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AIO 10 gal overkill idea.

I figured since I can't sell any of my equiptment I'd try a AIO 10 gal tank.(waiting on the bosses approval)
Equiptment wise I was thinking
Tunza 9011 skimmer
AquaClear 110 return
Phosban GFO reactor
Current 2bulb T5HO 24watte (is this enough?)

Would this be good enough to house corals? Don't plan on fish, but maybe some inverts. Would this work out well being as everything would be overkilled on such a small system?
 

redfishbluefish

Officer Emeritus
Officer Emeritus
I will preface this by stating I’m really not a nano person. I would surmise that two bulbs would not be enough. When I ran T5’s I was told that you pretty much want to cover the surface area with lights. I ran six on a 17 inch wide tank. Now granted, a ten gallon tank isn’t that deep, but I’d still be thinking three, if not four bulbs. This will also give you more choices in bulb combinations.
 

Ls2Goat

Dal
Staff member
Board of Directors
NJRC Member
What kind of 10g tank is it?
is it going to be sumped?
what are you planing to run for filtration media?
if its a AIO it should either come with or you could make a better media rack.
in my experience skimmers are not needed in anything under 20 gallons as long as your doing weekly water changes.
I've never had a need for a reactor either in any of the nano tanks I've had so I don't have any advice for that.
The lighting should be fine for most corals, maybe not SPS.

Good luck and keep us updated!
 
What coral would you try to keep? 2 t5 im sure could handle softies + some lps. Or you can try to grab a par38

For a 10 gal I would just skip the GFO reactor and get some chemipure elite or something and throw it in the AC110 or media chamber of the AIO if your doing a fuge mod.
 
If I get the green light I was hoping to do softies. Keep it simple. I was going to split the tank in half and just make 5 gal the display and the other half was to be the filtration. Figured I could fit the skimmer in there with some other filtration. Would a ball of cheto in there be better than a skimmer and reactor? The main reason I was going with the extras was because it is just sitting around. Well right now is just the planning stage so I have time to think it all over before anything takes place.
 

Ls2Goat

Dal
Staff member
Board of Directors
NJRC Member
If I get the green light I was hoping to do softies. Keep it simple. I was going to split the tank in half and just make 5 gal the display and the other half was to be the filtration. Figured I could fit the skimmer in there with some other filtration. Would a ball of cheto in there be better than a skimmer and reactor? The main reason I was going with the extras was because it is just sitting around. Well right now is just the planning stage so I have time to think it all over before anything takes place.



Personally a 5g fuge area is way over kill.
I've been debating doing one for myself here are a few pics from simple to advanced for the fuge sections.

simple

medium

my personal favorite
 

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I was thinking more like this. This is not going to be sumped or anything like that. Its a All In One setup. Don't think I could fit a fuge in there.

aio_zps3341de43.png
 
For a 10 gal imo you don't need the skimmer, i have a 10 up with just softies and they do better when i stretch my water changes. But I'm running bare bottom so when i do a water change i can get a lot out from the bottom. I wouldnt split it in half like that it will kill so much room.
 

Ls2Goat

Dal
Staff member
Board of Directors
NJRC Member
You really don't need a skimmer in a 10g unless you need super clean water for high end SPS.
It's just going to suck up more room and create more heat.
 

Hockeynut

NJRC Member
I agree no need for a skimmer, I know I just started my pico but I have been running a 20 gal for almost 3 years without a skimmer, no cheato, just a canister filter with rubble and some chemi pure elite in it. Just change water weekly and you will be fine. I have lps and some sps in the 20 and the tank looks great. I would worry about an ATO more then the rest of that stuff. The biggest problem with small tanks is salinity swings IMO.
 
Thirded, no need for skimmer unless you want to go bigger. Make sure you keep consistency with your upkeep though. Maybe look into doing some sort of ATO to handle SG swings like Hockeynut mentioned.

Also I think you are doing over kill with the GFO.

Lighting wise, you will be fine for softies/lps.
 
Still waiting on the Green light from the misses. Looks like it will have to wait longer than I hoped for. :grey:
 
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