Might start a Nano... 15gal Column (Need advice)

[Dj City]

Hello

I have a 110gal mixed reef that's doing pretty good. It's 5 years old and i'm happy with it.
I have a LARGE maroon clown that decided to knock down large rocks so i'm rescaping the right side of that tank.

I have a snowflake clown that has lived in the sump for the past year because the maroon one day decided she did not like the snowflake anymore.

Having said that, I have live rock and a snowflake clown that I can put into a new tank.

I've had a 15 gal column tank for a few years. It was once set up as a saltwater tank but I wound up tearing it down about 3 years ago. I never took out the rock, Never took out the sand (Black sand) and never took out the water (I have topped it off with fresh water over the years. I have not run filtration for the past 3 years.
It's a nice tank but I would need a few things to get it up and running PROPERLY.

First...
What is a good light I can use for this tank? I would like to be able to mount the light to the hood of the tank but i'm not married to that idea. I don't want to spend a boatload of money on this tank to get it right.

Second...
What should I do with the sand and rock that's been in the tank for the past 3 years?

Third...
What sump could I use? I had used a sump that was OUTSIDE the cabinet but I really want one INSIDE the cabinet. I would love one where I could use a fuge for growing algae.

Fourth...
If there is NO SUMP that will fit my needs, could I use a HOB filter? Would that be enough?

Fifth...
What am I NOT asking that I SHOULD be asking?

I have the Aqueon column tank and stand.
https://www.petsmart.com/fish/tanks...- Specialty - Fish - Strong SS&utm_medium=cpc




Thanks Nano Tank People.

 

[Tuffyyyyy]

1) AI Prime would work well. Should be able to get deep enough. They're pretty reasonably priced new, and even more so if you can find a used one.
2) Rinse it off. I think that's probably all that I'd do
3) Perhaps a DIY 10G sump?
4) Yeah that would also work. People are having great success with huge HOB filters and then modding them to be refugiums
5) What about auto top off? That's always my own concern for nano tanks.

 

[Dj City]

I just purchased an AI Prime HD so hopefully I will be good on lighting!

 

[Dj City]

I think im going to use a hob fuge. CPR makes one that's a perfect fit.
I should even be able to fit a nano skimmer in it.

 

[Dj City]

What's a good powerhead for flow on a small column tank besides an MP10?
I'm NOT trying to spend that kind of money on a powerhead and last time I used an MP10 on that tank it was too much flow even at lowest setting.

 

[brandon429]

Want to ask you something

do you still have that rock and sand we can can do cycling tests on, the stuff that's sat those years wet

We think they'll pass bacteria tests. Most would say they wouldn't


If you have this right now for testing you have rare materials that when tested could become part of a serious article on reef microbiology

It's rare, but mostly no testing for this proof exists bc people simply won't keep a three year fallow (unfed, kept only wet, left as is, like crime scene forensic works left perfectly in state)

You have something rare

Our longest fallow test so far is 24 mos

You have 36 mos, want to contribute something serious to microbiology as a whole?


What bacteria can tolerate is amazing

The only thing you have to do is rinse off the sand and rocks to eject filth and clean em as much as possible

Then put it all in a small aquarium cleaned, and fill with saltwater and add ammonium chloride specifically for aquariums. Dr tims four bucks...bring to half or one ppm of free ammonia. Buy a salifert test kit not any other type

Red Sea ammonia if you can't get salifert, not API ammonia. Bring to lowest increment of free ammonia your kit can test when compared to a known zero sample, that's how much ammonia you want, lowest detectable.

In two days time, not 24 hours, if that ammonia moves down at all detectable on your kit, you have scientific gold we could riff on for years in cycling threads

I wouldn't use either for your new reef, but they're test bed gold.

To really frame the test, we could poll to see how many ahead of time agree bacteria don't need to be fed by humans to stay alive. The poll will indicate massive amounts who disagree, then the tests provide the kicker

If you kept the rocks hydrated, large chance all bac are alive and can process immediate ammonia

 

[brandon429]

check out dr reefs thread I'm about to point your thread out to them

 

[Dj City]

@brandon429

I still have the sand and rock in the tank. I have not done ANYTHING to the tank yet except power on the cheapo light that came with the tank.
I have not disturbed the sandbed, rock or water.

Strangely, I saw something that looked like a pod scurry under a rock and I saw a few worms of some kind on the glass.

It is amazing that ANYTHING is alive in a tank that has been dormant for 3 years with no flow, no filtration, no feeding, no water changes, no supplements, no... Nothing.

 

[Dj City]

I still need advice and options on a good powerhead for this tank though..

 

[brandon429]

I'm a poor hardware guy as I only use a bubbler whatever the team recommends sounds good

If you saw any life forms at all it's a sealed confirmed 100% deal on bacteria. This thread is where we outline all parameters that bacteria, and apparently pods, tolerate

Ur thread is now linked to the microbiology of cycling thread for current longest fallow sustain record.
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/the-microbiology-of-reef-tank-cycling.214618/

your rocks and sand are a big deal to people who study little known but important microbial facts

 

[brandon429]

Hey can you post any pics of the rock as is

 

[Dj City]

You can see where I have let the water evaporate to over the years.
I have taken the mag float to the front and side glass but only did a half hearted job.

I also ran the submerged filter for a little bit to help clear the water up some.
I can take more detailed pics when I get home this evening.

 

[Dj City]

@brandon429

Could I do this test in a 5 gallon bucket? I don't really have an extra tank that I want to use for this purpose.
I MIGHT have a 5gal tank I could use.

Why salifert and not API or Seachem ammonia test? I ask because I have both of these tests.
Tell me EXACTLY what you need me to do because i'm about to break the 15gal tank down to start my new build.

 

[brandon429]

Yes it’s great in a bucket I’m just glad you didn’t dry out the rocks n sand, those were the meal ticket

Go ahead and rinse out any filth from the old sand in that bucket using tap water if you want, it does not sterilize items, it rinses. Rinse out the sand in that bucket till it runs clean, then do a final rinse in clean saltwater so the sand isn’t sitting in chlorine water. Clean but still bacteria encased sand is ready

Set the rocks in the bucket of clean saltwater and sand, rinse them off before going in the bucket lightly with saltwater, not tap to remove any filth or waste if any has built up over sitting time (to care for pods, tap harms pods not bac)

The bucket has cleaned but biologically active sand n rock n clean saltwater n pods now, or whatever is in the rock

its Ok to use your kits, salifert was just ideal. The fact you have two of any brand is ok we can work with em

Run a baseline test on both kits to see how they read from water in the test bucket after it sat overnite, to settle, in this clean water test bucket. That’s your zero point, even if the kits show .25 or not zero, it’s zero as nothing emits ammonia for 36 mos straight and rinsing doesn’t cause ammonia per our 12 page sand rinse thread. Whatever they read is the baseline outcome, take pics of those steps.


Next, add ammonium chloride tiny amnts per instructions until the smallest increment is in the water that your test kits will register as an increase detectable with the eye above that baseline

Practice diluting something else first before working on the bucket, barely enough ammonia to make those kits show a tiny, not massive 2-4 ppm amnt like the bottle instructs, hobby ammonia kits are darn hard to work with accurately, we want the smallest increment their color systems will register, like half a ppm if possible, take a pic showing the new reading above baseline as low above baseline as you can get it to actually register for a pic, aim for 1 ppm max and under that is ideal, this is a custom test not a usual one

Then test the bucket water one more time in 48 hours as it bubbles or circulates with a cheap pump in the bucket, we need movement to move the ammonia past the surfaces we suspect to still have bacteria after starvation. post up the final readings and we w riff off those readings. If your rocks can move down the ammonia to the baseline in 48 hours then a very rare fact of microbiology is shown, if not, then darn it heh but I strongly think it will.

Then I’d toss the sand. Use new rinsed out sand but you can reuse the rocks if you want for your new nano. the 48 hours test will at least show if they need to be recycled

 

[brandon429]

https://www.amazon.com/DrTims-Aquatics-Ammonium-chloride-bottle/dp/B006MP4QG6

Dr Tim’s ammonium chloride

 

[brandon429]

my goodness I just scrolled up to see those uploaded pics above

If that corallined live rock sat in topped off water this whole time and cannot pass a light work oxidation test, then the flat earthers could be right and I’ll need to take a long walk off a short pier at the lake this weekend to refresh my alignment with the microbial world in general and will re emerge wet but humbled.

My vote after pics is, it never uncycled.

 

[Dj City]

I just ordered the ammonia.

I will be breaking the tank down SOON. I decided against using black sand but my back glass will be black. I am going to use Caribsea Special Grade Arag-Alive Live reef sand

 

[brandon429]

If I might add one detail, do the tap rinse on that same new caribsea sand/final rinse in sw, where you input only pure cloudless sand, which is better that cloudable sand in every conceivable way possible.

It doesn't harm the bacteria at all, it removes silt which feeds diatoms.

I'm recommending only what I currently do to my nano, I recommend nothing my own nano doesn't endure regularly.

 

[easily_fishstracted]

i recently bought a rossmont mover to backup my mp10 while sending for warranty, and it seemed to work quite well and is quiet, for what it's worth...

 

[Glenng78]

I think a kessil a360 narrow to penetrate a high column ?