Thinking about starting a 10g pico tank for LPS/SPS and need advice.

[STiTCH87]

JW if a 10g would make it too difficult to keep SPS and if it would be better to have a micro skimmer on it which tend not to work or if I should just do weekly waterchanges of 25%? I plan to make the tank rimless and get a PAR38 Bulb or similar to hang above it. A small powerhead as well as a HOB powerfilter with polyfiber to get some crud out. Or maybe put cheato in it.

 

[tommy6905]

ivthis is going to get moved, but ive seen alot of people on here that have small nanos run skimmerless

 

[Neya]

Checkout nano-reef. Many run under 10gal sps systems skimmerless. There's even a few brave people with sub 1gal sps micro vases. Some use skimmers when 5gal or larger. Success is usually with daily maitanence, at least weekly water changes. Having a fuge(hob or aquaclear modded filter) helps a lot.
Just realize bad things can happen fast in such a small system.

 

[bossreef]

Generally don't need a skimmer in a 10 gal tank unless you plan on feeding heavy. Making sure the water is topped off w/ weekly water changes should be fine.

 

[The Ng Thing]

My biggest problem with my 10g is keeping the alk/Ca in check. I underestimated the amount of Ca my sps would consume and soon after my regular two part dosing didn't cut it. I also let my guard down and next thing I knew my pH and Alk were out of whack. I'm still getting a feel for things. I wouldn't worry too much about the skimmer (as long as keep up with your WC, you've kept successful tanks so you know whats up), I think you should look into ways of stabilizing Alk/Ca if your going to get into SPS.

 

[stevenp]

Moved to Reef Talk.

 

[Reef_Wizard]

I have 8g nano skimmerless. The challenge is to maintain water parameters stable. There is not much (if any) wiggle room between optimal parameters and out of control parameters. A smallest change (a few more or less drops) can cause significant problem (I've learnt it the hard way - kalk doser malfunction). Small water changes daily or every 2-3 days will be better than 25% change per week. If you are up for the challenge, go slow and don't add any expensive coral until you find the right maintenance schedule and rhythm.

 

[GobyWanKenobie]

If it's just coral, there shouldn't be much crud in there. It's the fish that make it dirty. I run a 14 gal tank of lps, and I don't use a skimmer or filter, just a heater and powerhead. Keep up with the water changes, and you should be fine.

 

[STiTCH87]

Whoops posted in the wrong section by mistake. Sorry guys.