almost ready to purchase

[ryan]

Ive been looking into nanos now for a couple months, and hopefully by this time next month I will have set it up. Im planning on getting a 10gal hex tank. For filtration a Fluval 204 or a FilStar Canister XP1. For lighting I am planning on a Current Satellite 12" (2) 18 watt. I want to put a protein skimmer on it, but dont know if I can hang one on the little 6" wide back of tank, or if they make one that can sit next to the canister under the stand (remember due to the hex the space in stand in small). Im going to use approx. 12lbs of live rock, and 15-20 lbs live sand. I dont really know what corals I want yet. I know I want some polyps. I dont know what else. I really like brain corals. For a fish I was thinking of the bicolor dottyback. However my girlfriend is begging for a seahorse. Can they go into nanos or reefs at all? If so is a 10 gal to small. If not what type of horse could I get? Any info helpfull.

 

[moray345]

hey sounds cool but seahorses are very hard to keep and should be kept in a species only tank you could try but you cant keep any stinging corals or they will latch on and die. My point is dont do it
Sorry,
Moray345

 

[ryan]

any suggestions on what canister to go with, and what skimmer would work?

 

[alohami]

The hex's are cool to look at, but you are right, you are going to find it hard to put a skimmer on because the walls are so narrow. As far as I know, your only two choices for skimmers are either hang on, or in sump. I think I have seen some free standing skimmers, but mainly they were on pretty large tanks. You may want to search in equipment to check out some DIY projects.
Also, if it is taller than it is wide, you don't have much water surface area, so that is going to complicate things further.
I like nano tanks (I'm setting one up myself), so I'm not trying to say anything negative, I'm just thinking that a 10 gal. is small enough that you may not want to limit yourself further by using a hex. You may have more flexibility with a standard rectangle 10 gallon. Just some points to consider.
Good Luck!

 

[lefty]

I completely agree with Aloha. Hex tanks were not designed with the fish in mind. It's much better to have a longer tank than a taller one. However, an overall larger tank may be beneficial for a seahorse due to their height. A great site for you to visit is www.seahorse.org.
-lefty

 

[kimkissyfish]

Just my 2 cents,.. IMO if you havent gone with the Hex yet, rethink it. I had one many moons ago, Its very hard to view the fish in addition to all the equiptment you need for SW. They are OK for freshwater.
Maybe you could go with a bowfront or a flat fron hex, It's still different shape than a standard thank and better for o2 exchange and more space under and on the back for hanging equipment. Or maybe a corner unit, thoses are cool and ONE AWESONE thing about the corner units is that if you want to have another tank sometime you can move both to a straight wall and put the two next to each other for a truly AWESOME look....(becomes a bowfront basically) One side a reef maybe and one side a species only tank / OR one side fresh on side SW... The possibilities are ENDLESS...
I know they are not considered nano's but you can buy the smallest one .. Which if I remember correctly was maybe a 25 which is still SMALL for saltwater.
Good luck and let us know what you went for.....
Thanking you kindly, Kim

 

[kimkissyfish]

Ryan,
OOPS, I forgot your question about SH's. I have kept them for years. They are beautiful (and expensive) but can be tricky if you buy them from the WRONG place. I bought them online and was very happy with them. BUT, SH must be in their own tank. The only thing you should put with SH is maybe a bi-color blennie, pipefish or any smaller docile fish, otherwise they will fight for food. Because SH are slow moving graceful fish, they will NOT fight for food, but the ones eating frozen mysis will eat like champions.
A 10 gallon is OK for 2 pairs of SH only. They prefer HIGHER tanks as opposed to standard height tanks due to the way they swim and hitch. (no live corals in their tanks please) a 15H is perfect for a small SH set up and reasonably priced as well. The care is a bit more but not over the top difficult. Water quality is a concern with SH's due to the food they eat... must be syphoned out when they are done feeding. But other than that, GREAT FUN!!
If you e-mail me I can tell you what kind and where to get SH's.
I wish I didnt lose ALL MY PICS on my computer.. I had great ones of my SH's AND a video of my male giving birth, it was AWESOME!! My Avitar was one of my females...
Hope this helps, Kim :cheer: