Live rock question

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the very first thing you need is to find out the temp of the water. guestamation never works. there no way your finger can tell you what the temp of the tank is or if its even close and it also cant tell you if the heater is working if it only brings up the tank temp a couple of degrees. you need a thermometer first. dont guess cause you will guess wrong.
 
Yea I am getting a thermometer soon. Also looking to buils a bigger tank since this is my first salt water and reef tank EVERYONE is telling me to do a bigger tank instead of this nano.
 
im not sure i would listen to them about getting a bigger tank. that comes down to personal prefrence. nano tanks are some of the prettiest tanks i have seen. they capture so much color in a smaller space that when done right is just amazing. BUT it requires more work. They both require a good bit of work but the nano is goign to require it more offen. a smaller tank is prone to more fluxuations which require more work on a day to day basis to keep it in check. a bigger tank will be more stable so require less day to day work on it but may require bigger full maintance.

if your dedicated and willing to take it slow and do it right you can make either tank work. its a matter of what you want to do since its in your house and you have to work on it, spend your money on it, and look at it. decide what you want to do then take the time to figure out how to do it right.

buying things just to buy them are good for the hobby stores but not good for you. what i would advise is go get your heater. get this tank going and then figure out if you want to go bigger and what you will need or if you want to stay small and get what you need. just for your wallets sake and the fish and reefs sake dont half a$$ it.
 
Not looking to half a$$ it but looking at overall cost as well as my inexperiance with salt and reef tanks. Willing to do the work, just not willing to lose $$ as a learning experiance.
 
Do what you can as far as size. Bigger isn't always better. Remember you'll need more space, water, salt, sand and LR and all of your equipment will have to be upgraded. plus the electrical bill will go up considerably.
 
For size on my custom one I am looking at around 40 to 50 gallons if it works out. 2 - 3 ft long x 1 - 1.5 foot deep x 15 - 18 inches tall.
 
Size does matter. I hear of to many people giving up on saltwater because they say it's to hard to keep things alive, to much work, to expensive and the list goes on. It's recommended to at least start off with a 30g because the water parameters are more stable then in a 10-20g tank. If something goes out of wack you will have time to correct the mistake before it crashes your system. Nano tanks are "Very Pretty", but see how many of them are done by "First Timers". Try at least a mid size tank if you can and after you have some time under your belt then try a Nano. IMO
 
Thincat,

Again thanks for your help. As I said in my last comment I am looking to build up a larger tank so this one will more then likely get put on hold or at least not get pushed fwd until I am able to either work on it myself with more time or i may just add a shrimp so my daughter has something in there to look at while I work on the larger tank. As always advice, suggestions and opinions are always welcome. Know up front though I am one who does not like to hear I can't do something cause I will work even harder to prove those statements wrong. Thanks again.
 
Looking forward to seeing the progress.
Above all, have fun....it's a hobby...;)
 
I'll try and post build up pics of everything as it goes. When I make my live rock it looks like I will have to wait a couple months before its live rock so pleanty of time to do more research before doing anything with that I'm sure. Again thanks for the help.
 
I was wondering, I made a sump filter when I was building my other tanks that leaked, if I add that to my tank will that allow me to be able to add stuff to this small tank without risking a system fail? I still need to get a few things for it (skimmer, water pump, and decide if I want to drill my tank or not) but I had it set up to use a good size tote and as I said it would easily add another 5 to maybe 10 gallons to the system. I was going to try a refugium in the sump but I am clueless on those so it is mainly a filter system.
 
Thincat,

I only ment I didn't know how to set it up and make it grow and all. I been watching this video journal on youtube of a guy with a 10 gallon nano and he has a nice sump refugium set up. As always thank you for your help.
 
Actually yea that exact one. I am up to day 120 I think. I am jelous as to how fast he was able to add to it. I am at the end of week one and do to the input I have gotten on here am kinda scared to add to it now. His tank looks great though.
 
I know he had a 55 gal he was talking about setting up and that he was gonna move and didn't want to move that 90. I think he said he was starting one for the 55 so when I finish the 10 I'll go look and see what else he has. I laughed so hard when I heard him call fellow reef tankers reefers. Not sure if that is the correct term but growing up my brother and sister called thier friends reefers (no comment on why) so it was funny to hear it used again. I hope to see his 90 gallon though. With as full and lively as his 10 was I am sure the 90 must be fanominal.
 
lol. He already has vids of his 90 up and running with fish and corals and all (he did fishless cycle it tho). It looks amazing!
 
Day 120 he mentions it in that video so I will have to check out all of them as I get time.
 
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