2.5 nano reef question

[sweetness8t5]

Is this a good price for this coral? $40 plus ship+handling
http://www.petco.com/product/101441/...o-Package.aspx

Is this good enough for sand?


And in the filter, what do I do to that? Leave it without the cartilage? I read someone put LC rubble in there.. is that it?

But I also found someone on Craigslist selling a 2.5 nano reef system with a 1 pound of live rock and sand for 25$..is that good price?

[lando]

Is this a good price for this coral? $40 plus ship+handling
http://www.petco.com/product/101441/...o-Package.aspx

I would hold off on this. You will only really need 4-5lbs of LR at most.

Is this good enough for sand?

It will work fine but not really worth all the money. Contrary to what the bag says, you will still need to cycle your tank. You cannot simple add fish as suggested. Get some dry sand from the LFS and then ask for a couple of cups of LS from one of their reefs to seed the sand bed.

And in the filter, what do I do to that? Leave it without the cartilage? I read someone put LC rubble in there.. is that it?

What type of filter is it? I have two Red Sea Nano filters on my 2 1/2gal. One is filled with LR rubble and the other one hold PURA filtration pads.

But I also found someone on Craigslist selling a 2.5 nano reef system with a 1 pound of live rock and sand for 25$..is that good price?

Do you have a link? Depending on the condition of the tank and if a lighting fixture comes with it, it may bea good deal.

[sweetness8t5]

Originally Posted by lando

I would hold off on this. You will only really need 4-5lbs of LR at most.

It will work fine but not really worth all the money. Contrary to what the bag says, you will still need to cycle your tank. You cannot simple add fish as suggested. Get some dry sand from the LFS and then ask for a couple of cups of LS from one of their reefs to seed the sand bed.

What type of filter is it? I have two Red Sea Nano filters on my 2 1/2gal. One is filled with LR rubble and the other one hold PURA filtration pads.

Do you have a link? Depending on the condition of the tank and if a lighting fixture comes with it, it may bea good deal.

Thank you so much , you were very helpful!!!! I don't have the actual picture of it... but this is what he had posted:




i don't really want anything extravagant.. just something I could "practice" on until I learn about it more.. I'm a hands-on learner, so practice makes perfect.. ya know? So nothing Liberace-like and CHEAP!

[roka64]

Practice on a nano might be a little tough, at first, if you don't keep up with the regular maint. You have less water so less room to err. Keep us posted!

[lando]

If that is what you get, then $25 is a good deal. I agree with Scott, a pico or nano are not great "practice" tanks. They require far more regulation and maintanance then larger tanks. I do not like to recommend very small tanks to the beginer SW aquarist. That said, if you are determined to do your research and keep up with maintanance you can be successful.

[severum mama]

I agree with Scott and Brian (who, BTW, have both been very helpful to me). My pico was my first SW tank, but before I started it up I had done a lot of research online, and I'd worked for a LFS and gotten a bit of SW experience that way. I also have a few years of FW experience so that helps for sure with knowing how to do maintenance and what not.

That's a cool tank and I believe it's worth $25, but bear in mind that a pico tank is pretty much the most difficult route you can take into saltwater aquaria. I'm not trying to discourage you at all, and I do believe that if you do your research and ask questions here that you can be successful with it. But it is going to require daily attention. You'll need to top it off every day with FW so the salinity is stable. You'll need to do pwc's at least once a week, and you'll have to have SW on hand already mixed up for this purpose. Also, understand that there are more things that you will need to buy than just what comes with the tank, and you will end up spending more than what you probably expect. You'll need a powerhead to mix and aerate your SW. You'll need a hydrometer at the very least, but they are so inaccurate that I just threw mine in the garage and bought a refractometer (a lot more expensive, but totally worth the money). You'll also have to buy salt mix- this won't be a huge cost for you since a bag of salt will last a while, but it will be an ongoing cost. Plus, it is recommended that you use RO or RO/DI water to mix up your SW instead of tap water, so you'll end up buying water too.

You can set up a pico tank that will be cheap relative to larger tanks, but compared to FW it is still very expensive. I've spent nearly $300 on my tank and the stuff in it, and I already had my rock and filter.

Again, I'm not trying to be discouraging at all, I just want to make sure that you know what you are getting into. I had a pretty good idea of what I was getting into, and the cost still has managed to surprise me! Good luck.

[sweetness8t5]

Thanks.

I understand it's hard work.. and I bought a couple of books on SW tanks and checked one out from the library, but like I said.. I still won't know unless I do it.