Right My Little Nano Reefers - It's Far Too Quiet In Here!

[DigitalStorm]

Beauty comes slowly. Disaster comes quickly.

Read and research. Allow your tank to mature before adding corals and mature does NOT equal "I'm cycled". The longer you wait before starting a reef, the less headaches you will have.

SH

SH, this is a misleading and ambiguous comment. A mature tank, generally speaking, means it has finished cycling and the tank has then gone on to mature. There's no hard and fast, but in the hobby this is usually taken to be around six months. There's a caveat on this that the tank needs to be taken care of adequately.

 

[DigitalStorm]

And for my tit-bit...

as SH says 'read and research'.

In addition to the above is to cross-reference all answers, find the common ground between the answer/information and take that as a good starting point/benchmark for an 'average' tank. eg for a 30g tank if the range is from 12kg to 20kg na avg would be around 16kg.

This applies less if you intend to setup a specialised tank. (lagoon, inter-tidal, etc...)

 

[Smurf]

Oh boy... I used to have a reef tank (4' x 2' x 2.5' = no idea how many litres/gallons that would have been!) but for the last 8-9 years have had a succession of small freshwater tanks & I'm currently running an all-in-one ReefOne set up which I've reported in various posts as anything between about 34 and 40 litres - I clearly have no idea on volume but it (and its inhabitants) have been happy for some time; and now I have more space again I've been pondering re-visiting the salty side.... So I've been lurking and reading, and discovered the nano tank idea that I don't think existed when I was in the game before... Anyway - in all the reading, I've also been reminded of all the ooky things that come in on the rock and frankly, after seeing the pic of that 3-4' Eunice worm I've really gone off the idea!!!!! I won't even have real plants in my freshwater because I hate the idea of a snail explosion

Daisy x

 

[seffieuk]

Daisy

Oh but the life on the rock is fasinating - come on, jump on in, you know you want to

Seffie x

 

[Harry1996]

i still have one of those worms in my tank not that big about 1-2 feet long i have seen it eat a algae flake but i need to get rid of it. it hasnt eaten any of my stock......... YET

 

[seffieuk]

Harry, you have a Eunice worm in your tank of approx 1 - 2 foot, are you sure?

Seffie x

 

[Harry1996]

yes i tried getting it out but i got a look a like one

 

[mutantbigman2000]

Is it me or do things move a lot slower on here these days.

My biggest tip would be planning.

Ignore the urge to jump in.

Research the setup process fully. Then research it again. Then question your findings. By questioning every aspect you will understand the where's and why's much better.

Then compile a list of what hardware you need. Don't scrimp on the necessary items. Quality items will serve you better in the long run. Marine setups aren't a cheap hobby, but, there are many bargains in the classifieds or on eBay. Ask questions of sellers ifpurchasing 2nd hand goods. For example if you were to purchase a tank for reef use you would need to know the tank history. What set up was it used in? Any medications used? You don't want to fill a tank with invents only to find that copper from meds is leeching from the silicon. Good bye invents.

Make a weekly planner or flowchart of the setup and cycling process. Ensure that no steps are skipped or ignored through impatience. You'll be glad in the long run.

Plan the tanks contents. Rock, livestock, corals?

It may sound daft but if you know what fish you want to keep its also important to know which order to stock them in. Anybody who has tried to add a timid fish once your clown has claimed the whole tank will know what I'm talking about.

I would say the planning and diary keeping stage should last at least 6 months. Frequent testing of water parameters. The smaller the tank the more stringent the testing. Observe your inhabitants. Changes in behaviour can indicate an issue that needs urgent attention.

I'm either preaching now or rambling. Either way I need some sleep. Night folks.