Help!

[FishyTank]

hello ppl.
i am a beginning saltwater aquarist and i would like to know if i shud buy a nano cube. It comes with everything i need. including lighting and skimmer. here take a look.

http/www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod...p;N=0&Nty=1

i am thinking about buying the 12 gal delux model. so what do you think i shud do?

 

[pgtips]

i would imagine it would be hard to keep water parameters stable but then i'm new to marine as well. I do know the bigger the tank the easyier it is to keep things alive

 

[FLcracker94]

pgtips is right...I guess I could call myself a natural expert, lol, cause I started with a 12ga rather than a bigger 55+ga...I've been having problems with nitrates, and that may be what happens to yours. Once you have a problem, it's hard to get rid of. Take pgtips' and my advice, go with a bigger tank, at least 20ga+.

 

[kkyyllee]

that tank would be fine, 12gallons isnt that hard really, all you have to do is keep up with ur water changes and dont overstock, it doesnt come with a skimmer tho, but there not needed in small tanks. i started with a 12 gallon aquapod (basiaclly the same thing)

 

[shibby]

yeh i agree with kkyylle, you dont need a skimmer, its harder to maintain PH and temperature, also if something dies it may nuke your tank, but its not impossible, alot of people start with nanos just need research and commitment to maintenence!!

 

[FLcracker94]

EH, somthing dieing in the tank wont nuke it. I've had two fish die (from other fish beating them...poor fishies) and a snail that was barely alive. It didn't do any HUGE changes...I barely noticed any changes...just the usual high nitrates that I have lol.\

Smaller tanks are harder but it's not impossible to use it...only thing is you end up usuing the same amount of money as you do on a big tank...go BIG!!!! Small is for squares! lol...I'm a square....crud lol.

 

[shibby]

i just like the word nuke, i dunno why ... but it will cause a bigger spike then in a larger tank!


i started with a bigger tank, and now moving onto nano, mainly cus i want corals and in a bigger tank it will be more expensive to get lighting for.

my nano set up is estimated between £150-£200

my main tank hit £500

 

[kkyyllee]

i disagree with the "biger is better thing" its gonna cost more to set up a big tank than a small tank no matter what, and maintnance on a nano is gone be easier than larger tanks, nitrates shouldnt be a problem unless ur overstocked, or miss a few water changes

 

[bambam]

it really all depends what you want your tank to look like and what you wanna get, small tanks you can only get a couple fish and you have stay with it and clean it like everyweek, bigger tanks you can leave a lil longer and they kinda maintain themselves. Nano tanks = high high maintance, large tank = lil easier to maintain but take longer to clean

 

[pgtips]

http/www.fishforums.net/Nano-t115899.html

"Size Matters

There is an old saying out there that " the solution to pollution is dilution". As strange as it sounds, it definitely applies to marine tanks. Tanks under the heading of 'nano' just don't have the cushion to absorb insults compared to larger mini-reefs. The larger volume can dilute out contaminants or errors in overfeeding better than the smaller tank. We don't have that much of a margin of error with a nano reef. So, electing to start up a small tank means a committment to maintenance, attention to detail and a little time and effort."

nano's are cool but they are more work, its your money and your choice as long as your commited and do some homework you should be fine.

But i disagree with the others, bigger tanks are easyier to maintain correct conditions/parameters. But hey this is a forum and everyone will have a different oppinion i went for a medium sized tank lol

if you want it.....go for it

 

[FishyTank]

thx everybody.i think iLL take the advice on the whole size matters thing. thanks 4 the advice. just 1 question. wat would be a good size? would 40 gall be enough?

 

[shibby]

40 gal is good i started with a 40uk gal

the main expense will be filling it with live rock, if u wanted to get live rock that is!

i can give you a price guide of how much my 40gal was to set up if you wish?

 

[FLcracker94]

I spent over $100 on live rock lol...6.95/LB....cured live rock that is, uncured is cheaper.

 

[FishyTank]

thx shibby. that wud help. hey wer i am live rock is 6.99/lb is that fair? or shud i buy it on liveaquaria.com

 

[shibby]

americans get all the stuff cheap !!! 9.99 a kilo here in dollars thats like going on 18dollars a kilo


heres my price guide for the 40uk gal all in "£"


item

price (£)​

place bought​

tank rio 180

100​

ebay​

fluval exfilter

60​

pets at home (pah)​

vistherm heater

10​

pah​

elite heater

free with tank​

8kg crushed coral

10​

lfs​

2 powerheads auqaclear

10​

ebay​

hydrometer

8​

ebay​

thermometer digi

7​

pah​

18kg live rock

9.99 per kilo​

lfs​

200 litres salt ro

4.99 per 25 litres​

lfs​

test kit

20.00​

lfs​

hope this helps! look on ebay n all for bargains