Eheim aquastyle 9gal setup

[james1990]

Hey all, wanted to post a thread for my new and first saltwater set up. I would love to hear any suggestions/comments on anything related as I am new to the hobby and need the insight.


Equipment:
Eheim Aquastyle 9gal
supplied corner filter
supplied PowerLED light with 81 interconnected diodes 1200-1300 LUX at 6000-7500K.
Hydor Koralia nano movement and circulation pump FLOW RATE-240GPH
Deep Blue 50Watt heat stik


In Tank:
Real Reef rock
6 hermits
4 snails
green mushroom coral frag
green zoanthid coral frag
1 green helmet coral.
1 inch or so Live sand nature's ocean big grain
1 ORA snowflake clown
1 black clown

First question: The last pic shows a wooden shelf I have measuring about 9 1/2 inches from the lid of the tank. For the following reasons, I want to replace the supplied light:

1) Looks. I want white and blue LED's to light up the colors of the corals
2) I have been told the supplied light from Eheim is not ideal for growing coral, I need something stronger
3) I want to keep the rimless tank clean, and suspend or mount the new fixture to the bottom of the shelf above the tank.
4) I am upgrading to a larger tank eventually and want something I can use on that tank. (I know I will have to add more when the time comes)

Recommendations on a good unit?

Thanks guys, I enjoy this forum and I will continue to give back and contribute in any way I can as I learn and grow with this fun new hobby.Will add pics after my first 5 posts when allowed

 

[fishman1069]

With a 9 gal tank you can easily get away with using a par 38 bulb. They screw into a regular light socket and you don't use a reflector. You might want to think about ditching the corner filter for 2 reasons. 1) it will become a nitrate factory if you don't change the filters every week or two and 2) you will have more space. I would look into a hang on the back filter, like a AC50, that you can convert into a small fuge. How long has the tank been set up?

 

[ruha456]

Pics please

 

[dubs]

james congratz on getting a tank up we need pics or it didnt happen or that what they say on mr lol

 

[fishman1069]

He needs 5 posts before he can put up picks. Give him some time guys lol

 

[james1990]

@ fishman- I was trying to get into something a little more sleek than a bulb hanging over the tank, but from the options I have been reading about, I would be saving hundreds going with the par38 so I will reconsider. will this give me optimal coral growth as well as lighting them up like the blue LED's and UV's do?

As for the filter, when you say change the filter you mean just rinse the sponge under water? If so that doesn't sound too bad. you lost me on converting a hang on filter into a refuge. sorry if i come off naive, im spending hours a day trying to learn as much as possible so thanks for the help everyone. please go into this a little further?

@ruha456- pics coming now

 

[james1990]

post 4 =]

 

[james1990]

post 5 =]

 

[james1990]

this pic shows a shelf i have 9 1/2 above the lid of the tank. I would like to mount my upgraded light to the shelf to keep the rimless tank clean.

might take out the little figures. there cool but there getting on my nerves for some reason lol

hit me with comments and opinions guys. all are welcome

 

[james1990]

tanks been up for about 2 1/2 weeks. Ammonia is down and nitrates nitrites are still coming down, my LFS told me a few more days before i can add my 2 clowns

 

[fishman1069]

Thats a good Jon at your first sw tank. Now the suggestions Lol. First _definitely get rid of the figures, just dosent look natural. Second - is that crushed coral as your sandbed? It really isn't the best thing to go with. Alot of crap gets caught on there and can cause a bunch of problems on the long run. Third- don't listen to your lfs unless they ate a close friend. They are there to make a profit. The par 38 bulb will do everything you want it to do, especially for begginer corals. The filter pad can be rinsed but its better to replace. A hang on the back filter can be gutted and ypi can put a couple of small pieces of rock and some macro algae in there to absorb nutrients in your tank. You would need a small clip on light for the Algae also. Try doing a search on refugiums so you know what I'm talking about.

 

[dubs]

james1990 take some of fishman ideas and look at my nano u see a sump/fuge its my diy but it give u ideas and i got u on a nice gsp frag ifu every in the city or arournd my way to give u another coral for u tank

 

[james1990]

thanks guys,
@fishman, Tomorrow I will be doing research on refugiums and will post back on this thread with directed questions. I'm not one of those people to ask questions that can be easily researched. There is little info on nano applications though. please check back to this thread periodically if you dont mind!

@dubs- thanks bro! Within the next year or so im moving, and will be upgrading into a much larger tank in the new house, possibly built in the wall. for now, I am learning on this nano and lovin it. and hell yea ill take u up on that frag when the tank is more established, I know you forum guys have the inner circle of frag trading haha! im getting ripped off at my LFS

 

[james1990]

hopefully one day soon I can start fragging to trade and help out the community as well.

 

[fishman1069]

No problem man! During your research, check out nanoreef.com. There are pleanty of ideas on there for fuges on small tanks. Ask as many questions as you need and I'll try to answer them the best I can.

 

[LongIslandAndy]

James, tank is looking good

 

[james1990]

thanks guys, So I want to try my hand at a DIY sump/fuge. I need help picking out the parts so I can start planning for sizing and where my baffles should go. What do you guys recommend for a nano skimmer, pumps, bulkhead? What size hole's do I need to drill for my eheim 9 gal?

 

[jeffvmd]

You can go with a 5.5g tank for a sump like what I used in my 12g long build.
Some would suggest bigger but that depends on your space under the stand where you will keep the sump.
I did mine with 3 divisions, Inflow which houses the skimmer and pvc from tank, fuge and the outflow which houses the pump.
I did measurements to make sure the skimmer and pump will fit.
As for baffles go for glass. I did use acrylic as that is what I had laying around and didn't want to spend for the glass.
You can search on tunze 9002 skimmer, aquaticlife mini 115 skimmer and hydor slim skim nano for skimmers. Again you can go with bigger ones depending on what size sump you can accomodate but for the size of the tank the nano/mini skimmers will be more than adequate.
Pumps there are a lot of choices but this wil have to go with what gph your overflow will be. I use a rio+ 1100 (i think) pump in mine right now.
Maybe a 1/2 or 3/4 bulkhead will do for the tank.

 

[james1990]

wanted to give everyone an updated picture

 

[DeeFromBrooklyn]

Careful Maintenance

I agree with getting rid of that corner filter and as dealing with many nano systems you may want to keep your regular weekly water changes consistant as changes in a tank that small come very quickly and you new set up will be prone to the ph swing of new tank syndrome.

:goldfish2