Nano for Beginners???

[Skimmerking]

Originally Posted by Bob I

Here's some insight. Don't do it. to begin with a tank that small tends to be unstable, especially without live rock. Live rock is one of the most important items in a SW tank. If you have an opportunty to start with a larger tank you should by all means do it. Three fish in an eight gallon tank without live rock would more than likely be about three too many.

WEll THis is my opinion OK...

I will take Bob's Side on this one 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.

Or unless you decide to do a small, small tank. I have been in the reef hobby for 5 yrs OMG already and i have tried everything then you can imagine. With that, all my tanks have been automated or close to it if i can its alot easier and allows you more time to watch it grow.

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

Or if they get a longer tank I feel IMO your time at it setting it up stocking it. I feel that is how I able to do it go with a bigger tank. width is the answer. NO not really
I prefer Lenght it looks more natural too. Now that I have slid off the answer from the original post.

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.

Read .read read ,read the first thing to do.
Make sure you have the right tank and the equiptment all picked out on what you wanna buy.

Patience, Patience, patience, Relax ,relax, and don't rush it..

HTH Sorry for the long winded post..

[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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Free Ikea Gift Cards

[Skimmerking]

Thanks
. just curious is there a reason why you answered the post using my quotes. then question my answer's this board is about experience in this hobby and things that you have seen and opinions...

[Flusher]

Originally Posted by asmodeus

just curious is there a reason why you answered the post using my quotes.

You made some really good precautionary points that I've heard a lot wrt reef tanks and freshwater tanks alike. You also extrapolated your ideas a bit more than the other guys on this thread. After jumping into nano tanks recently, I thought I'd counter with my experiences, and reinforce the need to be patient and keep up on maintenance. No harm intended.

Oh, I do have to say that an 8 gallon tank wouldn't be much fun to start with, especially if fish will be the primary reason to set it up. A 20 would definitely be better, but from my experiences, a 50-55 gallon tank isn't necessary. That's mainly because I'm not into too many SW fish (especially not the bigger fish), or particularly finnicky corals (SPS, for example). Time will tell if this is because I'm new to the reefing hobby, but since my tank is pretty much a starter tank, I figure I'm closer to the level of reefkeeping that davids is at.
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Oregon Dispensary

[Skimmerking]

Well whatever, the point about the 50- gal tank is a pretty strong and direct one. Most of the people start out thinking that they have done the FW tank and now being cocky they can just walk into the Reef tank and nothing will change.

Well 50 gal of water Does indeed give you some room for error for A newbie person that is starting out. they should have the sense to read first instead of plunging into the hobby. but like everthing there are people on this board and other boards that will get into this hobby and start it up and ask as they go and hope that they make the right decision Instead of reading up first and taking it bit by bit.

But at the End we can only give them many opinions and answers to what they are asking for. they are the ones that wil hopfully make the right decision in the end and learn from other people on this board who has many yrs in this hobby and lots of experience too.


mike

[Skimmerking]

Well enough said this some ones else post and we are having a ****ing contest.


SO time to call it s quits on this opinions ,answers, what has been done it works out in the end .... people get there answers

[Flusher]

Originally Posted by asmodeus

...we are having a ****ing contest.

Only just a little bit. There's no harm in debating, of course.

No hard feelings on my end.
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No2 vaporizer

[Flusher]

You do realize that you advocated a bigger tank while also advocating sticking three fish in an 8 gallon tank? Three fish in an 8 gallon leaves little room for error...

Nanos are too popular to be discredited so quickly. Patience, commitment, vigilance, and research: that's all it takes no matter how big the tank. We basically both made that point already.

Honestly, my nano is pretty low-maintenance. I obsess over it more than I maintain it.
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LovelyWendie99