Andrew's 10 Gallon Reef Build

[GSPClown94]

After a few years away from the hobby I will be jumping back in with the start of this 10 gallon nano reef aquarium. I will be using some leftover equipment from previous aquariums along with new equipment. I just joined R2R to document my build and share it with others and see what everyone else is doing in this hobby. Comments, questions, and suggestions are welcome and thanks for checking out my aquarium.

Tank Specs
Aqua Culture 10 Gallon Aquarium
EcoTech VorTech MP10 Powerhead
Hydor SlimSkim Nano Protein Skimmer
Zetlight ZA1201 LED Light
ViaAqua Multi-Media Reactor
Tetra 50w Heater
AquaNeat Digital Thermometer
10 lbs of Nature's Ocean Live Sand #0
7lbs Fiji Dry Rock- Will be seeded by 3-5lbs of live rock from a local store and some chaetomorpha
Bulk Reef Supply 5 Stage RODI Unit
Instant Ocean Reef Crystals Salt Mix

 

[GSPClown94]

Still waiting on a few more things to arrive before I can actually start. Just filled the aquarium up with RODI water to test for leaks and make some adjustments so the light will fit properly.

 

[GSPClown94]

Today the 7 lbs of Fiji dry rock arrived from Bulk Reef Supply so I got started aquascaping with V-Colla Voila reef safe epoxy to bond the rocks together. This dry rock will be seeded by a few pounds of live rock when I am ready to start the aquarium. I also finished cleaning my old MP10 and threw that in the aquarium.

 

[GSPClown94]

Finally got everything I needed to start and I just got done filling it up with saltwater. I ordered Natures Ocean live sand #0 from Amazon but was sent #1 by mistake and I didn't want to wait any longer so I decided to use the #1 live sand. Today I got 3.5 lbs of some awesome live rock with lots of color from my local fish store. Right now the aquarium has 3.5 lbs of live rock, 7 lbs of dry rock, 10 lbs of Natures Ocean live sand #1, and about 8 gallons of saltwater made with RODI water and Instant Ocean Reef Crystals. I forgot the bearings on my MP10 were shot and super noisy so I have that taken apart right now, just waiting on the bearings to arrive in a few days.

 

[Steadyreef42]

Very nice scape . So will you be using chaeto and the skimmer for export? Sounds like a plan for success . That’s awesome to how you have the mp10. Flow will be dialed in . Congrats

 

[GSPClown94]

Very nice scape . So will you be using chaeto and the skimmer for export? Sounds like a plan for success . That’s awesome to how you have the mp10. Flow will be dialed in . Congrats

Thanks! Yes I will be using the skimmer and chaeto to remove excess nutrients. I plan on putting the chaeto in my media reactor and wrapping a LED around it. The Via Aqua reactor is kind of on the small side so I'm not sure how much chaeto I will actually be able to grow in there but I will try it out.

 

[Steadyreef42]

I’ve been eyeing the viaaqua reactor for chaeto too lol. I’m sure given the 10 gallon tank size any amount of chaeto would be great for nutrient export

 

[damselindistress]

Nice looking arrangement on your live rock, should look really interesting when you start adding corals

 

[GSPClown94]

I’ve been eyeing the viaaqua reactor for chaeto too lol. I’m sure given the 10 gallon tank size any amount of chaeto would be great for nutrient export

It is a good reactor, I previously used it to run GFO but for chaeto I would still prefer something larger just so I can let it grow longer without having to prune it as often.

 

[GSPClown94]

Nice looking arrangement on your live rock, should look really interesting when you start adding corals

Thanks, the dry rock I got looked pretty boring but the epoxy really allowed me to create something a little more interesting.

 

[GSPClown94]

Bearings for the MP10 arrived yesterday and I just found out this morning so I had to install them and test it out. It is definitely a lot quieter, I wish I had a new MP10 to compare it too but from what I remember it sounds pretty close to the original noise level. The cloudiness from the sand has subsided but my skimmer is leaking micro bubbles due to its poor design. This is not a matter of letting the skimmer break in, I can see bubbles coming from where the back panel meets the skimmer body since they just slide together the fitting is not very tight. When I get some free time I'll look into sealing it up better.

 

[GSPClown94]

It has been two weeks since I set up this 10 gallon and the cycle is just about over. I had a few diatoms appear on the rocks and sand for two days but have started to go away. Today I added a ball of chaeto and I have already seen a bunch of amphipods crawling around since adding it.

 

[GSPClown94]

Added 5 nassarius snails and 3 blue leg hermit crabs the other day. The diatoms didn't last very long and weren't that bad.

 

[GSPClown94]

Picked up some GSP and Zoas over the weekend and I’m still deciding on where to place them.

 

[GSPClown94]

It has been a while but I finally got my auto top off system and chaeto reactor set up. Some aiptasia started to pop up on a few of my rocks so I put some epoxy over them and haven't seen anymore but if I find any more I'll just end up getting a peppermint shrimp.

 

[GSPClown94]

I need to remember to trim my chaeto more often.

 

[Steadyreef42]

I need to remember to trim my chaeto more often.

That’s awesome! How is the display?

 

[GSPClown94]

That’s awesome! How is the display?

Display pretty much looks the same as the picture on March 25th. There are a few small patches of coralline growing on the back glass and the GSP has a few more polyps. The zoanthids started to grow some new polyps but something has been munching on them, I took them out and dipped them a few times but saw nothing. I suspect it is one of my hungry hermit crabs munching on the zoas.

 

[GSPClown94]

So I finally broke down and decided to order some coral online. I’ve always had bad luck with Fedex, UPS, and USPS losing or damaging packages so I’ve tried to stay away from ordering live animals online but I just couldn’t resist. I got the sps 6 frag pack from Cultivated Reef that just arrived this morning. I’m very happy with what I got and it was definitely a good deal. Green Slimer, Pink Birdsnest, Idaho Grape, Blue Digi, Superman, and Micro Cladus.

 

[GSPClown94]

Well its been a while since my last update, I've been dealing with some health issues instead of taking care of my aquarium and it definitely shows. Due to lack of water changes and overall neglect some of the corals started to bleach but are now slowly recovering. The last picture is most recent and things are looking better both my health and the aquarium.