10 Gallon reef... water movement???:confused:

[RudeBoy]

Hey all, I just set up a 10 gallon reef yesterday with: 10lbs, of Aragonite, 10lbs. of Fiji live rock (already cured), 50 watt heater, and a Whisper Power Filter. Now, here's the question... what size powerhead should I use in this tank? This tank will serve primarily as a spawning tank for my Clowns. I'm kind of stuck on the MaxiJet brand but I've been told that Rio's do fine in a tank that size. I'm just not sure how much water I should be moving around per hour. Any suggestions???

[scubadude]

Hi Rudeboy

I think the hard thing about current in a small tank is not so much getting enough current in there ....its dispersing it. As far as Rio versus MJ I would say try to stay with MJ if you could....much more reliable. Here is something you might want to consider....I have a 20gal reef that im still working on and I used a MJ1200 and just mounted a long pipe to the outlet with holes drilled pointing in different directions and this serves as my Spraybar for the tank. It disperse the water quite good actually .....this and my Prism skimmer are the only circulation in the tank. HTH

[RudeBoy]

Wow, that's a great idea! Did you plugged off the opposite end of the bar in order to force the water out of the drilled holes or did you leave it open? Also, is the filter that I'm using adequate for my sized tank. I want to be sure that I'm getting some good cleaning action going.

[scubadude]

Yes i did plug off the end of the pipe As far as the filter if its a sponge like filter its fine but you should either clean it often or take out the sponge part....cuz they will eventually turn into Nitrate factories IMO. I think you should concentrate more on a skimmer than a sponge-type filter media. The Prizm skimmer is an EXCELLENT skimmer for that size of tank....and it really doesnt take up much room. I know that room is gonna be an issue with your 10gal as the more stuff you put in there the less room you have for your livestock. I know alot of ppl dont really have great raves on them but the Powersweep PH's have a noble idea, they just seem to get stuck sometimes....Just another thought though. I have one and it has worked pretty good so far (knock on wood).

[RudeBoy]

I considered using a skimmer but didn't know of one small enough to use on my 10g. Also, I'm working off of what I read in my Clowfishes book and the author suggested that I use this type of filtration. So what you're saying is that even though I'm using an external filter (with carbon inside) I can still be putting Nitrates back into the water. I had bought a submersible filter but was discouraged not to use it because of the reason you just explain, but, I didn't know using an external filter could provide the same results. Man, this is getting kind of confusing and I was trying to avoid that. Seems like I understand how to keep my 30g cleaner than this 10g. I found a Berlin skimmer in the store but didn't know if this was good for my small tank. It was like $50 but I think it was an internal smimmer (I think). Didn't even know they made those.

[fishguy_8]

hey. on my 10g reef all i have is my penguin 660 ph pointed straight up....keeps the surface clear of any protein slicks and the corals seem to like the current they receive. in a 10g you really wont need to much current. and as far as a filter i dont have any filter or skimmer on my 10g. and my tank looks great.....well as soon as i get rid of the aptasia but that has nothing to do w/ it. . if you have a stable tank w/ lr. and ls. i dont really see the need for a skimmer. for me at least. i have a skimmer i just choose not to use it. all i run is the ph. it could also depend on your coral selection if you want to keep say sps you are going to want to have a lot of current, or so i hear i dont have sps personally but from what i recall they like lots of current, but if you are going to keep say xenia, shrooms, polyps.....stuff of this nature i'd say save your money and just use a single ph like the penguin 660 i love mine i have 2 of 'em. i also have a few maxijets but i prefer the penguin for some reason. good luck.
Jon

[RudeBoy]

Thanks a lot for the good advice. I think I'm gonna stick with the power filter and a PH to move the water around. Pointing the PH straight up sounds like a good idea. I know there's a chance of rising Nitrates in the water , but, rinsing my filter at least once a week will definitely help to eliminate that. Plus, right now this tank will primarily be a spawning tank and will house a few clowns, that's about it... and some live rock. I think I'm gonna put a Power Compact kit on it though A nice small one. My LFS has one for $69 but I think I can find it cheaper. The one that they have uses two bulbs (1 white/1 actinic) but the retrokit was tiny... almost looked as small as 12'-15'

[RudeBoy]

Well, I got my 10g up and running. A gentleman named KIM at www.ahsupply.com here in my home city hooked me up with the perfect PC kit for it. It's a mint little tank and the snails and crabs seem to love it so far . I've tested the water and I have no dangerous levels because the LR I used was already cured. I currently have 26 watts of lighting on the tank and they're mounted about 3-4" from the water line. What type of wattage do I need in order to keep corals in this tank? Keep in mind, I'm primarily using it to spawn my Clowns for now but things could change.