Nano advice

[Bunny]

Hi all,
Im in the process of setting up my tanks after a move. I have yet to get my 30g going again, but I picked up a little 6g and thought about trying my hand at a nano in the meantime. I'm very experienced with freshwater, but new at salt water- but I know with freshwater the bigger the tank the easier they are to care for. Would a nano be a disaster for a beginner?


Thoughts are appreciated.

 

[Herefishyfishy]

Welcome to the site. For a beginner (and most everyone else), the larger the better. A 30 gallon would be fine. Tiny tanks are VERY hard to keep stable and that makes it hard to keep it's inhabitants healthy.

 

[Bunny]

Thats sort of what I figured...I did have the 30g setup for a few months but we ended up moving so Ill be started over. All of my liverock is dried up, but Im considering buying some live sand to get things started agin.

With the 30lbs of dried up live rock (which Im guessing is a bit useless now in terms of getting things going again), how much live sand would you recommend buying?

 

[Scooterman]

In small nano's you can do some really nice things, the problems comes with changes that are very sudden in small tanks. So keep temp. very stable & fish poop & need food so much you need to be very careful with that, wc's should be done more often. you could do some corals, few crabs & snails shrimp & no fish or one perk. just stay on top of the cleaning, & watch the temps. closely, daily until you get it down & have water made at all times for a fast replacement. If you want better advise on them, we have a forum just for nano's.

I can't find it just yet but will try after work

 

[Herefishyfishy]

Thats sort of what I figured...I did have the 30g setup for a few months but we ended up moving so Ill be started over. All of my liverock is dried up, but Im considering buying some live sand to get things started agin.

With the 30lbs of dried up live rock (which Im guessing is a bit useless now in terms of getting things going again), how much live sand would you recommend buying?

Some here prefer starting with "dead rock." The dead "live rock" is now base rock ready to be reborn. You can seed it with some live sand or better yet, buy another piece of live rock and it will be good as new.

 

[Bunny]

Awesome, thanks for the advice guys =)

Ebay has some decent prices on live sand- is there a difference between live sand you order from an online aquarium store/ebay and what you buy from other fish keepers? I imagine the fishkeepers sand might have more goodies in it, but other than that?

 

[Herefishyfishy]

Better off not buying live sand on ebay, many good LFSs (live fish stores) or even Petco for sand.
Never know what diseases or polutants you might get on ebay and shipping can be a killer. Ebay can be great for new equipment or a good gamble for used. Don't get me wrong, I love ebay, but am very careful there.

 

[Bunny]

what is the local average proce for live sand? were from the other coast so I have no idea whats reasonable...

 

[Herefishyfishy]

$1.00 a pound local or maximum $2.00 a pound if delivered and good. I think there are a couple sellers of sand here on RF for sale board

http://www.reeffrontiers.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=11

 

[james734]

Welcome to RF Bunny. Looks like the other have you of on the right foot. Like the other have said it's hard to keep the small tanks stable. Not saying it cannot be done but it's some work.

 

[Bunny]

I had a very rough start with my 30g listening to the guy at the store (who I mistakenly felt I could trust after developing a rapport) and I dont want to risk that heartache again...think for now I'll stick with the 30g!

Wheres a good place to buy live sand in/near Kenmore?


Thanks guys!!

 

[james734]

Umm...Not sure since I run Bare Bottom and don't use sand.

 

[small alien]

I live outside Seattle. When I've asked about live sand, I've gotten the response that it tends to be funky and it's better to go with live rock and "dead" sand. Perhaps it's the shipping time to our not so tropical location. I'd ask at Blue Sierra in Issaquah or The Fish Store on Roosevelt. Good luck. -small

 

[hdben]

I had sand before and switched to Bare Bottom. If I were to go the sand route again I would get Southdown. Then find some nice people in a local club that would be willing to donate a cup of "Live Sand" in return for new sand. Get several cups so that there is "Bio-Diversity" in your tank and you'll be rolling in no time. Good Luck

 

[burning2nd]

my 30 is almost hands free.... but the 5.5's that was a diffrent story..

6g tank
no sand just ,Live rock, small power, head small heater. Top off water morning and night

or Auto top off.
do you have an RODi unit?

 

[Brie]

I bought the prebagged live sand online from Marine Depot and had it shipped. Yes it was expensive, but I didn't care. I was having a hellova time getting the sand I wanted from LFSs, so just bit the bullet and did it. The prebagged stuff has a long shelf life so shipping it usually isn't a problem, and worked out just fine. Of coarse then it so happened I got the color I wanted in at work(a Petco) a few months later. Doh! So yes, Petco does carry live sand. And it is pretty expensive there, but still cheaper then buying it online and having it shipped. I was just a snob and wanted a black/white mix.

 

[Scooterman]

You do know that if you get regular sand & put Lr on top, it will all become live?

 

[Brie]

You do know that if you get regular sand & put Lr on top, it will all become live?

Is this directed at me? If so, yes I do know that. My comment was in reference to when I was just starting my original nano and only had a few little nano sized pieces of live rock and wanted a nice, ready to go sand bed.

 

[Scooterman]

Yup, I forgot to use quote
LS is always a fast way to get a tank started but you still have to let it cycle some.

 

[achu]

6 gallon nano

I use to have an eclipse 6 that i retro'd into a nano. I took out the stock lights and replaced it with as many PCs as I could fit. I threw a CPR bakpak onto it for flow and waste removal, chaeto into the return chamber of the bakpak.

It was reef only. Lots of cabbage coral, zooanthids, zenia, sinularia etc. Some of my friends gave me SPS just to see if it would grow. They lived, but were very brown and didn't grow very well.

I didn't have any fish, so there were always pods out during the day and night. The reef was just loaded with little critters of all kinds!

Hey, I found an old photo see below.

Actually, I still have my toadstool, cabbage and zenia from years ago. In fact, if you are in the Seattle area, pm me, I might have some frags for you.

Best of luck!
achu