been considering a nano - Aquarium Advice

cogburn · 04-02-2008, 11:26 AM

ive been considering a nano for a few weeks... i want to have coral but dont wanna really shell out the cash for a big sw setup... so nano might be the way to go my question is... what is the best 12gal nano setup out there... i know the stocking has to be small in a nano... but what fish do u guys have? i read the nano list and there are lots of cool things to have but i just wondered how many i can have and which ones interract well... also with a nano setup do i need anything else or will the setup have everything i need? also do you guys have trouble keeping your parameters in check since its so small? i know lots of questions... thanks in advance...

-Larry

pat8you · 04-02-2008, 02:32 PM

I have one of these

12 G Nano Cube | Pet Solutions

That i like and have no problems with it so far. I got the deluxe model since it has additional light in there. As for stocking liveaquaria has a whole page dedicated to "nano" fish and on each page there is a compatibility cart so you can check to make sure thing will get along well.

Nano Fish

At the moment i have two clown fish in mine. I would stick with 1-2 fish for the first couple of months until you get to know your tank and figure out what kind of water change schedule you need to keep to have you water chemistry stay in balance. Down the road as the tank becomes more established and stable some people will put a third fish in there but its a matter of opinion if that is a good idea or not. Some say thats to many for that size tank others say they have no problems with it. I like clown fish, clown goby, jawfish, some small blennies are interesting and all of those will get along fine. Fish that burrow and "make a home" like jawfish are very interesting to watch.

Water parameters can be a little more tricky to keep in check since its such a small tank. I was having trouble at first because i was feeding to often. I've been told every other day works well and has helped me. I usually do a water change once a week and the tank seems to be doing well.

That tank comes with everything you need for the most part. I took all the bio balls and stuff that came with it out of the back and filled it with LR rubble. Again a matter of opinion someone with more experience might be able to give you more guidance on that. I also bought a heater and an additional small pump for more flow in the tank.

If you buy a packaged nano cube as apposed to putting the parts together your self, keep in mind the lighting requirements for the corals you want to keep because the lighting can be difficult to upgrade once you buy one.

cogburn · 04-02-2008, 02:42 PM

thats exactly the one i was looking at... i was also planning on getting the deluxe for the better lighting... good advice i will definately keep in mind... the best lfs ive been to is unfortunately 2.5 hours away but this past weekend i found a pretty good once about 40 mins away that was very knowledgable and alot closer to home... maybe ill take the plunge one of these days... i was planning on one clown, a goby of some sort, a cleanup crew, and a jawfish down the road... ill use the stores advice as they seem to be pretty good

interesting about the lr rubble didnt think of that... im sure that would work very well... this one shouldnt be too hard to convince the wife... the lfs had a cool nano set up and she really liked it and almost bought one on the spot... but i told her i have to research more... seems like a great way to get your sw feet wet without breaking the bank... thanks again for the advice!

-Larry

cogburn · 04-02-2008, 02:46 PM

another question... do you always have to keep mixed saltwater handy for changes? im sure to keep a 5gal bucket of pre-mixed water around isnt that much of a big deal... im just concerned with the maintenance... i have a 29 gal freshwater setup that is insanely easy... all i do is a pwc once a week or at least every 10 days and its easy as pie... i want the nano reef to be as or nearly as easy...

pat8you · 04-02-2008, 03:54 PM

Yeah i just have a 5 gal home depot bucket with a lid that i keep my SW in. I buy mine from the LFS premixed but with yours 40 min away you might just wanna keep a bag of salt and your water to mix your self. I'm not sure if you do your freshwater changes with tap water but its not recommended in a salt water tank with out testing it first to see whats in it. Many people have problems with algae in their tank from using tap water. I would recommend using RO/DI water. You can get a unit for relativly cheap on ebay and it will probably save you a lot of trouble down the road. If you search RO/DI unit in the hardware forum i'm sure there are a dozen threads about people asking around able a good place to get one or the best kind to get and so on. Saltwater is slightly more maintenance from what i've heard but as long as you do a water change every week it shouldn't be much of a problem.

If your going to be mixing your own salt most the the guru's strongly suggest that you get a refractometer instead of using a hydrometer as they tend to be quite inaccurate. I should also warn you that the set up cost of this tank will be a little expensive. Besides the tank you will need to get live rock which runs around 5/lb give or take. 1-1.5 lbs per gallon is a general rule of thumb for proper filtration. Another thing will be your test kits. Probably going to need ammonia, nitrate, PH/alk to start with as a bare minimum kind of thing we other ones like calcium down the road if you want. After the initial set up it should be similar to a freshwater tank with the addition of salt which won't be much on such a small tank.

Not sure how much research you have done already but here is a link to the sites list of articles that has a ton of good stuff to know.

Articles

On the second page there are two articles "ammonia to nitrate" and "cycling your tank" that will be good info for when your ready to start setting things up. This is another post from the getting started section that also has a ton of good getting started info.

Stock list and tips for maintaining your SW tank.

Sorry if i'm going on to much. Good luck

cogburn · 04-02-2008, 04:02 PM

i guess to keep 5 gal from the pet store on hand isnt a problem i have lfs closer that sell water but the GOOD place is 40 mins away... i can just keep water on hand much easier than mixing i would think... much less margin for error... if i change 5 gal a time that should be plenty... thats like 40%... not too bad... im not overly concerned about cost... just didnt want to spend thousands on a big setup... thanks for the help

pat8you · 04-02-2008, 04:04 PM

you really only need to change about 10-20% a week. A 5 gallon bucket lasts me a couple changes.

cogburn · 04-02-2008, 04:20 PM

good to know thanks... im excited

04-02-2008, 11:26 AM	#1 (permalink)
cogburn Aquarium Advice Freak Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: bangor, pa Posts: 217	been considering a nano ive been considering a nano for a few weeks... i want to have coral but dont wanna really shell out the cash for a big sw setup... so nano might be the way to go my question is... what is the best 12gal nano setup out there... i know the stocking has to be small in a nano... but what fish do u guys have? i read the nano list and there are lots of cool things to have but i just wondered how many i can have and which ones interract well... also with a nano setup do i need anything else or will the setup have everything i need? also do you guys have trouble keeping your parameters in check since its so small? i know lots of questions... thanks in advance... -Larry

04-02-2008, 02:32 PM	#2 (permalink)
pat8you Aquarium Advice Freak Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Daytona Beach, FL Posts: 403 Images: 5	I have one of these 12 G Nano Cube \| Pet Solutions That i like and have no problems with it so far. I got the deluxe model since it has additional light in there. As for stocking liveaquaria has a whole page dedicated to "nano" fish and on each page there is a compatibility cart so you can check to make sure thing will get along well. Nano Fish At the moment i have two clown fish in mine. I would stick with 1-2 fish for the first couple of months until you get to know your tank and figure out what kind of water change schedule you need to keep to have you water chemistry stay in balance. Down the road as the tank becomes more established and stable some people will put a third fish in there but its a matter of opinion if that is a good idea or not. Some say thats to many for that size tank others say they have no problems with it. I like clown fish, clown goby, jawfish, some small blennies are interesting and all of those will get along fine. Fish that burrow and "make a home" like jawfish are very interesting to watch. Water parameters can be a little more tricky to keep in check since its such a small tank. I was having trouble at first because i was feeding to often. I've been told every other day works well and has helped me. I usually do a water change once a week and the tank seems to be doing well. That tank comes with everything you need for the most part. I took all the bio balls and stuff that came with it out of the back and filled it with LR rubble. Again a matter of opinion someone with more experience might be able to give you more guidance on that. I also bought a heater and an additional small pump for more flow in the tank. If you buy a packaged nano cube as apposed to putting the parts together your self, keep in mind the lighting requirements for the corals you want to keep because the lighting can be difficult to upgrade once you buy one. __________________ 12gal saltwater w/ 17 lbs live rock 48 watts PC 50/50 bulbs (10k/Actinic) ocellaris clown, green clown goby assorted corals

04-02-2008, 03:54 PM	#5 (permalink)
pat8you Aquarium Advice Freak Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Daytona Beach, FL Posts: 403 Images: 5	Yeah i just have a 5 gal home depot bucket with a lid that i keep my SW in. I buy mine from the LFS premixed but with yours 40 min away you might just wanna keep a bag of salt and your water to mix your self. I'm not sure if you do your freshwater changes with tap water but its not recommended in a salt water tank with out testing it first to see whats in it. Many people have problems with algae in their tank from using tap water. I would recommend using RO/DI water. You can get a unit for relativly cheap on ebay and it will probably save you a lot of trouble down the road. If you search RO/DI unit in the hardware forum i'm sure there are a dozen threads about people asking around able a good place to get one or the best kind to get and so on. Saltwater is slightly more maintenance from what i've heard but as long as you do a water change every week it shouldn't be much of a problem. If your going to be mixing your own salt most the the guru's strongly suggest that you get a refractometer instead of using a hydrometer as they tend to be quite inaccurate. I should also warn you that the set up cost of this tank will be a little expensive. Besides the tank you will need to get live rock which runs around 5/lb give or take. 1-1.5 lbs per gallon is a general rule of thumb for proper filtration. Another thing will be your test kits. Probably going to need ammonia, nitrate, PH/alk to start with as a bare minimum kind of thing we other ones like calcium down the road if you want. After the initial set up it should be similar to a freshwater tank with the addition of salt which won't be much on such a small tank. Not sure how much research you have done already but here is a link to the sites list of articles that has a ton of good stuff to know. Articles On the second page there are two articles "ammonia to nitrate" and "cycling your tank" that will be good info for when your ready to start setting things up. This is another post from the getting started section that also has a ton of good getting started info. Stock list and tips for maintaining your SW tank. Sorry if i'm going on to much. Good luck __________________ 12gal saltwater w/ 17 lbs live rock 48 watts PC 50/50 bulbs (10k/Actinic) ocellaris clown, green clown goby assorted corals

04-02-2008, 04:04 PM	#7 (permalink)
pat8you Aquarium Advice Freak Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Daytona Beach, FL Posts: 403 Images: 5	you really only need to change about 10-20% a week. A 5 gallon bucket lasts me a couple changes. __________________ 12gal saltwater w/ 17 lbs live rock 48 watts PC 50/50 bulbs (10k/Actinic) ocellaris clown, green clown goby assorted corals

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04-02-2008, 02:42 PM	#3 (permalink)
cogburn Aquarium Advice Freak Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: bangor, pa Posts: 217	thats exactly the one i was looking at... i was also planning on getting the deluxe for the better lighting... good advice i will definately keep in mind... the best lfs ive been to is unfortunately 2.5 hours away but this past weekend i found a pretty good once about 40 mins away that was very knowledgable and alot closer to home... maybe ill take the plunge one of these days... i was planning on one clown, a goby of some sort, a cleanup crew, and a jawfish down the road... ill use the stores advice as they seem to be pretty good interesting about the lr rubble didnt think of that... im sure that would work very well... this one shouldnt be too hard to convince the wife... the lfs had a cool nano set up and she really liked it and almost bought one on the spot... but i told her i have to research more... seems like a great way to get your sw feet wet without breaking the bank... thanks again for the advice! -Larry

04-02-2008, 02:46 PM	#4 (permalink)
cogburn Aquarium Advice Freak Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: bangor, pa Posts: 217	another question... do you always have to keep mixed saltwater handy for changes? im sure to keep a 5gal bucket of pre-mixed water around isnt that much of a big deal... im just concerned with the maintenance... i have a 29 gal freshwater setup that is insanely easy... all i do is a pwc once a week or at least every 10 days and its easy as pie... i want the nano reef to be as or nearly as easy...

04-02-2008, 04:02 PM	#6 (permalink)
cogburn Aquarium Advice Freak Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: bangor, pa Posts: 217	i guess to keep 5 gal from the pet store on hand isnt a problem i have lfs closer that sell water but the GOOD place is 40 mins away... i can just keep water on hand much easier than mixing i would think... much less margin for error... if i change 5 gal a time that should be plenty... thats like 40%... not too bad... im not overly concerned about cost... just didnt want to spend thousands on a big setup... thanks for the help

04-02-2008, 04:20 PM	#8 (permalink)
cogburn Aquarium Advice Freak Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: bangor, pa Posts: 217	good to know thanks... im excited