Quote:
Originally Posted by
FsT4WrD http:///t/395529/nano-cube-or-45-gal#post_3521607
TY for the reply, Totally understand with bigger the tank easier to maintain. Our 55 FW is more work then our 115FW and 180SW combined. As far as fish go, have'nt gave that much thought. Everytime we go to the LFS she likes all the fish that will become meals in the 180. Can a 45 be set up to house coral in the $700 range? Don't really know what is needed, lighting (what kind?), filtration (canister, sump,skimmer?).
A 45 gal can totally be set up to house coral- I've done it myself with a 40 gal hexagon tank, though I only had soft corals. I have zero experience with hard corals, so you'd have to ask someone else about that if you're considering hard corals or both... I've heard it's difficult to house both hard corals and soft corals in the same tank, but I wouldn't know for sure.
But all that in a $700 range? I'm not too sure. If the tank is cheap, is the stand cheap as well (or does it come with the tank)? Who made it? Cheap tanks are sometimes a little too cheap, if you know what I mean.
How much is live rock and live sand per pound at your LFS? You'd need to let the tank sit for awhile with rock and sand and monitor your chemistry before you introduce coral... a week or two, I'd say, so coral should be the last thing you buy besides fish when setting things up.
With my 40 gal, I just had a backpack filter... I wasn't too happy with it- I had to replace it more than once over the years (made in China), but I still went with it. If you do the same, turn everything off before cleaning and doing water changes- those filters eat sand and the sand totally destroys the magnets in them. I've never had a canister filter because all my tanks are small, but I'd definitely want one if my current filter on my 55 gal broke. It's your choice.
A protein skimmer is a must, and don't be cheap when selecting one. Believe me, I'm speaking from experience.
I've never had a sump either; you'd have to ask someone else for advice on that one. My 40 gal worked fine without one, though.
As for lighting, I had a power compact fixture plus an additional flourecent hood to house a blue light to make the corals stand out. Power compacts aren't cheap, but they work well. You'll need to replace the bulbs often- every 6 months, more or less. Back then, bulbs were around $32 or so a piece, which isn't too bad. Don't know how much they are now, though. But the fixtures are expensive- don't buy one that isn't elevated because they get extremely hot if they're not.. so I don't know if that's what led to it dying on me in later years or if it was because it was made in China, but other than that, it worked alright. The lighting from PC bulbs work great, in my opinion. Go to
*********** and check them out. The flourecent was cheap- replace those bulbs every 6-12 months.
Also, you should get a water pump so your water flow is nice and even. Those are pretty cheap for smaller tanks.
... now, I don't know if all that is in a $700 range. I would guess that your biggest buys would be your lighting, live rock and sand, protein skimmer. Since you already have another saltwater tank, I assume you already have salt, test kits, etc. ?
My main supplements for my tank was Iodine and liquid calcium (for my hammerhead polyps). Remember, though: don't use supplements and chemicals that you cannot test for. However, the Iodine I bought was long acting, and test kits won't read the timed release iodide and might not register the free iodine. That's what the bottle said, anyway. It said it was safe, I trusted it, and it worked fine. Kent Marine Expert Series Tech - 1. I'd recommend it for soft corals. Always read everything on the bottle/box both before you buy and use.
BUT... if all this is too expensive and you'd rather try out the 28 gal nano, go ahead! I know someone that had a 30 gal reef (soft coral) tank that worked well. He had black ocellaris clowns in it. Can't remember all the corals he had, but I'm pretty sure he had a Kenya tree. It looked great. You can look at some nano fish here at
***********. Just check it out and then see if anything on that list is for sale at your LFS.
Catalina gobies are coldwater fish though, so don't buy it. It'll die in a tropical tank.
Check out lion_crazz's tips
here and
here on what kind of stock to avoid and beginning and maintaining your tank.
Also check out
this previous post on nano tanks. Not much to be said, but still useful.
