Starting a nano tank, slowly!

[longhorn_20m]

Well I just got back from Corpus and got a lot of dry dead sand and crushed shells/mixture. I'm a student and wanting to start a nano. I had a 20 gallon for a few months and then ditched it because money was gone and had to move. Well I pretty much still have nothing, but trying again and want to stay small so it can be moved easily, but also want to have a good tank. I have collected a 10 AGA, 13 watt Actitnic (left over), 50 wattt Ebo Jager, I have two minijet 606's, and sand. That is about it.

Well for my ideas.

I'm thinking about taking the 10 AGA and putting an acrylic divider in it. One side will be main tank, one side will be refugium. I can either have water overflow into the refugium and then pumped back into main ( thiis way the pumps will be hidden, so nothing in main tank)
The other way would be where watter is pumped into the refugium and overlows back in. Tthis would mean powerheads are seen, but i heard tthihs is better cause pods can get inito main tank without being killed by prop blades of powerhead. Also this helps feeds ur corals??? not sure on that.

My other possiblity would be to just use thhe entire 10 gallon, and grow some cauperla on one end to help (somewhat refugium). (with this though i would need more lighting, more rock, and more corals to fill itt out, thus this equals more money tto invest). Still would be easy to move it.

My last idea would be to use the entire 10 and putt a smaller tank, maybe above or taller on side to be a separate refugium, this would also requirie more money and thus more to move in my apt. life.

I think the first three would be better, but I have no idea which is the best setup. Any opinions?

This will also be a slow process, and I know I told a few people that I was interested in stuff they were selling, and I"m sorry for not gettting back to you, but I have been pretty busy and this project is at a snails speed right now, which is good for acclimating everything :)

Also depending on what I pick, I will be looking for 13 watt lighting, maybe higher if I do entire 10 gallon. Right now mostly dry goods, since it will be a month probably before I get it filled.

[Gin_Tseng]

longhorn
I have a ten gallon tank that i was thinking about getting rid of and it has a glass divider located 3/10th of the length that overflows to the main part. If you are interested, email me at cheedog911@hotmail.com.

[TexasState]

Why are you always pre-occupied with the ideas that you have to have a refugium and fine sand inside a nano tank?

[captexas]

I have no experience with nanos but do know that you don't have to have a fuge for them. Nanos can be very simple as long as you take your time with them. All you need is some good live rock, decent light, a heater, and something for circulation (powerhead). The live rock will be your filter system along with water changes. As with all nanos, it will have to be very lightly stocked. If you don't mind the way it looks, some macroalgae in the tank would be good and you can usually find a piece of live rock with it growing on it. This will help with using up excess nutrients. Start simple with some mushrooms and such and maybe a small shrimp or something till you get comfortable with it.

I met a guy awhile back that had a 10g nano in his kitchen that just had some live rock and two powerheads in it. He kept a small puffer fish of his that had been in his main tank, but moved it after it's eyes clouded up and seemed to have gone mostly blind. It did very well in the nano and got healthier. It could see the motion of the guy when he approached the tank for feeding time. Pretty cool.

[MikeP]

longhorn - if you are really going on a budget let me know what you are missing - I have a few old aquaclear filters here you could convert one to a small refugium. refugiums on a nano just give you a little more water voukme and stability in addition to the usual benefits. Most small nanos aren't skimmed so they work great for nutrient export.

[longhorn_20m]

I read so much about how a refugium is helpful in keeping levels down, especially algae down too. Also helps because a skimmer is too much for a nano, depletes all the nutrients. I want this tank to be stable and as a student I will not always be on time for water changes and thus want it to be able still flourish. I also want a nice looking tank, with sand, live rock, and corals. I plan on having a zoo tank, with maybe a frogspawn, that is pretty much all I want. Don't want high light hard corals, just soft. I'm still trying to decide, will most likely depend on lighting I can find. If I find a 13 watt one for cheap, or low like that, I will do the split, if I find a bigger size for real cheap, then I will do the entire tank. All depends on what I can find. Thanks for the help so far.