New Nano Reef

[trace1]

hiya all
well i'm going to start a nano reef, its going to be in a 12 uk gal tank. the kids were supposed to get me some books from the library today but they forgot .
anyway i know i need live rock/sand, a sp meter power head, heater& better lighting.
i also know that i need ro water, i just need to know what if anything else i need.
also on the first start up do i need the ro water, thinking that i do.
if anyone has any good advice on where to start i would be grateful. i will be getting books as well hopefully on monday. i want this to go right cos if i can get to grips doing a nano reef then my 55gal will also be turning into a marine tank
thanks for any help in advance
trace

 

[steelhealr]

Trace1, welcome aboard,

First off, you are doing the right thing by prepping first. The worst thing you can do is throw up a tank and expect it to fly. Nano reefs are unforgiving if you don't read and research before starting.

Read the nano pins, the marine pins and look at the books in the Realm of Knowledge pin in Marine chit chat.

You MUST use pure water at all points if you want to minimize your headaches. Besides LR and sand, the basic equipement includes:

Tank
Stand
Heater
Powerheads
Refractometer
Salt Mix
Source of pure water
Thermometer
Marine test kit
Media (phosphate binder, etc)
SW mixing equipment if you are going to mix your own
Siphon/gravel vac
Digital camera

To name a basic few...there are tons more. The greatest piece of advice that most all of us here would give you is to TAKE YOUR TIME. If you have coral in a cycling or recently cycled tank, you've take a big step in the wrong direction. Welcome aboard...we have some great members here. SH

 

[trace1]

hiya
thanks sh. right at the moment i have the tank, the stand, the heater, basic lights.
is the thermoeter for testing the level of salt ??
i'm going to lfs tomorrow & pricing up some of the things i need. not buying yet, need to do lots more reading.
the media, right where do i put this if i'm filtering using the live rock/sand & a power head ???
oh yeah & i'm probally going to bug you to death with this cos i want it right

 

[steelhealr]

Thermometer...temperature....some of the digital ones are cheap and nice.
Checkout UK's (Manchester, VT or Manchester England?) Ebay for a cheap refractometer. Avoid a hydrometer if possible. SH

 

[trace1]

hiya all
well after a day of dragging hubby to lfs i have yet to find 1 who will supply the ro water, so going to have to get my own unit & do it that way, so thats first on our shopping list lol.
got the live rock down to £10 a kilo better than the first 2 shops they wanted £16 a kilo
also found the live sand which is £22. powerheads around same price.
so all i need now is some money lol

 

[trace1]

hiya again
was thinking, i need around 18lb of live rock. now can i put more than this in ??? thinking that more must be better to aid the filtration or i'm i totally wrong

 

[steelhealr]

18lbs for a 12 should be fine. SH

 

[fish_keeper2]

ive always wondered. when it comes to LR is it possible to have to much? besides to the point the fish cant move around.

 

[steelhealr]

Well....yes and no. The more LR the better the filtration. However, in a nano tank, the more you add you can actually make life rougher for yourself because the volume goes down and, yes, less room for maintenance. Also, with water changes, your reef might continually get exposed to air.....SH

 

[@ombomb]

Have a look on eBay.co.uk for an RO unit. I bought one for about £30 which, while it's pretty slow making the water, has been fine for my needs (0 nitrates / phosphates, pH 7 etc).

 

[Aquascaper]

If you're after a cheap quality Refractometer have a look here