Picking Out a Nano Tank for My Son

[Dad & Matt]

My 12-year-old son and I have been setting up a 75G reef tank for the past couple of months. He's really into it and wants his own tank. I'm thinking about getting him a nano for Christmas. I found this all-in-one setup at Drs Foster and Smith. What do you think of it? Any advice would be welcome, especially since I will probably end up doing a lot of the maintenance.

Nano Cube Reef Aquarium Kits: JBJ Lighting Nano Cube 28-gallon CF-QUAD

 

[severum mama]

I like it! One of my first reef tanks was a Biocube and I found that the all in one setups are really user friendly for a beginner. They have a nice clean look and are easy to maintain. I think you could teach your son to maintain it and just do the supervision.

That's a good deal on the Nanocube since you get the stand and gift certificate. IMO the quality of the Nanocube, Biocube, and Aquapod is very similar so no worries there. The stock lighting is going to be adequate for easy softies like zoas, mushrooms, etc, and some of the easy LPS. I kept a frogspawn in my Biocube and it did great, and IMO you could try hammer or torch coral if frogspawn doesn't appeal to your son.

I would advise replacing the Bioballs with live rock rubble, and adding a powerhead for extra flow. That's JMO, but it worked great for me when I had my cube.

 

[thominil]

The nano cubes seem to be pretty good setups and are pretty compact from what I have seen at the stores. You guys might like piecing the tank together so you can get what equipment you want for about the same price.

If you get that tank, you would need to add and extra powerhead or two for extra movement. You are stuck with that lighting if he decides he want SPS.

Get him involved in the maintenance. Have him test the water and mix up the salt. He will need to learn it anyway because you may get buisy with the 75g or something else. It should be an easy task for him as I do it and I'm only 14.

 

[joy13]

That is a nice size nano to start with. You can upgrade the light but will have to solder.
Believe me your son is probably very capable of doing a lot of the maintenance by himself. Just stress safety, I found out by researching that zoas are as harmless as they appear to be.

 

[austinsdad]

Joy, I guess you meant to say zoas are NOT as harmless as they appear?

That 28g Nano looks nice. The one with the 150MH lighting is insane. Now, if I end up getting one someday, it's all YOUR fault. Or you gonna blame Matt?

My 155gis gonna be in the closet for at least a year whilst I decide if I want another tank anyway. That Nano just might replace it anyway. Hmmmm...

 

[Dad & Matt]

Thanks everyone for the advice. I'm going to look around a little and see if I can piece something together but I'll probably end up with the all-in-one setup. I'll need to add a skimmer but I've found one already that will fit.

One more question: He really wants an eel. We had a small snowflake eel years ago. Can I put one in a 28G tank or will it outgrow it too quickly? My wife won't allow one in the 75G because the last one ate too many fish.

 

[joy13]

Joy, I guess you meant to say zoas are NOT as harmless as they appear?

That 28g Nano looks nice. The one with the 150MH lighting is insane. Now, if I end up getting one someday, it's all YOUR fault. Or you gonna blame Matt?

My 155gis gonna be in the closet for at least a year whilst I decide if I want another tank anyway. That Nano just might replace it anyway. Hmmmm...

You are right it was early in the AM I had just gotten off OT.

 

[thincat]

Joy, I guess you meant to say zoas are NOT as harmless as they appear?

Yes, zoas can be dangerous so that's a good point that austindad pointed out! Most important is to teach your son safety and have him wash his hands after doing any tank work. Mother nature has made some of these animals to have strong toxins to compensate for the dilution in a very large body of water...the ocean. Be safe and that goes for everyone..

 

[Dad & Matt]

So zoas (I assume you mean zoanthids) are poisonous to the touch? I didn't know that. I'll make sure we both wash our hands after tank work! Or get a pair of gloves. Thanks again for all the advice.

 

[austinsdad]

Good plan. I actually wash my hands (with as hot a water as I can stand, no soap) before and after (with soap then) tank work.

 

[pat8you]

So zoas (I assume you mean zoanthids) are poisonous to the touch? I didn't know that. I'll make sure we both wash our hands after tank work! Or get a pair of gloves. Thanks again for all the advice.

I don't believe they are poisonous to the touch. They have a toxin but I *think* it is only released when the coral is injured. Most commonly when we frag them. Either way, i would still wash hands before and after working in the tank but there is no need to panic if you end up touching them.

The JBJ's are pretty good tanks. If it were me i might keep an eye out for a used red sea max. They have the skimmer and timer and better lights. I ended up buying most of the stuff that it included eventually for my JBJ anyway. New they are very expensive though. Just something to think about.

 

[austinsdad]

I wouldn't say they are poisonous either. They do secrete stuff for their own defense. It's just that a lot of stuff in our tank isn't meant to be rubbed in your eye or exposed to open cuts on our hands. Just at the right time when your body is going thru something anyway, your resistance may be low, or you spent all day fragging or handling zoas, those tiny cuts on your hands could be a problem. Or that one rub to the corner of your eye.

Just good practice be careful going into and coming back out of the tank.

 

[thincat]

It is a poison and there is no know antidote for it. Now most Zoeanthis are not super poisonous, There are some Palytoas that are quite deadly. There is one in Hawaii that the Native Hawaiians used to use on their spear tips, somewhat like a poison Dart frog to kill enemies that they fought with. Now would you handle a poison Dart frog without any worries or would you use gloves and wash your hands just in case.. I do!
http://www2.hawaii.edu/~bemorton/Neuroscience/Neurochemistry/Legend.html
PS: maybe a little dead is not so bad!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Dad & Matt]

Interesting. Glad you guys are here to help. I learn something new everyday I'm here. I haven't made the tank purchase yet, still looking around, but I need to do it soon so I have it all ready by Christmas. Thanks again. I'll keep you posted.

 

[eddie.cob]

heyy

i was doing some research on the eel you were looking at and it says it can grow up to 2 feet WOW and that the minimum tank size for it should be around 50 gal so i wouldnt recommend putting it in a 28 gal itll dominate the too much and since you cant put that big of fish in a 28 gallon itll probably eat those just like it did in the last tank like you said.

as for the nano cube setup i like it a lot and the two power heads should be enough movement since its not a wide tank plus the movement youll be getting from the filter itself

jus make sure when setting up the tank in the beginning to use nutri-water it really is great it has everything you need in salt water. use some of that in addition to water youll be mixing yourself. look it up if ur not sure what it is. ive been using for water changes for a year at it seems to be working great.

 

[thincat]

Nutri-SeaWater may or may not be of little or no help. In a 10g tank it might be cost effective, but Seawater is Seawater. You don't really know how long that stuff has been sitting on the shelf and how dead those so called added bacteria are. I would say good tank maintenance and lots of live rock and your 90 would be better off.

 

[Dad & Matt]

Thanks everyone for all the advice The tank arrived today. I won't set it up until after Christmas. Now all I need to do is figure where to hide it until then. I'll post pics and updates after it's up and running.

 

[thincat]

Hide it under the tree!

 

[MsBeanCtr]

Yes! Hide it under my tree!! lol

 

[Dad & Matt]

Right now it's sitting in my office. He'll find it if I try to hide it in the house. Although I did manage to hide a fully-assembled air hockey table from him years ago. Maybe in his room; he'd never find it in that mess!