Triton setup for 10G AIO

techhnyne · Jun 29, 2022

Hey reefers

i have a 10G IM Novo 2 10 gallon and im hoping to find some insight and help setting up a triton method tank. I was thinking on removing the black film off the back of the intake chamber and running a fuge lamp with chaeto in that chamber and maybe even in the second chamber also if needed. Then looking for a good skimmer. Skimmer fpr the second chamber if only 1 chamber is needed for chaeto. Or a HOB skimmmer that i can hang behind the third chamber if i need the first 2 chambers for chaeto.

does anyone have any experience with a setup like this or know what would be good for me to use for this?

any help is appreciated. Thanks

also how many fish is too many for a 10G

i was thinking
starry blenny
watchman goby
2 firegoby
2 clownfish

is that way too many fish?

blaxsun · Jun 29, 2022

Honestly, on a 10-gallon tank you'll probably see more benefit from regular water changes and upgrading to an InTank media basket. Run filter floss in the top (toss every 3-5 days) and nano packets of ChemiPure blue in the second chamber (change out every 2 months). You can place some bio media in the bottom (MarinePure, etc.)

I'd slip the refugium and skimmer entirely as you'll get limited benefit from either on a nano (put the money saved into a better light).

In terms of the fish, skip the starry blenny (10 gallons isn't big enough to support him). You'll be maxed out at 3-4 fish, so a pair of clownfish along with 2 gobies, dottybacks, basslets, etc. will be it.

techhnyne · Jul 16, 2022

So my thing is this is an office desk tank. I really want to keep waterchanges to a minimum. Infact i dont want to waterchange at all. To me theres no reason to waterchange when you can dose. Waterchange should be for fixing out of control paramaters. Otherwise its just a myth used to make salt manufactures more money.

but i know the triton method uses the refugium but what if i do not have a refugium or what other dosing methods are simple and have a good history for small tanks

A_Blind_Reefer · Jul 16, 2022

techhnyne said:
So my thing is this is an office desk tank. I really want to keep waterchanges to a minimum. Infact i dont want to waterchange at all. To me theres no reason to waterchange when you can dose. Waterchange should be for fixing out of control paramaters. Otherwise its just a myth used to make salt manufactures more money.

but i know the triton method uses the refugium but what if i do not have a refugium or what other dosing methods are simple and have a good history for small tanks

I don’t pretend to be an expert or anything but doing this on a ten gallon tank will be ridiculously difficult in my opinion. It gets easier with water volume. It would be very easy for things to go awry. I’m sure someone else will chime in and say it’s super easy and they’ve been doing it for ten years though.

Jake4727 · Jul 16, 2022

techhnyne said:
Hey reefers

i have a 10G IM Novo 2 10 gallon and im hoping to find some insight and help setting up a triton method tank. I was thinking on removing the black film off the back of the intake chamber and running a fuge lamp with chaeto in that chamber and maybe even in the second chamber also if needed. Then looking for a good skimmer. Skimmer fpr the second chamber if only 1 chamber is needed for chaeto. Or a HOB skimmmer that i can hang behind the third chamber if i need the first 2 chambers for chaeto.

does anyone have any experience with a setup like this or know what would be good for me to use for this?

any help is appreciated. Thanks

also how many fish is too many for a 10G

i was thinking
starry blenny
watchman goby
2 firegoby
2 clownfish

is that way too many fish?

Hey man, I think this is a good idea and I’m interested. I think you will not need the triton for a bit but once it’s packed with coral, why not? If you wanted to go no water change in my opinion having fish will be difficult because of nutrients. But hey stability is key maybe run a high nutrient? There are many corals that thrive, in my experience gonis, frogspawn. I run hydros but use the brs 2 part and it works great for me.

sdreefer619 · Jul 17, 2022

ALL FOR REEF IS SUITABLE FOR SMALLER TANKS. TROPIC MARIN MAKES IT. REEF DUDES HAS A VIDEO WITH THE CREATOR OF ALL FOR REEF THATLL GIVE YOU SOME MORE INSIGHT

techhnyne · Jul 17, 2022

Jake4727 said:
Hey man, I think this is a good idea and I’m interested. I think you will not need the triton for a bit but once it’s packed with coral, why not? If you wanted to go no water change in my opinion having fish will be difficult because of nutrients. But hey stability is key maybe run a high nutrient? There are many corals that thrive, in my experience gonis, frogspawn. I run hydros but use the brs 2 part and it works great for me.

The issue with 2 part is that it you need to do waterchanges because if not you water will just become 100% tablesalt and not have any other elements. Triton does not have the same issues because of whats in the formulation.
nutrient export is not an issue. You just run a skimmer and use things like nopox or other phosphate and nitrate removers if needed. Just measure what your weekly levels are and dose daily to keep them in control. Thats something the refugium is supposed to do but they have triton other methods for things like this.

techhnyne · Jul 17, 2022

sdreefer619 said:
ALL FOR REEF IS SUITABLE FOR SMALLER TANKS. TROPIC MARIN MAKES IT. REEF DUDES HAS A VIDEO WITH THE CREATOR OF ALL FOR REEF THATLL GIVE YOU SOME MORE INSIGHT

All for reef sounds like a good product but again not ideal for zero waterchanges. I just watched the reefdudes video and they said waterchanges are needed to fix the imbalances in the water that all for reef creates. And thats what i was thinking all along. Triton has 4 parts so its way easier to dose only what you need since it has more parts. Actually in my mind the more things you can potentially dose the better because you can control those individual levels

A_Blind_Reefer · Jul 17, 2022

techhnyne said:
All for reef sounds like a good product but again not ideal for zero waterchanges. I just watched the reefdudes video and they said waterchanges are needed to fix the imbalances in the water that all for reef creates. And thats what i was thinking all along. Triton has 4 parts so its way easier to dose only what you need since it has more parts. Actually in my mind the more things you can potentially dose the better because you can control those individual levels

Zero water changes is a bit more complicated than dosing four parts. They also have a slew of different individual elements that you add. Of coarse, you must test for all of these. Which isn’t really possible with test kits, so you have to send in samples to a laboratory. It can take up to two weeks to get your results back. If you have a, larger, mature tank, not much will change in that time. In a new, pico tank of only ten gallons, things change very rapidly. Like I said, it’s probably near impossible to manage this in a ten gallon tank. It sounds like you have your mind made up though. So go with triton or moonshiners and best of luck with your tank.

Jake4727 · Jul 18, 2022

techhnyne said:
The issue with 2 part is that it you need to do waterchanges because if not you water will just become 100% tablesalt and not have any other elements. Triton does not have the same issues because of whats in the formulation.
nutrient export is not an issue. You just run a skimmer and use things like nopox or other phosphate and nitrate removers if needed. Just measure what your weekly levels are and dose daily to keep them in control. Thats something the refugium is supposed to do but they have triton other methods for things like this.

I wasn’t disagreeing, only sharing what I do. Ovs that wouldn’t work, your right, I’m stuck doing water changes every week