Originally posted by mling
I have a 45 Gal tank that is 3 mths old and I have just bought a 16 G to be a Nano Tank. What are the differences in the setup of the 2 tanks ? Do I need a skimmer for a 16 G ? Do I need compact lighting for a reef tank with only fishes and inverts or would the fluorescent that came with the tank suffice ? Can a nano tank have a DSB ?
Differences in set-up:
1. Initial Cycle should be the same - you can use some water and rock/sand from an established tank to speed up your cycle. Biggest mistake in inital set-up (IMO) on Nano's is that people rush the cycle. When I set-up a nano I cycle with some fish food as well as established rock and sand.
2. Though smaller you will still want to get it set early so you don't "mess" with the rockscape, etc. too much early on. Putting your hands in a tank can lead to contamination of the tank. Usually very slight on a large tank but on a nano with much smaller water volume what a larger tank could process may just very well turn into a deadly event!
3. Plan you inhabitants before buying and setting up the nano - if you know what king of nano fish you want that helps a ton - do you want a pistol shrimp/goby combo - then you need a deeper sand bed - do you want harlequin shrimp - how will you feed them? Do you want a clownfish - you need some hiding spots - specific gobies have specific needs. Catalina gobies are gorgeous - but need cooler water. Have an idea before setting up and let your desires guide your set up!
Skimmer ..... I'd say NO - some people use them - I have a prism on my 29 Gallon but my 20 and 5.5 both run skimmer free. Here is why - I do water changes on a regular basis of at least 20% of the tank volume - which provides a very similar function as a skimmer. I combine my water changes with ensuring the top of the tank is in constant motion. If you are dedicated to every two weeks or once a month water changes then I'd say no .... if you do run a skimmer you will need to watch your water levels and make sure you top off daily and keep a good eye on PH and salinity
Lighting - by fish and inverts I am assuming you mean corals. Some corals will do OK under NO lighting - mainly mushrooms and sun corals (which are meat eaters and don't need light) otherwise I'd say you need to upgrade to at least PC lighting. VHO and T5 would be good as well. If you mean just fish, snails, crabs and shrimp then you would be OK with NO lighting - but even some PC lighting will make the tank more visually pleasing.
DSB - yes - most people shy away because the benefits are not very great and the DSB tanks up a lot of space better used to keep the water volume level higher. 3 nano tanks and the only one with a true DSB is my 20 gallon tank. 29 is close 3 inches with a few deeper spots - and hte 5.5 is inch to inch and a half....
Hope this helps and WELCOME!!
