10 vs 14 gallon, significant difference?

[noncarbonatedclack]

I'm looking at either a 10 gallon or a 14 peninsula, planning for mixed SPS/LPS, just wondering if there is any appreciable difference in 4 gallons when it comes to:

1. water stability
2. stocking options (fish)
3. cycle time

Thanks!

 

[Coral Your World]

“Appreciable”? none. Probably a bit more square inchage in the 14 gallon for rock and/coral

 

[noncarbonatedclack]

“Appreciable”? none. Probably a bit more square inchage in the 14 gallon for rock and/coral

alright cool. I know water stability is more touchy with less volume so..

 

[Coral Your World]

I mean, 4 gallons in this case is almost 1.5x water volume so it’s not an insignificant amount of water, but in terms of stability, a 14 isn’t going to be materially more stable than a 10. The stability/maintenance needs on both are going to be similar. I’d still go with the 14 just for the sake of the bit of extra space.

 

[TokenReefer]

I mean, 4 gallons in this case is almost 1.5x water volume so it’s not an insignificant amount of water, but in terms of stability, a 14 isn’t going to be materially more stable than a 10. The stability/maintenance needs on both are going to be similar. I’d still go with the 14 just for the sake of the bit of extra space.

Maths-wise...yeah

 

[KrisReef]

If you have to medicate, most dosages are aimed at 10 gallons/ dose. Dosing the 10 is simpler math.

 

[Ef4life]

You didn’t specify exact models of tanks, so my recommendation is reefs look better with more length and width than height. So finding one with dimensions that you like and that fits your space that will give you the look you want is going to matter more than the total tank volume.

 

[adittam]

If you have to medicate, most dosages are aimed at 10 gallons/ dose. Dosing the 10 is simpler math.

The only time this matters is if it’s a QT or hospital tank. First of all, there are very few medications that actually help and are really reef-safe. Secondly, the water volume in a display tank will differ from the tank capacity because of the displacement of the rocks.

 

[adittam]

You didn’t specify exact models of tanks, so my recommendation is reefs look better with more length and width than height. So finding one with dimensions that you like and that fits your space that will give you the look you want is going to matter more than the total tank volume.

This.
If the dimensions of each will fit your space similarly, then always go as big as you can.

 

[Reef.]

I asked the same question, got the reply 14g is 40% bigger than 10g which made it clear to me that 14g was the way to go so yes there is a huge difference, 10g with sand and rock displacement will be nearer 7-8g, not a lot of water at all, 14g will give you more room for corals and mean you can have more than 1 fish, do yourself a favour, go 14g.

 

[Coral Your World]

Here’s my UNS 10 gallon. Only 7” tall. Lots of real estate for a nano. Home to 3 happy fish, 2 shrimps and a few coral. Can’t go wrong with either. I agree to maximize length and width

 

[TangerineSpeedo]

I have a Fijicube 10g
Upsides:
Maintenance is a 1/3 cheaper
AI prime will cover the whole tank
add a MP10 and flow is SPS quality with no dead spots.
Spend less money to fill your tank with corals.
Downsides:
The tank will get maxed out very quickly.
you have to run a ATO

 

[Ef4life]

I have a Fijicube 10g
Upsides:
Maintenance is a 1/3 cheaper
AI prime will cover the whole tank
add a MP10 and flow is SPS quality with no dead spots.
Spend less money to fill your tank with corals.
Downsides:
The tank will get maxed out very quickly.
you have to run a ATO

meh ato is so 90s. I just run a kamoer x1 as a pseudo ato now.

get a nice water bottle with volume measurements on it. Every day top off your tank manually for a week and record the amounts you add. Average the 7 day total. That’s your daily evaporation rate. I cut it back about 10% and program the doser to add that amount daily. Adjust your tank level manually every couple days if needed. Adjust doser up or down slightly according to change in seasons and evap rate. Bonus is the possibility of adding kalk to the reservoir so only 1 dosing pump for ato, calcium & alk, and ph increase.

 

[TangerineSpeedo]

meh ato is so 90s. I just run a kamoer x1 as a pseudo ato now.

get a nice water bottle with volume measurements on it. Every day top off your tank manually for a week and record the amounts you add. Average the 7 day total. That’s your daily evaporation rate. I cut it back about 10% and program the doser to add that amount daily. Adjust your tank level manually every couple days if needed. Adjust doser up or down slightly according to change in seasons and evap rate. Bonus is the possibility of adding kalk to the reservoir so only 1 dosing pump for ato, calcium & alk, and ph increase.

Sounds great if you are in a controlled environment. I do not have AC and my tanks are in the breezeway the air flows through the apt. Which gives me great PH but my Evap is variable from week to week. so no consistency there. But the way you have worked it out sounds good, I don't know how much less work that is then slapping a ReefBreeders ATO on the tank. And yes I have put a bit of Kalk in mine and as long as I clean it once a month or so , no problems.

 

[noncarbonatedclack]

I got so many responses I didn't see, thanks for the info! I'll try to reply to some now, I'm still putting the parts list together, I haven't moved forward on this yet.

 

[noncarbonatedclack]

I mean, 4 gallons in this case is almost 1.5x water volume so it’s not an insignificant amount of water, but in terms of stability, a 14 isn’t going to be materially more stable than a 10. The stability/maintenance needs on both are going to be similar. I’d still go with the 14 just for the sake of the bit of extra space.

Yeah I've been thinking this myself (all this time, since this post is from October lol). I think the extra space equates to more stuff in the display, I was (And still kind of am) looking at the Fiji Cube 10 gallon rimless, but it looks like the rear area takes up a good bit of the space in terms of the overall volume.

You didn’t specify exact models of tanks, so my recommendation is reefs look better with more length and width than height. So finding one with dimensions that you like and that fits your space that will give you the look you want is going to matter more than the total tank volume.

My bad, here's a quick list. I've also recently considered not getting an AIO kit, and utilizing HOB style equipment, but I haven't finished looking at equipment costs/viability on that. Not sure if that's worth it, costwise, compared to an AIO started kit:

AIO:
Fiji Cube 10 gallon rimless - PRO series
Waterbox Cube 15 peninsula
Innovative Marine 15 NUVO Fusion
14 NUVO Fusion Peninsula PRO 2 AIO

Standalone tank:
Mr Aqua 12 gallon rimless

This.
If the dimensions of each will fit your space similarly, then always go as big as you can.

I asked the same question, got the reply 14g is 40% bigger than 10g which made it clear to me that 14g was the way to go so yes there is a huge difference, 10g with sand and rock displacement will be nearer 7-8g, not a lot of water at all, 14g will give you more room for corals and mean you can have more than 1 fish, do yourself a favour, go 14g.

Both of those make sense. I'll try to keep that in mind!

Here’s my UNS 10 gallon. Only 7” tall. Lots of real estate for a nano. Home to 3 happy fish, 2 shrimps and a few coral. Can’t go wrong with either. I agree to maximize length and width

That looks really nice! I'm looking at AIO's for the moment, but when I move back into a house I'm definitely getting something that I can use a sump on.

I have a Fijicube 10g
Upsides:
Maintenance is a 1/3 cheaper
AI prime will cover the whole tank
add a MP10 and flow is SPS quality with no dead spots.
Spend less money to fill your tank with corals.
Downsides:
The tank will get maxed out very quickly.
you have to run a ATO

Will absolutely be running an ATO.
an AI prime isn't overkill? I'm having some trouble on the lighting side, I really want something that has the various modes (daytime/moonlight, etc) but don't want something too powerful for the size of tank I'm starting with. I know I'll be re-using it in the future too, so I'm not worried about a big purchase and only using it on one tank.

RE MP10, I have to figure out dimensions and what fits in the AIO equipment space, seems like there are some clever things you can fit in that area (saw some protein skimmers that would fit, I was surprised.). I'd really like to install some things that would help alleviate maintenance, when I have my brother-in-law stay at the house while we go away, I don't want him to have to worry about all this haha. And that helps me spend less time maintaining, and more time enjoying the tank view!

 

[KrisReef]

Yeah I've been thinking this myself (all this time, since this post is from October lol). I think the extra space equates to more stuff in the display,

I don't like the salt creep from hob equipment.

I move back into a house I'm definitely getting something that I can use a sump on.

How long have you been homeless?

Glad you still have a dream to get stabilized and back into the reef scene. Why else live in a house except to have space for a reef tank? I'm with you 100%. The only reason I haven't hit the road is because my wife doesn't know how to keep the tanks running. I'm pretty sure that is why she lets me stay here.

Happy Monday!

 

[Aaron75]

IM15 for the win in my opinion

 

[TangerineSpeedo]

Will absolutely be running an ATO.
an AI prime isn't overkill? I'm having some trouble on the lighting side, I really want something that has the various modes (daytime/moonlight, etc) but don't want something too powerful for the size of tank I'm starting with. I know I'll be re-using it in the future too, so I'm not worried about a big purchase and only using it on one tank.

RE MP10, I have to figure out dimensions and what fits in the AIO equipment space, seems like there are some clever things you can fit in that area (saw some protein skimmers that would fit, I was surprised.). I'd really like to install some things that would help alleviate maintenance, when I have my brother-in-law stay at the house while we go away, I don't want him to have to worry about all this haha. And that helps me spend less time maintaining, and more time enjoying the tank view!

AI prime is perfect for theses types of tanks, great coverage in the right spectrums. As far as the MP10 goes, it will have to go on the side of the tank, because that type of wavemaker, "Dryside needs to stay dry, so not in your AIO. I would go with an AIO but I have to say my best tank was a 6g with a fluval canister filter that I cleaned every 6 months. (live rock was the aerobic filter and the canister was anaerobic filter) but that can be a bit advanced, but not impossible for a first tank.

 

[noncarbonatedclack]

How long have you been homeless?

Glad you still have a dream to get stabilized and back into the reef scene. Why else live in a house except to have space for a reef tank? I'm with you 100%. The only reason I haven't hit the road is because my wife doesn't know how to keep the tanks running. I'm pretty sure that is why she lets me stay here.

Happy Monday!

HA since september, living in a townhome. I miss my house, and wired networking...
I do need to get things going as "hands-off" as possible in terms of maintenance, for when I'm away.

IM15 for the win in my opinion

Any reason why?

AI prime is perfect for theses types of tanks, great coverage in the right spectrums. As far as the MP10 goes, it will have to go on the side of the tank, because that type of wavemaker, "Dryside needs to stay dry, so not in your AIO. I would go with an AIO but I have to say my best tank was a 6g with a fluval canister filter that I cleaned every 6 months. (live rock was the aerobic filter and the canister was anaerobic filter) but that can be a bit advanced, but not impossible for a first tank.

Excellent, on the AI prime.
The MP10 pricey, holy crap. I hadn't looked at wavemakers yet.

I'm interested in hearing more on the 6g w/ fluval cansiter filter, do you have a link to a build thread or something? I'm curious to know more on that type of filtration anyhow. So it wasn't running skimmer/chemical filtration/fuge?


Extra edit: I thought I posted this yesterday. Whoops.