Starting a nano

[Jezah]

I will be using live argonite sand for substrate and unfortunatly I cannot find any live rock. I will be buying some tuffa rock and putting it in. Perhaps the micro-organisms in the live sand will spread to the rock. The filter is a mini-biowheel and I have a reliable heater. No skimmer...I may invest in one later on. Will be using red-sea brand salt. I dont know what I will stock it with yet...but I will most likely start with something cheap, like damsels. I just need some hints as I am relativly new to this....A.E How long shall I cycle it, damsels ok for beginners...ECT. Thanks for any input...and please dont try and discourage me from starting with a nano...it wont work. I dont have money to stock a bigger tank right now...but if I like SW I have a 29g cichlid tank I may switch to SW.

 

[Eelzor]

How big a tank are you investing in? You should really try to find live rock - It is really helpful in the cycling process. Everything else you have said seems to be ok...depending on your tank size, I can't really help a lot but give you a SW shopping list which I compiled for the member 'guppy' a while back.

Live rock, live sand, biowheel filter will do, lighting - depending if you want corals/anemones/etc - you may or may not need just a basic marine light, your heater will do, thermometer, hydrometer, test kits (ammonia/nitrite/nitrate/ph and the like), saltwater or salt mix from a store.

Cycling a SW tank is a lot easier with live rock however you can never predict how long it will take. Damsels are ok for beginners, but again, I need to know your tank size. The only part im unsure is about the "tufa rock". I don't think that is suitable - Trust me, try to find that live rock! Research on the net more or look through these forums for singular answers to your specific questions, if you can't find them or just need opinions, then just post.

 

[sammydee]

Damsels are cheap and hardy, but they can end up being extremely aggressive and territorial. You don't need them to cycle.

Tuffa rock might/might not work. You WILL need some real live rock to seed it with corralline. If you eventually use live rock, your biowheel is a bad idea - it's a nitrate factory and stops the live rock doing its job.

How big is your tank - you will need powerheads for good water circulation.

 

[Jezah]

Its a 10 gallon. I can always remove the "wheel" part of teh biowheel. I have a pump, and a airstone...but i can get a powerhead if it is reommended.

 

[Salt Freak]

here is a url for live rock you should be able to find live rock around there but if you can you can always buy some off the internet. shipping for this rock will cost about 20 dollars this is extremely good for 16 pounds of rock. this rock is already pre-cured so it will go through minimal die off in your aquarium.

http/www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Di...cfm?pCatId=1949

 

[daudy_dojo]

PUT PUFFERS IN IT!!! most people keep atleast 2 puffers in a 10 gallon AND you can have albino cories in there with them ...
i know puffers eat small fish but since the cories are a peach color the puffers cant see them and the cories swim along WITH the puffers



im way to observant!

 

[Jezah]

Corys are FW am I right? I wanted to do a SW tank...

 

[steelhealr]

Jezah...have you checked out nano-reef.com? You can get plenty of help there. First off, I agree with SammyDee

1) most people dont' use a filter per se...they use the live rock as filtration with a power head for circulation. No ceramic beads or bioballs
2) You cycle with your live rock, then add a 'cleanup crew'( hermits, crabs, shrimp, etc)..not fish. The link above is one place to get live rock. Another is premiumaquatics.com and liverock.com.

Good luck..my nano reef is almost ready to go. Don't let anyone discourage you...it IS a challenging project to say the least and NOT CHEAP. SH

 

[keane]

I will be using live argonite sand for substrate and unfortunatly I cannot find any live rock.

Oasis Aquariums in Salford do a large(ish) selection of Marine fish so i am pretty sure they will have live rock too.

If not then they are very accomodating and will no doubt point you in the right direction to obtain some. After all, they must use it themselves.

To be honest I was looking at the cichlids but the marine "world" fascinates me which is why I spend part of my time looking through this section of the forum.

One day a marine set up.....one day

steve 8)

EDIT: Just realised your not in the UK Manchester are you!!! ) )

Ah well, at least I tried to help eh!!

 

[parker313]

Honestly, I wouldn't do a nano tank without live rock. LR is a very crucial part of the filtration process. With as unstable as the smaller tanks can be, it's very important to have as many "stabilizers" in your tank as possible.

If you can get LR then you could do one damsel, but couldn't add anything else in there without running a risk of the damsel killing it, they aren't called devilfish for nothing!!

 

[Navarre]

Nano definately needs liverock. even if we take away the filtration needs, the fish suitable for a nano need liverock or they will get totally stressed. shrimps and fish of this size are blennies and gobies etc.. these are liverock dwellers.

 

[Malawiandude]

right on! Liverock totally a necessaity..besides it's so cool to take flashlightin middle of night and see all the copopeds around the tank B)