Interested in a nano, tons of questions

[boosh96]

I know that I want to start keeping saltwater tanks, and in that search I'm leaning towards a nano reef instead of a moray eel/scorpionfish/frogfish. I'd like to do something anywhere from 3-15 gallons, and if I settle for a 10+ gallon setup I want two fish-one "free swimming" and one benthic. SO, here's my questions:

-What is the best complete tank kit thingy for a nano reef setup?
-What would be a good cleanup crew for a pico reef? What about a non-pico reef?
-What kinds of inhabitants can live in a pico setup? Or are the inhabitants the cleanup crew?
-What kinds of fish would be comfortable in a 10-15 gallon setup?
-I've heard that soft corals are the best bet for a nano reef, so what kinds of soft corals are suitable for a pico and/or a non-pico setup?
-What is the recommended light wattage/type for a nano reef?

 

[10gal_nano]

Hi! I have a 10 gallon nano! The light I would recommend is a par38 from reef koi.com they're perfect for a nano. They grow anything. I have
-zoas
- mushrooms
- Duncan's
- candy canes
- favia(brain coral)
- leptastrea
- ricordias
- and other polyps


Cool fish would be: possum wrasse, all sorts of watchman gobys(I have an aurora), clown gobies, live aquaria has good info on fish

No cuc is neccissary really. I have snails and hermits.

Cool inverts would be sexy shrimp, pistol shrimp ( if you get the goby), Pom Pom crabs( I love mine)

A good powerhead would be a koralia 240

 

[boosh96]

I'm thinking about going with a 5 gallon invertebrate tank-the Ecoxotic EcoPico tank to be exact. What can I do to improve the light output? Also, what are some pico-friendly corals and combinations of different inverts?

 

[10gal_nano]

Maybe a par30 from reef koi. Sexy shrimp and Pom pom crabs would be great. There is many corals you can do

 

[boosh96]

I'm definitely considering a pom-pom crab. What are the most popular livestock for pico reefs?

 

[10gal_nano]

Lol. Pom poms. Sexy shrimp and maybe a clown goby

 

[boosh96]

I think if I do a 5g setup I'll avoid keeping any fish. Are there any sea slugs that can live in a 5g reef?

 

[dingusplease]

Sea slugs are notoriously hard to keep alive in aquaria, they need a very established tank, I'd stay away from them. Also, in addition to sexy shrimp, pom pom crabs, and sometimes clown gobies, a cleaner shrimp, snails, and soem varieties of macroalgae make great inhabitants.

 

[boosh96]

How exactly does one attach corals to the live rock? Also, what should I feed a 5g invert setup and how often?

 

[dingusplease]

Corals almost always come attached to a piece of rock or a frag plug, which makes placement easy. Here's my procedure for placing new corals:

1. When the coral arrives, properly acclimate and place on the sandbed.
2. Move it up slowly onto the rock (while still attached to frag plug) over the course of about a week. This is to make sure you don't give it too much light.
3. When you have found a suitable spot for your coral, and have waited at least a week, use a razor blade to carefully remove the coral from it's plug. Try to cut as little of the actual coral as possible, focusing on removing the glue that the coral is held on with.
4. Use a suitable glue, such as Loctite Gel, to attach your coral to its spot. If necessary, use a bit of plumbers putty to create a small, smooth surface in which to glue.
5. The glue and putty will set up quickly, but make sure the frag is secure before letting go.

Tips:
- One trick I found is to let the glue set for about 3 seconds before submerging, to form a thin film on the outside of the glob of glue
- Gently twist the coral into place when gluing to the rock, this ensures that the glue gets inside the live rock pores.
- Soft corals in general do not glue very well by themselves. If you can get the coral attached to a small shell or a bit of gravel, this will make gluing much easier for softies. Hard corals are pretty easy.

 

[dingusplease]

For feeding:

- Corals: Omega One Shrimp pellets work well, and corals love them . In addition, the feeding of brine shrimp, mysis shrimp, and baby brine shrimp for filter feeders is also a good supplement for corals. This should be performed through spot feeding. However, feeding coral is in general not absolutely necessary, but can benefit the growth rate of many corals.

- Various inverts: Cleaner shrimp, sexy shrimp, and pom poms will all need to be fed. I recommend omega one shrimp pellets (well, it may seem unethical, but it's what they would be eating in the wild anyway. Plus, all my inverts love them lol.) Also, brine and mysis shrimp are good parts of a diet.

 

[BigRedsReefs10]

Most corals require no supplemental feeding. They will get all they need from the lights and water column. It's just excess nutrients, which can accumulate quickly in a small a tank.

 

[dingusplease]

Most corals require no supplemental feeding. They will get all they need from the lights and water column. It's just excess nutrients, which can accumulate quickly in a small a tank.

Very true, most corals require no supplemental feeding - I emphasized the foods for corals too much in the above post.

I carefully spot feed some of my corals (acans, ricordea, palys) , and by careful I mean I feed individual mysis and brine shrimp to each coral, watching to make sure each piece is eaten (this minimizes excess nutrients.)
Also, I feed the corals 1/3 the frequency of the fish and shrimp. Plus, it's just kind of fun to watch, if done properly and safely

But yeah, no supplemental feeding is really necessary.

 

[carey]

Porcelain crab can be a good addition for a pico. I kept one in my 4g coral tank along with peppermint shrimp, an emerald crab and a clown goby. I was using a par38 bulb for the lighting and had pretty good success with the corals which ranged from mushrooms all the ay up to some sps like monti caps.

 

[boosh96]

Bumping an old thread here, but what kinds of corals do well in a pico setup? Do they need to be 'pruned?'