Lighting a small tank

OrionGirl

OrionGirl

No freelancing!
Aug 14, 2001
14,053
343
143
Poconos
Real Name
Sheila
Following the failed extra-aquarium expedition of my newts, I have a 10 gallon tank that is empty. While empty tanks are not new, this one already has a stand, and is not in storage, so...It's going to be converted to salt. Already converted, I should say--Plumbed in a 15 gallon sump, changed over to new sand, and is currently running. Going to add the raw shrimp tonight. I'm going to get a bigger pump for the return (right now it's a AC402--pushing at about 26 inch head, it's pretty meager turnover through the sump. Also picking up a new heater--it's just at room temp right now, but I'll push it to 80 for cycling. Need a reliable heater--probably going to pick up an Ebo Jager, just because they've been reliable for me.

My question--is the 20" PowerCompact Moon Lite going to be too much for this small a tank? It's 40W PC, white and actinic on seperate switches. They most likely won't run in opposition, but rather I'd use the actinics for a few hours in the morning and a few hours at night, with about 2 hours of overlap with the whites.

It's going to have to live rock, some inverts, one scooter dranogette that's getting kicked out of the 50 he's in right now, maybe a pair of clown gobies, or a percula, and whatever corals I can support. I'd really like to try some acros.

Thanks!
 
The light sounds good to me. I've seen healthy nanos with that much light. Heck, one of the guys here runs a quad 96 watt over his 10.

I love that the sump will be bigger than the tank. It would make a nice refugium, of you felt like it.
 
Ha! The sump is actually an old wet dry from the first setup of the 65 gallon tank--it fit in the stand, and was already plumbed with a skimmer. The whole thing is pretty much from the spare parts bin. I'll take some pics and post them tomorrow.

That's what I figured. The 96 watt one was tempting, but I'm not sure how easily I could fit it into the canopy I'm going to build. I'm not in a huge hurry to get the lighting, since it does have a 15 watt NO on it right now, and it will need to stew a bit even after cycling before I'll be comfortable adding any corals.
 
FrontView.jpg

Front view of the tank. You can see the back corner of the planted 40 on the right.

Filter.jpg

AC300, with a bulkhead fitting in the side that's plumbed down to the sump. The white clumps are CC--hoping this will help buffer the water. Right now, it's just siphoning, the filter is not plugged in. If needed, I can plug it in, but right now the return flow is too slow.

SideView.jpg

Side view of the tank. Modified skimmer attachment--works, but might need to upgrade to something with a higher flow rate.
 
Darn it, didn't mean to post yet.

Sump.jpg

Here's the sump. Sorry for the glare--the cabinent really reflects, and is too dark not to use the flash.

So, there the little baby is. Added some raw shrimp last night.

I'm wondering if I lower the height of the pipe going out of the filter if it will speed up the siphoning. Right now, it's just barely below the water level within the tank. Or, if just upgrading the pump will be enough to speed that up? Obviously--I am not the one who runs the plumbing on the other SW tanks!

Yes, I was bummed--I really liked the newts. This was the third exploratory efforts they'd made--the first time, they made it 10 feet across the floor, through the dog bed, and were found covered in hair and getting dry. This time, I just didn't find them soon enough--and still do not know how they made it out of the tank. They lived for 2 years, though, and were upgraded from a 5 to the 10, had snails, shrimp, and tetras as tankmates.
 
Last edited:
I like the idea of using the aquaclear for the overflow. I have a few old ones lying around, and might try it. Not sure how to speed up the flow, though.
It should be great when it's all up and running.
 
I'll let you know how adjusting the height of the tube in the box effects the rate. Right now it's pretty slow--not even enough to keep the surface clear. I would have liked to put the bulkhead in the bottom, but there are plastic slots on the inside bottom, leaving no room. It went in easily, though--the side cracked a tad on drilling, but luckily just within the disk that was removed. And, it's easy to start that siphon!

This one was actually new in the box--I bought a pair, intending to set up to 55's, then ended up using internal filters for one of them. Eh, we could almost open up shop with all the spare parts we have--lots of PVC, various tubing, impellers, powerheads, heaters, bio-balls, sand, tanks, light--sheesh!
 
Eh, we could almost open up shop with all the spare parts we have--lots of PVC, various tubing, impellers, powerheads, heaters, bio-balls, sand, tanks, light--sheesh!
Click to expand...
:laugh:
Don't I know it! I keep telling myself that I'm going to sell the old UV units, fluidized bed filters, HOB filters, not to mention the drawers of parts and fittings. But maybe I'll want to use them....
 
Yeah, that's the line that echoes in my house as well. And projects like this just make it worse! :D
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
AquariaCentral.com
Top Bottom