New to sw, considering 3g nano.

[Sssea]

Hello friends!
Like the title says, I am brand new to SW and want to make the transition from FW. I've been looking into having a 3G nano with only beginner corals and maybe an invert.
I'm aware that tiny tanks are notorious for being difficult to keep stable parameters, does this change at all without the addition of fish? I'm not really interested in keeping sw fish and don't have any space to spare, so large tanks are not really an option. I really love the look of nano reef and through my research I believe I'm capable of keeping one.
Since I'm a total freshie, I'm not really sure where to start this adventure. Thats where you guys come in!

1. What exactly do I need?
Tank, filter, sand and salt mix are obvious.
Should I start with live or base rock?
How many lbs?
Is a powerhead necessary in such a small tank or would it cause too much flow?
2. What lighting do I need?
The kit I've been looking at (picotope) comes with a clamp on cfl (9w 50/50, I have no idea what that means.)
Is this enough to sustain beginner corals?
3. What are the best/hardiest corals to start with?
Should I get frags?
4. I have no idea whatsoever about trace elements. I assume they're in the salt mix and I don't necessarily have to add anything?
Is there anything I need to test for besides salinity and normal params?
I don't have an rodi setup, how necessary is this in a tiny tank?
Are there other ways to get water?
5. I don't really know a whole lot about mixing water for pwcs.
How do I do this?
I know there's some rule about topping off with freshwater due to evaporation so you don't raise the salinity. Other than that, I'm a little clueless.
6. I've been toying with the idea of an invert. Will this change much about the set up or maintenance?
What kind of beginner invert would be suitable for this tank?
Shrimp and crabs are completely out of the question since I'm terrified of them.

Okay! If you made it through that mass of questions, you're a champ! Thanks guys, any information on this topic is very much appreciated!

 

[xxStLxx]

I would strongly reccomend that you dont do this. You will probably nuke the tank a few times before you get anything going. But if you do here's your answers.

1) You'll nee the tank obviously, and I would go with a small betta pump/filter for flow. I would Also reccomend that you take the carbon that it come with and take it out for a custom filter bag with a ROX carbon and high grade GFO mixture that would need to be replaced monthly. Also you'll want to do LR other wise you water chemistry will never calm down ever. Its still going to be crazy keeping track of it being that small. Just go with 3-5lbs. Unless you want the whole thing to be rock. Also do a DSB (3" of live sand) as this will help keep things more stable. I dont think you would have enough room foor the powerhead and it could be a tad bit too much flow in the display.

2) A 50/50 is primarily used for FOWLR tanks. I would go with a power compact instead. Most are dual bulbs that contain a 14k bulb (looks purple/white when on) and a 20k bulb (royal blue color). If that doesnt work out then there is always LED's asa well just make sure they're 1-3w LED bulbs.

3) Go with frags, the best beginners corals would be green star polyp, zoanthids and mushrooms. Stay away from kenya tree, it grows like a weed and will quickly take over your tank. Also certain acan's are ok, since the water they come from in the wild is usually not so great they can survive some crazy stuff and they're beautiful.

4) Trace elements come with most salt mixes. But its usually a mix of 26 elements that keep coloration in things and are just good for the water. Youll want to monitor: ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, calcium, magnesium, alkalinity, specific gravity, phosphate, and iodide. Red Sea makes nice test kits for all of them except sg, ammonia and nitrite. I would strongly recomned their line of test over API's. API's can read faulty and with such a small tank you want to be dead on all the time and you will be testing daily if not multiple times per day.

The RODI water is a MUST have. You can usually buy it from your LFS if you dont want to buy a 90GPD system. RODI needs to be used for both top off and for mixing your salt water. THere's no way around this one with that small of tank. If you use conditioned tap water you will have an algae out break from **** that will never go away.

5) Mixing is easy. Just mix up a gallon at a time using the conversion table that comes with the salt mix. Make sure to use RODI water when you mix, cnat stress how important that is. I would mix the water after each weekly water change. That way you always have some on hand in case of an emergency or to correct for salinity errors. TO mix it get a 5 gallon bucket with a powerhead and heater and use the RODI and amount of salt. Hand mix it first till all the salt is broken up in the water then turn the powerhead on for a few hours then pour into you storage container. Make sure you dont inhale the dust that comes off the salt as it goes into the water, it will make you sick. (You'll more than likely get a bad sour throught the next day that last for a week or so)

As water evaporates from the tank the salt stays in the water as it is more denxe molecular than water. This being said as water evaporates the salinity should go up. That being said this is not always the case as sometimes evaportation causes salt creep which is the salt turning into salt crystals (usually on your lights and wires), Its important before each top off to check your sg to see if you need to add RODI or saltwater to the tank. For a reef you want the sg to be at 1.024-1.025. Hydrometers are the cheap way to go but if you want to be certain what it is you'll want to get a refractometer. Mix your water to 1.023 so it gives you a little head room for error.

6) Snails will be your new best friend. With a tank that small I would go with 2 Naccarius snails to go through your sand constantly, and 5-10 cerith snails to eat diatom algae off the glass. You could also prob do a few astrea snails which eat diatom and green algae.

Your setup will be slow. Add the rock then the 3" sand bed. Add water and let it cycle. You should know that process from freshwater. The time frame for that is different with each tank. Ive had tanks take a week to cycle and others take 2 months. Thats where your going to have to be patient and look at an empty tank until you conditions stabalize. I would also keep the lights off completely during this time as to not create any algae and will also kill off any algae that may have come with the rock.

Once the tank cycles add your ceriths first and slowly start bringing the lights on 1 hour the first week then addind one hour per week till you get to a full photo period (8-10 hours) Then if you water is still good add a frag of GSP or a zoa and see how it does.

Again by no means am I telling you to do this. Its a terrible idea since its your first SW tank. 55g is the best SW starter tank to be honest (not to small to cause water issues and not to big that husbandry goes out the window) But this is just my opinion. If you are dead set on it those are my recomendations. God speed