nano in a university dorm?

[pilgrim]

I have been reading these forums for months, just for fun. I have never had salt water fish, but I have a fare understanding of it I think. However, I haven’t been reading about nanos. Are there any good threads I should look at to understand what owning a nano tank would entail. My problem is that I will be living in a dorm for 4 years. This means the temperature in the room could get hot of cold, dorm mates could get noisy, And I will be gone for 3 weeks at a time once or twice a year(getting other people on campus to feed the fish). Would a nano survive this? Im thinking a 5-10 gal with some hermits, a fish or two, and maybe a few corals later on.
Anyway, mainly Im worried about the temperature. The dorms and heated and cooled, but I don’t know if the temperature would be stable enough to have a small tank in the room. Thank you for any advice.

 

[bluelagoon]

welcome to the boards! i am one of those college students with a nano tank... 5 gal. the temp is fairly easy to keep control of, as long as you are there to check on it.... you just need a heater and a fan! you will also need to be able to lift the cover occasionally when it gets too hot, that will greatly help cool the tank, but allow for more water evaporation... and during breaks you have to make sure that someone will actually be able to get into the building to feed ur fish. usually over christmas break the schools will turn the heat down, so that'll make it easier to keep the right temp. not only would someone have to feed the tank, they'd also have to top off the water, and with such a small tank, you need to do a water change every week. i only live an hour away from school, so over the long breaks i am taking the whole tank home with me.....

 

[bluelagoon]

oh and light timers are a must! so much easier, especially when ur gone for just a couple of days...
i'll keep typing things as i think of them, but i'm currently trying to eat....

 

[pilgrim]

thankyou, nice to know someone is going through the same situation I want to be in I live a long way away from my collage, but will be staying here in the summers. I have some friends now that live in this town, so if need be I can drop the tank off there for a few weeks. But hopefully that wont be needed to often. Well then it looks like I can start planning then.

 

[bluelagoon]

i'd also definitely go with the biggest tank you have room for, and that your school will allow... that'll make it easier. so if u have room for a 10, go with that. if you have room for a bigger tank, get a bigger tank....
if you do a search on 'college students' you'll find a whole thread with a bunch of us telling what size tank we have, where we go to school, etc.
so where are u gonna go??

 

[illestj0rg]

Yes, I am also one of the Nano tank Dorm owners. Actually I did have the problem of keeping the tank temperature regulated until I bought a coolworks Iceprobe chiller. And it worked great now my temperature is always around 78 degrees. And on size, I would definately go as large as your school would allow, mine allows up to ten, but I have been gettin away with a 15 gallon. Also try to buy as many "dwarf" fishes as you can, I made the mistake of getting a Volitan lion and it got huge! So I had to find it a new home.

 

[bluelagoon]

well obviously you wouldn't put a lion in a 15 gal. that's what we call RESEARCH FIRST! you'll want to make sure the fish you want to get will be alright in the size tank you have.
i'm curretly helping one of my friends down the hall set up her own sw tank. she got a 10 gal, and is quite excited to get a 'nemo' fish. lol. i know i'll be down there quite a bit....

 

[pilgrim]

well I like small fish. I want to try a goby I think.
I go to Bob Jones university btw.
I actually was looking at an Iceprobe chiller. Looks like a nice idea. Would give me much more peace of mind. Im going to put together a shopping list, and then run it by this forum to see what you guys think.

 

[nanomantis]

i know a guy that in college he had a 55g tank with a green moray in it. he would feed the moray cheetos and pour beer into the tank and it was, intruth one of the stablest and nicest tanks i have ever seen

 

[bluelagoon]

Originally Posted by NanoMantis
i know a guy that in college he had a 55g tank with a green moray in it. he would feed the moray cheetos and pour beer into the tank and it was, intruth one of the stablest and nicest tanks i have ever seen... just a thought for you.

i seriously don't think that's a thought to even consider! try to never put anything in a tank like that. if it doesn't belong there, don't put it in.... that would eventually kill the inhabitants...

 

[nanomantis]

yo dude come down he did it and it worked im just repeating what i saw. of course he had 2 do water changes weekly.
the thing was a miracle i have never seen anything like it before in my life it was crazy... it was immaculate...

 

[fishieness]

im looking to do the same thing. Once i go to college in a 2 years im sticking some of my live rock, sand, and my favorite corals in a little 12 gallon tank. Keeping everything equipment wise from my 29 and my 40 gallon and then starting them back up again when i get out.
The only this is youd probably need more equiptment to make sure that everything is okay such as an automatic topoff system. Even an automatic feeder. Either that or if you jsut have tons and tons of amphiopods. Although that probably wont happen in such a small talk.

 

[fishieness]

Originally Posted by NanoMantis
i know a guy that in college he had a 55g tank with a green moray in it. he would feed the moray cheetos and pour beer into the tank and it was, intruth one of the stablest and nicest tanks i have ever seen
no........ please dont say that because then people are goign to think that it is okay. Plus, a green moray doesnt even come close to fitting in a tank that small.

 

[bluelagoon]

Originally Posted by fishieness
no........ please dont say that because then people are goign to think that it is okay. Plus, a green moray doesnt even come close to fitting in a tank that small.
thank you! when i came back and read his reply, it made it sound like he thought it was fine and dandy. it's just not something you want to tell people, that 'my friend did this, but everything was still awesome!' that makes the inexperienced people believe that they can slack off too. even if they see that they shouldn't feed their fish cheetos or pour beer in the tank, they'll think that they won't have to keep up with all of their maintenance like they should.
ps- i am a girl, so no calling me dude! lol

 

[bluelagoon]

here's my setup:
5 gal aqua-tech tank that my mom bought me from wal-mart.
started it with water and lr from one of her established tanks.
25-watt heater.
just the filter that came with it, it uses a pad and a bio-wheel.
my inhabitants:
1 false percula clownfish
3 various hermit crabs (i just told the kid at the store that i wanted 3 small ones in exchange for my one big guy)
1 pink button brittle star (who i believe is in the process of dying~that's a story in itself)
i also have 1 mushroom (dunno which kind, it was only 5 bucks)
i did have several pulsing xenias in my tank too, but i had to remove them (same story as the starfish)
all is going well, except for my obvious starfish problem. i'll post that in a different reply here, i hate to make them too long, cuz i know i don't like to read the super-long replies...

 

[pilgrim]

well thankyou for your advice, I'll have to spend a while researching over christmas break. I am a little worried that saltwater might be a little to much trouble for me at this point, but I will be able to deside that once I read more. thanks again.