Can I use Triton on 29 gal?

[Pyrosteve]

I'm starting my first reef tank with a 29 gal with 10 gal sump. Because of the tank location, no/reduced water changes would be great, plus it seems that this system would remove some of the guesswork for a beginner like me. So I have questions...

1) First, will it work on a nano this size with proper set up?

2) I've calculated my total water volume to be 34 gal with LR/LS. The refugium will be 10x9x9" for 3.5 gal, which is max size and right above 10%. I would like to have a med/high bio load. Would this be enough?

3) Would I run the "Full" or "other methods" on this set up?

4) Should I wait for the tank to mature a couple months before starting or start as soon as I add my first coral/fish after cycle?

Any other info and advice would be appreciated!

 

[Tim2@Triton]

Congratulations on your first reef tank! Triton works perfectly at any scale of tank, though you should understand that tanks under 40-50 gallons are inherently less stable than larger systems. A medium/High bioload is something you can work towards, on a young (non established) system it is easy to overwhelm with too many hungry mouths. Any algae bed is beneficial to a system's stability, so your refugium will help the tank remain stable through phytoremediation, but nutrient uptake can still be overwhelmed if the system is not balanced (under lit and over fed). With all reef systems you must test and monitor your nutrient loads and mineral levels before taking actions or deciding whether to perform a water change. For smaller system volumes I suggest using the original base elements, as they are less concentrated and easier to meter out on a small system with the volumes dosed approximately 7 times more than the Core7 product line. Disregard he distinction between "full Triton" and other methods, it only applies to selecting between the two Core7 formulas. You can start with Triton dosing from the outset, but a new tank, with very low calcification demand and few corals and coraline algae, will not require very much additional supplementation (dosing).

 

[Pyrosteve]

Hey thanks Tim! I was trying to decide between Base and Core7. With the sump, I don't have much room for 4 dosing containers in the stand. They'll be small and I was thinking of using core7 and diluting it with RO/DI water, like with the Base elements, only not 10x. Maybe only 2x-3x with Core7. I guess it wouldn't matter much in the beginning as you said, the demand won't be very much.