10-15g tank

ok i have started a 15g tank thread that got nowhere and iv done alot of looking things up sence then. I did plan on having a 15g tank but i think i might do a 10g or a 15g sps tank. but any how i plan on having a 150 DE hqi mh(hamiltion cayman). if i have this sitting 8 inches abouve the water will i have heat issues? Im trying to stay away from a chiller but if i need one al get one. I plan on getting the tank drilled 1inch intake to a sump(10g) and (2) 1/2 returns with a mag 3 pumping water back up from sump. As for a protein skimmer i plan on using the Reef Octopus 4 (125 Gallon) Recirculating Protein Skimmer space allowing(does any one now the footprint)? If the sump is big anough i would like a little fuge but i will plan the fuge when i get the protein skimmer footprint. I am also hoping their is anough space for a phos. reactor (via Aqua- poly reactor) to get rid of phos. Sense this is going to be an sps dominated tank mabe a few lps is it worth buying a cal. reactor for this small of a tank? Some say yes, some say no but i want to hear real opinions why u say yes or no. And al also possibly get a rk 3 depending on how much all of the above is goign to cost. Plz give me some feed back on how u think this will work/what u would change.

 

Sounds well planned out. I think you might have heat issues with the MH, you may need to raise it to 12 inches. I think the rest are good ideas. The calc reactor could be good practice for the future, but for that small of a system could be overkill.

 

Any heat issues would easily be remedied with a fan blowing over the surface of the water. It'll increase your evaporation a bit but cheaper than a chiller.

I don't see the need for a calc. reactor on a nano. Diligent water changes and dosing would be sufficient imo.

 

ok that sounds, i could raise it 12inch it rllly dont mess with any thing sense its traveling through air and u dont loose much if any, yes i forgot to say im going to get an ato unit because of the evap i dont want sal. swings. prolly the tunze osmolator 3155.

 

any one else gonna comment?

 

id not buy any reactors until you get the tank established, the fuge up, and the initial cycling over. then you can test your params and see where you're at and then determine if its necessary to get a reactor to maintain certain parameters. you wont know whats needed till you get past the cycling and get corals in there to see what params need to be better stablized.

my point is... if the tank is overrun with SPS or something and they're leeching calcium so fast you cant dose/water change fast enough to overcome then perhaps it'd be necessary then to get a calc reactor.

 

good point bje thats prolly what i do before i go buying all the fancy controllers and what not. if this thread helps me out anough al prolly get started on ordering a skimmer and return pump this week so i got all weekend to work on the sump/fuge.

 

you got all the time in the world... save yourself some $ for now and just get things started. or build a phased out plan where you can follow and know that 3 months from now you intend to buy <insert component here>.

like my 75gal build for example i started phase 1 with getting my return, sump setup. phase 2 clean up crew, phase 3 skimmer, etc.... that way i dont get sidetracked by all the possible things i could be focusing on right now like controllers, reactors, etc.

need a good solid stable aquarium anyhow before you start dumping $ on expensive corals you wanna keep. as everyone says, take it slow and let it grow...

 

yes i plan on that and i will be going on vacation july 4th-july 9th so i didnt plan on getting any thing to keep till then any how. well tell me if this is a rip off( im pretty sure it is) My lfs wants 80$ for a 15g tank and another 90$ for the stand.. I thaught i herd they run about 40$ for the tank or was that not right?

 

also another question, i see a lot of ppl taking the rims off of 10g tanks, u think it would be fine if it took the room off a 15g tank (24,12,12) i think are the dem. remember their will be 3 holes on the back side, one on the left side, one on the right side one in the middle,will the weakin the glass?(remeber if that was not clear it will all be on the back sheet of glass)