water, especially in a small tank like that ;)
 
Will be fine without a skimmer if you do regular weekly water changes ensuring that the new made up water has the same temp and salinity as the current water, especially in a small tank like that ;)

So true ;). oh and No One if this is your first tank and you have no idea how to take measurements. Take a jug full of water to your local pet shop and let them test it for you. They all usually do it at a small fee. Otherwise tell us where u live and maby one of the fellow reefers can help you out.
 
Hello No One, and welcome to MASA.

Storm and Tobes have already given you a few pointers in terms of your setup.
Here are a few additional thoughts:

1. Your flow of 1500/h at present is perhaps a bit low. Also, since the flow is directed as a single stream this is causing you problems by shifting the substrate. You will continue to have this problem, even though the live rock may divert a little of the flow. It is far better to have a wider flow. Have a look at the Seio or Tunze range of flow pumps. Ideally you want the flow to be chaotic, i.e. not only circultaing in one direction around the tank . Hope that makes sense to you :p

PS. I also run a 60liter nano with 2400l/h flow pump inside the DT. The flow is perfect !

2. You would need to upgrade your lights if you are looking at keeping any corals (softies , LPS or SPS). There are a few commercial units available that would fit quite nicely on your tank . Have a look at the sponsor's pages for some ideas on light units. My suggestion would be 3 x T5 18/24W white & actinic . You can also go for PC (power compact fluorescent tubes). They are basically just a T5 tube folded back on itself. They are failry short in length (+- 33cm) but pack a powerful light output for their small size. PC's are available as white only or white/blue combo's.

3. You filtration in a small tank is absolutely critical. You want to have a filtration system comprising of three stages (mechanical , biological , chemical). My suggestion is to look at a hang on skimmer/filter combo. Use filter floss/skimmer for the mechanical filtration , live rock for your bio filtration and add some carbon/phosphate removal compound to form your chemical filtration.

4. Your substrate should be fairly fine (1-1.5mm grain size) . You want to avoid having a very coarse substrate as this will trap detritus and cause you a lot of grief later on with the buildup of nitrates & phosphates.

5. Your heater will be fine for now. Depending on where you live and how cold the winter's get , you may want to look at upgrading your heater to 100W.

Lastly , read as much as you can BEFORE you start setting up or doing changes. Ask lots of questions here in the forum .

Enjoy the adventure !
 
Thanks for all the replies guys and gals. really appreciate it.

mmm, some changes i would consider then.

A) Rather get one of those hang on back filters. Its gonna be more sufficient as that internal pump is just gonna cause u headaches with filtration/cleaning in the long run. + It is going to build up alot of spikes in such a small system.
B) Your lighting is not sufficient for corals. Get 2X T8 Bulbs 1 Blue and 1 White to start with. That should get you going for very basic corals.
C) Live rock is a must. If you wish to keep the internal canister filter (Which i wouldnt) then placing some in your tank would stop such a turbulant flow in such a small system.
D) Oh and your heater is fine. Lights will add to temp.

my 2c

A) Ok cool. will it be fine to use the internal for know until i get a hang on filter..
B) oh yeah forgot to say, that was just a temparory light on there, still going to be getting the right lights.
C) yeah i am definately getting live rock, was planing on getting some already, but just wanted to make sure my setup was alright..
D) ok cool

Hi there, welcome to MASA. Please share more with us regarding your setup.

How long has the tank been running?
What are the water parameters at the moment (ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, kH, salinity and pH)?
What water do you use for evaporation top ups and for the salt mix?
Are you going to put live rock in?

A small tank like that has very little room for error. That power filter is no good for a marine setup in my opinion. You also don't have a protein skimmer which is good to have. Some guys will say it is a must have.

Please read my signature as there are a lot of info there regarding starting with marines.

Hi there,,
Cool tank has been running for 1 day :).. should of said that in the beggining sorry about that..
Haven't checked the parameters yet, was going to wait till the live rock was in, can tell you the salinity is 1.024
I just got some ro water from the petshop close to me, and got some spare that i am keeping in plastic container for evaporation and water changes.
yes definatley putting live rock in,, just wanted to test all the equipment before getting the live rock..

So you would also suggest getting a hang on filter rather than the internal one ?
thanks again

@Apollo thanks for all the advice and info..
yeah i was hoping for the chaotic flow that you talk about, was just a bit worried that it was going to be to much flow..
I am going to be changing the internal power filter, to a hang on filter. which i am hoping is going to give me more (Chaotic) flow. but in the mean time i have just put a few T.pieces and elbows on to the end of the pump, which seems to give me more Chaotic movement and less substrate movement.
Do you think this will be alright untill i get a hang on filter..


thanks again all.

also wanted to ask :)..
would you recomend putting a lid on the tank, or leaving it open,
 
No One, a hang on filter will give you much less turbulent flow then your canister filter. But for such a small tank i wouldn't add so much flow, but hey u must decide whats best for you either high or low will do. Just not to low for detritus to settle or to high t hat the flesh is torn off your corals.
 
Some people leave it open and some close it. Closed will result in higher temperatures and less evaporation - can also cause problems with your lights in an enclosed lid too close to the water. In my opinion open looks better and evaporation is maxed when cooling especially if you use a fan to blow over the water in the summer. Open is bad for certain fishes who thinks they're superman! And also bad for chemicals like deoderant and insect killer spray entering the water.
 
@Apollo thanks for all the advice and info..
yeah i was hoping for the chaotic flow that you talk about, was just a bit worried that it was going to be to much flow..
I am going to be changing the internal power filter, to a hang on filter. which i am hoping is going to give me more (Chaotic) flow. but in the mean time i have just put a few T.pieces and elbows on to the end of the pump, which seems to give me more Chaotic movement and less substrate movement.
Do you think this will be alright untill i get a hang on filter..


thanks again all.

also wanted to ask :)..
would you recomend putting a lid on the tank, or leaving it open,


No one : Since you don't have any LR or other livestock in the tank at present, the flow does not matter that much.
Like Storm says , you must decide for yourself what type of flow to have and whether it will suit your setup.

Just remember this : The purpose of flow in the tank is threefold
1. To allow for gaseous interchange of oxygen and CO2.
2. To bring nutrients to your corals , LR and other immobile inverts
3. To remove detritus before it can accumulate on your rocks or substrate. It therefore helps in suspending the detritus in the water column, from where it will be skimmed or filtered off.

I have purely given you an indication of the flow I have in my 60liter Nano, so you can get some appreciation for the amount of flow. You do not need to follow this to the letter. Just bear the points above in mind when selecting/adjusting your flow.

Insofar a canopy is concerned , this is up to you as well.

If you are going to look at using a Metal Halide fixture , then it would be best to leave the top of the tank open and suspend the MH fixture above it. This helps also with the cooling of the MH fixture which can get pretty hot. You don't want to have the MH adding significant heat to your setup.

If you are going to be using T5/T8 or even PC fluorescents , a canopy can be fitted OR you can also just suspend the light fixture above the tank.

Entirely up to you.;)
 
Hi all. sorry been awhile :)..
Ok hear is my tank so far. I got a couple of kilo's of LR in and a few things that came with the LR, i have seen 3 crabs so far (will they be alright in the tank, even though it hasn't matured yet ?) and i think it is an anenome, (do they generally move around the LR ? , mine keeps moving from rock to rock).
and some other little things growing on the LR.
Just put the pipe along the back wall so now there is alot more flow all over and not just in one place, there seems to be alot of flow near the top and little towards the bottom of the tank, Do you think this will be alright, I don't want to much flow at the bottom. (or do I) :)..
Ok one more question, this might be a stupid one though,,
would it be alright to use Boiled kettle water to top up my tank, Obviously i would wait for it to cool down and mix the right amount of salt in. I normally get RO water to top up, but sometime can't get when I run out, and to top up i only need a few litres at most.

Oops almost forget to add the Pic's LOL..

LR in with the Bubbles off.
tanknew2.jpg

tanknew3.jpg


then just 2 pics to show more or less the flow
tanknew1.jpg

tanknew.jpg


Any coments and suggestions for my tank will be greatly appreciated,
thanks for all the help so far..
 
Problem with boiled water is that is actually worse, although you kill most life in the water it evaporates which in turn concentrates the the undesirable minerals etc
 
Ok cool thanks guys. yeah haven't used boiled water yet so will not be doing that LOL..
sorry if all the questions are stupid :). what about mineral water, like the 5 litres you buy..
I don't have a sump, so the crabs are going to have to stay, will try get some pics of them to show you guys, I just hardly ever see them, and when i do they are in the holes in the LR, so can't really get them out to get a good pic..
 
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