Interested in starting a nano reef
- Thread starter mhenning
- Start date
J
jdragunas
Guest
well, first of all, welcome to SWF.com!!!
Secondly, starting with a small tank like that, do you mean your first tank ever? If so, i strongly advise against it. A smaller tank is much harder to maintain, as you have a very small margin of error to work with. A larger tank, on the other hand, has a larger margin of error to deal with. If you make a mistake in a 12-gal nano, you'll have much bigger reprocussions than if you make that same mistake in a, say 55 gallon tank.
I'm also not quite sure what you're looking for here, advice on how to start a tank, advice on how to build one? :notsure:
Jenn
Secondly, starting with a small tank like that, do you mean your first tank ever? If so, i strongly advise against it. A smaller tank is much harder to maintain, as you have a very small margin of error to work with. A larger tank, on the other hand, has a larger margin of error to deal with. If you make a mistake in a 12-gal nano, you'll have much bigger reprocussions than if you make that same mistake in a, say 55 gallon tank.
I'm also not quite sure what you're looking for here, advice on how to start a tank, advice on how to build one? :notsure:
Jenn
hedonic
Member
The nano line of tanks are not exclusive to the term nano tank. DIY'ing is a better way to learn as you go, understanding the why's and why not's at each point of equipment purchase and setup saves headaches later on. I would also strongly advise the largest tank you budget and space afford.
side note- you quick to the reply jdragunas, and you have good advice, I will have to practice my quick draw technique
side note- you quick to the reply jdragunas, and you have good advice, I will have to practice my quick draw technique
J
jdragunas
Guest
you know i was just about to ask if you were following me...
lol, well i'm on here a lot, and i type pretty fast... i have an office job... lol!
jenn
lol, well i'm on here a lot, and i type pretty fast... i have an office job... lol!
jenn
hedonic
Member
I have just been posting on the new hobbyist and the aquarium threads. I don't want to wade into the waters of the real heavy threads yet. I feel like I have to cut my teeth here, so people value what I have to say. I dont want to come off as holier-than-thou. Plus I only post in the morning when I have to adminster studies/write papers... it gets tedious.
mhenning
New Member
Well, I have had many freshwater tanks when I was younger, with excellent results. I always used undergravel filters with power-heads, and I never had trouble. I always kept fewer fish than the tank would hold, and managed to keep everything very low maintenace.
I am very interested in maintaining a mini, nano-reef type of setup. My freind in california suggested the nano-cube 12 gallon with live rocks and live sand. It seems this is similar in concept to the fresh-water setups I have kept in the past. She claims to only have to do minor water changes every other week. I would like to attempt to use a plain old 30 gallon tank, and make the modifications to that tank that will allow me to keep a nano-reef. I would prefer a simple to maintain situation like my freind has with her nano-cube. I am assuming ( I know how dangerous assumption can be) that I could use a 30 gallon tank with excellent lighting and get at least similar results. Just maybe with a little more cushion for error on my part than the 12 gallon nano-cube would provide. I think my specific questions are..
1. Can I ( also should I) use an undergravel filter?
2. How would I use living rock and sand and a biological filter in the tank? (Would I use some type of external canister or something?)
3. With a 30 gallon tank, what sort of livestock could (should) I put in there?
4. Is it worth the trouble to try and convert a plain 30 gallon glass tank to a nano-reef, or should I spend the money and purchase maybe the nano-cube 24 gallon tank?
Here are some things I do understand, so we can get that out of the way.
1. I will have to cycle my tank for like a month before I can add anything other than living rock, and clean-up crew.
2. I require fancy shmancy lighting.
3. Hard coral are a pain, and soft corals are easier to keep.
I am very interested in maintaining a mini, nano-reef type of setup. My freind in california suggested the nano-cube 12 gallon with live rocks and live sand. It seems this is similar in concept to the fresh-water setups I have kept in the past. She claims to only have to do minor water changes every other week. I would like to attempt to use a plain old 30 gallon tank, and make the modifications to that tank that will allow me to keep a nano-reef. I would prefer a simple to maintain situation like my freind has with her nano-cube. I am assuming ( I know how dangerous assumption can be) that I could use a 30 gallon tank with excellent lighting and get at least similar results. Just maybe with a little more cushion for error on my part than the 12 gallon nano-cube would provide. I think my specific questions are..
1. Can I ( also should I) use an undergravel filter?
2. How would I use living rock and sand and a biological filter in the tank? (Would I use some type of external canister or something?)
3. With a 30 gallon tank, what sort of livestock could (should) I put in there?
4. Is it worth the trouble to try and convert a plain 30 gallon glass tank to a nano-reef, or should I spend the money and purchase maybe the nano-cube 24 gallon tank?
Here are some things I do understand, so we can get that out of the way.
1. I will have to cycle my tank for like a month before I can add anything other than living rock, and clean-up crew.
2. I require fancy shmancy lighting.
3. Hard coral are a pain, and soft corals are easier to keep.
stang66200
Member
I am going to try and answer each of your questions . . .
1) If you are going to use sand, do not use an undergravel filter.
2) Live sand and about 30 lbs of live rock will give you a good amount of biological filtration. You can also use live rock to start your cycle. You would also need a filter/protein skimmer set up. There are several types of HOB saltwater filters for these small tanks.
3) You could have a few fish, but not many. 30 gallons does not leave room for a lot of bio-load.
4) That all depends on you. Some people do not like the nano because you cannot change many things like the lighting and such. If you take your time and buy things one thing at a time, you could have a really nice set up starting with a 30 gallon tank.
1) If you are going to use sand, do not use an undergravel filter.
2) Live sand and about 30 lbs of live rock will give you a good amount of biological filtration. You can also use live rock to start your cycle. You would also need a filter/protein skimmer set up. There are several types of HOB saltwater filters for these small tanks.
3) You could have a few fish, but not many. 30 gallons does not leave room for a lot of bio-load.
4) That all depends on you. Some people do not like the nano because you cannot change many things like the lighting and such. If you take your time and buy things one thing at a time, you could have a really nice set up starting with a 30 gallon tank.
mhenning
New Member
Stupid me, but is HOB, hang on back? If so are there models or features I should avoid? Would I stuff some of the living rock in this filter, in addition to the floss? Should I use charcoal if I am going to go with a biological filter? Regarding how many fish, my mom used to tell me no more than 1 inch of fish (in length) to a gallon of water. Is there a similar rule of thumb for salt-water? I understand the lower the biological load, the easier my life would be. I am really only wanting 2 or three smallish fish and some inverts. I actually find the inverts more facinating than the fish, so I was wondering what sort of load the inverts put on the tank? Since many of them do clean-up I was assuming that the inverts were a little less of a bio-load on the tank.
mhenning
New Member
Ooo, almost forgot. It was also suggested to me that I create a refuge. Can anyone give me some insight on how I should do this. Does the refuge have the same lighting needs as the tank. Could I just get some glass cut to partition off a section of my 30 long tank with some slots cut for circulation? Should I use a pump to force water through the refuge? How large shoudl the refuge be in relation to the main part of the tank?