to get or not to get a nano SW

[virus]

hello everyone,

i am a freshwater person and i wanted to get into Saltwater. and i dont want to spend a whole lot of money and not like it so i was in my lfs and saw a 1'x1'x'1 looking tank and it had some rock with i think a mini coral looking thing and a clownfish and some yellow dude who was in the bottom of the rock and tank, so i was wondering weather to start on one, ex. how much it would cost and i know things can go wrong very fast when you dont have that much water, so i wanted to get it from you guys the info!

 

[spence0416]

You could give it a try, but you'll probably will end up wanting a bigger tank after a while. You end up spending more in the long run. That's what happened to me anyway. I started with a 10 gal. bought the lights and skimmer, then after 4 or 5 months I ended up moving to a 29 gal. I thinking about getting something bigger still. So I say go with a bigger set up.

 

[mastershake]

iwould say not to try it, especially with such a smal tank, even a ten gal or 20 gal is better to use, the thing with small tanks like that is in the end it just isnt worth it, the equipment is harder to find,
youll realize its a pain to make a tank like that look good with pumps and haeter etc all inside it, and as soon as you start your just wanna get a bigger tank,

plus a bigger tank equals way more options, and if your anything like a lot of us , youll soon wanna explore all the different ideas of tanks and youll probably want to get bigger fish, or more corals and all that, go as big as you can,
initial cost may be more, but nobody says you need to buy the best equipment right away, and you can always find what your lookign for used, good luck on your decision

 

[virus]

hmmmmm whatabout thouse new nano cubes? with then filters lights and powerhead?

 

[mastershake]

they are pretty expensive, i bought a 65 gallon tank for 40 bucks and the stand was 150 or so, then i came across a free power compact ballast and reflector for it, if you keep your eyes open theres good deals around, water is free, and salt isnt that much, then sand is liek 5 bucks at lowes or home depot and rock , its cheap if you use mostly base rock and a few pounds every now and then of liverock whenever you can afford it, filter could be built completely diy if you were so inclined, and a heater isnt that expensive, your call though, you know whats best for your situation, just dont jump into anything

 

[virus]

well thanks for the info i Really appreciate it


i wonder as you typed if there is a TOTAL DIY for a salt water tank, as cheap as you can get it, with your fish thriving like a way turn all your base rock into live and how to grow frags and build your own filter and sump etc etc so that people with not so much money to spare could do it. this is because i see alot of people wanting to know how to get a saltwater for like under 300 bucks for example, hmmmm idea?

 

[mastershake]

ill bet it isnt easy and takes a lot of careful planning for that stuff, i wouild never diy the tankthough, thats the one thing i could never risk,

 

[lando]

First thing to do is to decide what type of tank you want. FO, FOWLR, reef? Next, decide on your main type of filtration and substrate. Size of the tank is also important in figuring price. It will be easier to help you out if we know what directon you want to go. Keep one thing in mind...the larger the tank, the more stable it will be. Smaller tanks require more attention and give much less room for error. Also, most people become board with small tanks because you are sooo limited as to what you can put in it. For first-timers, I suggest at least a 29gal tank. This will allow you to have a bit more fish variety then a 10 or 20gal. Nothing is ever easy, is it?

 

[Jermz79]

I just setup a 29gal. and Love it ... but then I was reading a post about Nano's and absolutely had to have one.

I just setup my Nano like 4 days ago and am in the process of cycling! I say go for it, but first do your homework and research the maintenance differences between a smaller and a larger tank!

 

[virus]

hmmm well i think ill do a 29 gal. because this cristmas ill have a 70+ for my FW tank and i ll convert my 29 into salt, i already have sand and filter+heater so what do i need to have a succesful 29 gal so i can configure my budget etc. like i want a FOWLR because the rock is so cool, i was wondering also if i can have corals since they look so cool, but yeah can anyone get me a list whith prices im planning to go Ebay? i think ill create another post for it ill get the adress

 

[virus]

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/viewtopic.php?p=464063#464063 is my new topic