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

[seffieuk]

from your experience of setting up a nano tank, what would you like to tell newbies before they start their journey?

Seffie x

 

[bagu]

No experience here, just lurking the area :]
Hope you are well Seffie!

I would say.....

Do ALOT of reading and don't hesitate to ask questions.
You can't be lazy with a nano tank, due to small margins of error!

 

[ColdwaterJosh]

Once I find some recharged batteries, i'll take some pictures of my tank now it's all up and running! Been going for around 2 months now, and all is healthy. Had a battle with Brooklynella, and lost a black and white clown, but I managed to save one!

Josh

Mod note: Edited. SH

 

[xxBarneyxx]

My advice would be:
1) Go BIG! Are you getting a nano because you want a nano or because you think it will be cheaper?

If are just getting one because you think it will be cheaper think again. If you look around for second hand kit you can pick up a lot of kit for really reasonable prices. If you enjoy your nano you will very soon be thinking of upgrading anyway. My nano (orca 450) cost around £400 to set up (not including livestock) and with that I could have got a nice second hand setup (My 5ft vision 450 only cost me £150ish for the tank).

2) Go Big! (again) bigger tank is more stable, easier to manage and maintain, gives you more stocking options and will give you a little bit longer before you start thinking of your next upgrade.

3) Get the tank drilled for a sump. If you have space for a sump definitely go for one. On a nano tank the extra water volume will help to keep the tank stable and will give you somewhere to put all the equipment.

4) Do a LOT of research first and don't expect to be able to have a lot of fish in there.

5) Ask questions. Doesn't matter if you think they are stupid. We where all starting out once and we all understand how confusing it can be at the start. If you don't fully understand something just ask.

 

[seffieuk]

Hope you are well Seffie!

Where you been my friendly bear?

Seffie x

 

[simonas]

I;m a newbie but the advice I wouls give is ask as many questions as you can and get everything clear in his head

and learn from the mistake I made which is rushing!! I bought too many fish too quickly and lost a couple it shouldn;t have happened if I;d gone slower

 

[Donya]

Ah! a topic to discuss one's tank failures in a somewhat more subtle way. I'll add a few:

1. Particularly with open-topped nanos/picos, salt will always magically appear in places you wish it wouldn't unless you're a very diligent house cleaner...which I'm not, as my rusted stapler shows

2. Always have a backup plan/equipment ready in the event you suddenly can't control room temperature (broken heating/AC in the middle of a bad weather week). This has happened to me quite a few times over the years, and I was just really lucky not to have problems the first time. Luck isn't a good thing to rely on, and the smaller the volume of water, the more it's at the mercy of extreme ambient temperatures.

3. Sort of a progressively more conservative version of the "don't rush" rule: stock smaller tanks in smaller steps and on an as-needed basis for CUC - particularly as the size dips under 10gal/40L. Sort of like with physics, the rules/guidelines that apply on a large scale may not work anymore when you start dealing with the really small. The environment is just smaller, and hiding places simply may not exist anymore for some animals to get away from each other.

 

[seffieuk]

Ah! a topic to discuss one's tank failures in a somewhat more subtle way. I'll add a few:

Oh and there was me thinking I was being clever!!!

Seffie x

 

[bagu]

Hope you are well Seffie!

Where you been my friendly bear?

Seffie x

=(

I've been stuck doing my final year of A levels! Finish on tuesday next week with chemistry hah!

x

 

[seffieuk]

Hope they went well for you? Have you nearly finished now?

Seffie x

 

[Anguilla82]

Personally i think nanos are a great introduction to the marine side of the hobby.
The reason for this: They require much more effort and monitoring than larger tanks and i think this provides a really good base for those of us who went through our 'tropical upbringing' barely testing the water at all!!!
marine tanks are fickle creatures that can be fine one day and dying the next, but the focussed attention that a nano tank requires has honed my eyes to seeing when things aren't quite right, before it becomes a major issue.

Tips: steer away from buying existing complete setups. Often they come with underlying issues such as algae/nitrates/poorly fish, and when just starting out these are not issues you want to be contending with. I know its cheaper and visually more appealing to buy a tank full of corals and fish straight away, but you will get more satisfaction and understanding by starting from scratch. You'd be surprised how much enjoyment can be had from 'rock watching'!!
I made this error and spent the best part of 6-9 months fighting against algae issues as the previous owner was using tap water and had awful nitrate and phosphate problems that had leached into the rock.

As has been said don't think that buying small means less expensive. This hobby is pricey but you can make it cheaper. Buying second hand is good, but buying cheap brand new equipment tends to be a false economy so steer clear from '£10 skimmers', cheap lights, and cheap salt brands.

Nanos are not tanks for lots of fish, if anything the fewer the better as maintenance will be easier, and watch out for LFSs saying 'oh yeah they don't get big'. Make sure what you are buying stays small, and doesn't require lots of swimming space. Its just not fair on the animals.

There's loads of other tips, but probably one of the best would be to read through some of the journals on here. Most of the problems you're likely to encounter will be covered within those, and if you're unsure just ask. alot of us have been there, done that, and got the wet floor to prove it.

 

[steelhealr]

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

 

[summat fishy]

My advice would be dont over complicate things. You can read all sorts but try to keep it as simple as possible ie, regular water changes rather than using additives etc. regular water changes using good salt should give your little reef the supplements it needs.

 

[demasonisrule]

Really really important in a nano, and more so in a pico...get a good auto top off. Water evaporates quickly in tanks these small, and oftentimes that means lots of changes in water params, if you don't have time to top off all the time. Also, basically whatever everyone else said above.

 

[xxBarneyxx]

My advice would be dont over complicate things. You can read all sorts but try to keep it as simple as possible ie, regular water changes rather than using additives etc. regular water changes using good salt should give your little reef the supplements it needs.

That's a very important bit of advice. When you read about all these people with different dosing methods in the beginning you tend to think that all of that is needed. This is compounded by the fact that most LFS sell a whole bunch of additives and supplements that promise to make your corals and fish healthier and grow faster.

None of this is needed in any tank as long as you do regular water changes with a decent brand of salt. This is even more true in a nano where water changes are a lot easier to carry out (in a 100g+ tank doing a weekly 20% water change isnt always viable, this is where dosing is worth considering). Also in a nano it is very easy to overdose stuff and small amounts of additives can cause a very big swing in parameters because of the smaller water volume.