Where to start???

[rich460]

if you get the nano cube all you need is the saltwater.i have about 15lbs of lr in mine you should go with ls from the start i went with cc and not happy with it but my lfs said it was best but now i know better.i think you will be happy with a nano cube.good luck let us know how you are doing when you get your tank.:hilarious

 

[sw65galma]

Originally posted by rich460
i have a nano cube and its my 1st sw tank had it up for 2mths and all my readings are good i check them once a week and just top off with fresh water about every 2 days.but thats just my 2 cents good luck with what ever you get sw fish are the coolest.
Let me know how its going in a few months
Right now you're in what I call a grace period. Everything is new, load is low, levels are high.
Just wait till you have to play the balancing game with calcium,alk,ph,salinity.
My first few months were cake, now i'm pulling uout my hair trying to keep the levels nice.

 

[rich460]

sw65galma i think i will be ok if it was easy then it would not be worth it i did not see the point in buying a big tank when i knew nothing about swf would have been a waste of money but will be getting a bigger tank when i learn alot more about swf and all the things it takes to run a big tank from what i have been looking at it will cost about 5k or more to get the tank i want and skimmer and mh lights i want for my big tank so starting small is for the best and is your tank a nano cube if its not then we will see how good a nano cube is will keep you updated on my tank

 

[sw65galma]

A larger tank is more forgiving..and when I say larger tank I mean generally anything 55gal or over.
So when you are starting off learning about SWF and you didn't know for example (like me) that you shouldn't just pour a few gallons of water in all at once for evap, you have some le-way.
True it's a little more expensive upfront, but in a small tank if your not up on your evap, like you can't really miss a day. Your salinity will go up. Also depending on your stock, if you have sensitive stuff, they won't like that.
And when you're new...how do you know what's sensitive.
I'm like you I want to learn everything at once, but I've gotten ahead of myself and tired to hard and made a lot of expensive mistakes. And don't be fooled about the less maintence on a big tank. There are More things to do...just different sort of things. It lets you focus on other things instead of water quality.
On my 300 (which i'm still setting up), I have a 40gal wet/dry and a 65gal Fuge, I'm trying to raise the total amount of water..so Now I'll be around 400Gal and I'm sure my water will be rock solid for a long long time. Then I can worry about how to arrange the 500lbs of LR

 

[mmmsalty]

just a thought........ you WILL want a bigger tank after having the nano. you will want more fish, more rock, more coral...... you will love it and want more of it. get something a little bigger even if u have to save a little longer. (of course these are just thoughts)
i wasted a ton of money starting smaller.... 10 gal, 29 gal, now 55 gal... i wasted a lot of money on different heaters, light bulbs, filters, tons of junk that i now have filling my extra room & still a 55 gal is small to a lot of people lol!!! my sister likes my 55 gal and wants to start a sw tank & i told i would give her my 29 gal, but strongly advise against it cause she will waste money just like myself cause she will want something bigger after about six months! a lot of people who have nano's also have a large tank so that don't have the "want" for a larger tank. smaller does have less room for error too, being a college student & busy (like myself) you may find it easier to take care of something larger.
anyways, good luck with whichever!!!!! i just thought i'd throw my 2 cents in to save someone $$$$$ cause i sure wish someone had told me!!!

 

[j trigger]

Thanks for all the advice guys, but after weeks of research im pretty sure im going to purchase a 29 gallon tank tommorow.
Does anyone have any suggestions for fish to keep in it? I definately want at least one perc clown...
Thanks again, ill keep everyone posted with some pictures hopefully starting tommorow.

 

[sw65galma]

What kind of tank do you want?
FOWLR or Reef?
Tangs and Most of the aggressive fish are out.
You could go with 2 percs and an anenome and a goby of some sort.
Some crabs, shrimp, snails..

 

[j trigger]

FOWLR...
Ya i was thinking 2 clowns and maybe a yellow watchman....

 

[j trigger]

I purchased a 29 gallon setup, just gotta arrange my room for the new tank and order some live rock and let the cycling begin!
Thanks for all your help!

 

[j trigger]

Here is my tank just out of the box...
I will post updated pictures as soon as I put the LR in.
p.s. Sorry about the low quality of pic, someone stole my nikon digital, now im forced to use this old sony 1 megapixel...

 

[sw65galma]

Remeber not to rush putting in fish..It's tough waiting trust me.
We will know!
*marks page,date and time* LOL
j/k.
Have Fun!

 

[robchuck]

Congrats on the new tank! 29 gallons is a great size, and in fact, I'm setting one up right now to tide me over until I can get the 150 going.
One thing concerns me though. Looking at your picture, it appears as though you have the tank sitting on a desk. The tank will weigh close to 300 lbs. once it's filled and 300 lbs., so be sure to place it on a stand or someplace that can easily hold the weight of a full tank and then some.

 

[sw65galma]

He could just have 2 or 3 of his friends sit on it, and if they all fall on top of each other...It can't support the weight
If not, he should be good to go.

 

[j trigger]

Thanks for bringing up the weight issue... Yes it is sitting on a desk and as you can see it has 2 legs with no support in the middle... Before I fill it I will be adding a third leg of support in the middle, I think that should be more than enough support