[Flusher]

Originally Posted by asmodeus

Its a small tank if you get lazy with the parameters its going to nip ya in the butt the Calcium, ALkinity, Ammonis, Nitrates, all the good stuff in a reef tank once it is on its's way it's going to let you have it u will need to change your water water on a weekly basis.

Nanos need weekly water changes regardless, AFAIK. My Nitrates were at zero until very recently. They're at 10 ppm because I pulled out my skimmer last week and sold it prematurely. The replacement is taking longer than anticipated to arrive in the mail. I'm hoping for this to be fixed with a few big water changes (up to a whopping 5 gallons!) once the new skimmer is in place.

Ammonia and Nitrite shouldn't be a problem if the tank is cycled unless something big dies off or something new is added. I had a fish die; there were no problems with the water. The fish was a Rainford Goby, which has the diet requirements of a Mandarin, which I found out after getting it (even after doing lots of research). I never even found the body, not even the bones, so it obviously got consumed entirely by the critters in the tank.

I started using aragaMILK recently, but I underdose because I don't have the test kits for Calcium, etc, yet. Except for a couple LPS, all I have ar softies which are growing well.

But IMO I think a good beginner tank is 50-55 gal. here is why with a shorter tank people tend to wanna get eveything in the tank right away. they get all the rock and bang its all there and they start to get lazy.

Good point, though I've had mine running for 6 months or so, and I still haven't added everything I want to put in it. A smaller tank needs a bit more discipline and routine committment, I would imagine.

Then the big fish are the ones they wanna get Tangs , big angels.

Bah, that's like saying "Don't get a Betta bowl! You'll end up putting an Oscar in there!" I have to disagree, although it is very tempting to overstock with small fish.

I prefer Lenght it looks more natural too.

Length is better for the fish: they have more room to swim. Cubes look cooler, IMO, and with a small tank, you'll get a better view of all the little details. In contrast to a big tank, you probably want to maximize the viewability of the contents. (Just a theory...)

ALot of Reefer's here will give yuou the honest answer and tell you not to get a small tank. But in the End it's going to be you who makes the answer and spend the money and decide on what you are able to get.

I've never had a big reef/SW tank, but I get the impression that:

1. The advice to go with a larger tank is based on reefers' experiences fighting the impulse to rush things or to overstock; and

2. The more people who spend a lot on this hobby justifies it for everyone else. (Just kidding.)

Read .read read ,read the first thing to do.... Patience, Patience, patience, Relax ,relax, and don't rush it..

Yup.

If you're willing to go slowly, keep up on maintenance, and not overstock, a nano works pretty good, IME. Hopefully my tank doesn't crash now that I've jinxed it...
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