My First Nano Reef

Smiley

Small Fish
Sep 18, 2009
10
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#1
Gday
I have pulled out an old 2 ft tank from my shed and have decided that im going to turn it in to a nano reef!
so far i have been thinking alot about the components!
and whether or not i need a filter? or a skimmer?
but i have factored them in whilst thinking about components!
so far i have!
*Koralia #2
*Tunze Reefpack 200 (skimmer and filter in one! as seen in practial fish mag)
*75W heater
*T5 lighting (unsure about brand at this stage)
would this work? on a small reef? or do i need to look at something else?
with the fish i have been trying to put together a hardy yet friendly group that will be able to live together in a small reef!
*2 Percula Clowns
*Neon Goby
*Green Mandarin
*6 line wrasse
*Royal gramma
is that to many for the size of my tank or not enough? any fish info or suggestions welcome! im trying to make this as easy as possible!
for my inverts
*Maxima Clam (i like the look of them!)
*3 Hermit crabs (unsure which is the best and most avalible)
*5 Trochus Snails
*Cleaner Shrimp (unsure as well)
*short Spinned Urchin
For my corals i havent gone to indepth but there have been a few that caught my eye so i will put it to you and hope for some good news!
*Pulsating Xenia
*OPen Brain Coral
*orange Diditata
*Neon Green star polyps
and of course live rock! ahaha! im still yet to do all my messurements on the tank but i will get them on here asap! but any suggestions and help would be greatly appreciated! thanx in advance
:)
 

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Lotus

Ultimate Fish
Moderator
Aug 26, 2003
15,115
13
38
Southern California
home.earthlink.net
#2
Welcome to the site!

The equipment sounds OK, although the lighting will depend on tank size and depth.

The stocking sounds like a lot, but it will depend on the volume of your tank. I'm not sure how many gallons/liters the tank holds. Mandarins should really only be kept in larger tanks (100 gallons or more) that are several years old. They generally have a poor survival rate, so consider it carefully. You may need to halve your stocking list, depending on how big the tank actually is.

Clams can get huge, so think about that, too. In general, clams only work with extremely good lighting. Only the highest quality T5 system will work, as far as I know.
 

Smiley

Small Fish
Sep 18, 2009
10
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0
#3
Gday
thanks for the quick reply! thats fine about the fish! what do you think i should cut down on? the mandarin is as good as gone! i have also read they are made for the mature tank! who knows maybe if i love it i will get one in a biger tank!
as for the rest of the fish they say they are recommended for a 10gal tank! i think off the top of my head my tank is 24 gal. . . but dont hold me to that i will messure when i get home from work!
yeah i also hear you about the clam! i knew that would be my problem! not to matter!
what about the lighting? its a tall 2ft tank so would i need to fan it? or would it be ok with T5's as i want my corals to be thriving!
Cheers
:)
 

tlkng1

Small Fish
Jul 17, 2009
46
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Glen Burnie, MD
#4
Hi Smiley :)

24 gallons is probably close although I have never heard of a standard tank in that size before. A 29 gallon is 24 long by 12 wide by 19 high (give or take a few 1/8ths of an inch)

Recent research has shown me that a max of 4-5 fish (based on size obviously, these are the smaller crew) is better, but then, I have always stocked any tank I have on the conservative side.

On my 29 I have a 130W dual compact: specifically, the AquaticLife PowerCompact CF Light Fixture w/ 2 Lunar LEDs. I was looking at a 150W metal halide but I was a little afraid of the extra heat it would generate. I was told the 130 will be adequate for what I want to keep as I don't plan on getting into the corals that are difficult to keep.

Terese
 

Smiley

Small Fish
Sep 18, 2009
10
0
0
#5
yeah i think maybe your right! its prob a 29gal then! haha my bad!
so 4 to 5 fish would be sweet if i dont get them fully grown? what about cuc? do i need to factor them in when decideing how many fish i want to put in my tank or do they fall under a different bracket?
as for my lgihting! im not sure how complex the corals that i have listed are! as for what i have read on them they seem pretty good for beginers but i wouldnt mind stepping up to the plant and getting some that mind need a bit of extra care!
do you run a fan on your tank or does it not overheat?
 

tlkng1

Small Fish
Jul 17, 2009
46
0
0
Glen Burnie, MD
#6
:)

I live in an older home with just window air conditioners. The air flow throughout the house is a little low so in the summertime, I run two pedestal fans to get a good cross flow..this seems to be enough for the aquariums in the house. The liverock in this tank is still curing so I don't have a "reef" as yet..just a lot of lonely rock. Based on the temp of the other tanks, the light increases the tank temp by about 2 degrees over the course of about 3 hours. I do have a clip on fan I can use if I need to but for now, I am not worried about temp since the higher temp allows the rock to cure a little faster. :) The fixture itself has one fan that runs no matter which main light is on, either actinic, white or both together. It only shuts off if only the lunars are on or the light is off completely.

Not sure what CUC stands for?

From what I understand, the hard corals need stronger lights, in what I was told, the 150 metal halides would be more than adequate, roughly 5 watts per gallon though, the lighting is really dependent on the coral. The metal halide fixture I was looking at was the SunPod 1x150W HQI Fixture by Current USA (pic attached). This fixture also comes in a 24" 250W but I was told that would pretty much cook the inhabitants in the tank :) I decided against the metal halides just due to the extra heat, (not only in raising the temp of the tank but just the temp of the bulbs) and the fact that the lights would be on for quite a while when I wasn't home...call me paranoid. I have fish savvy cats in the house so I can't have an open topped tank, and covers keep in the heat.

The fish themselves are based on size at full grown. For example, I have seen the most beautiful little blue tangs in the LFS. I thought they might be dwarf variety they were so small. When I researched them however, I found out that there isn't a dwarf blue tang and when full grown, tangs get pretty darn big and would definitely not work for a 29. You have to decide what type of fish you want, and then research their adult size. You will probaly buy them as juveniles but I have found that these fish have hearty appetites and grow quickly.

My stocking plan for fish includes a yellow clown goby, a blenny of some sort, a green chromis and a Firefish or cardinal. I'll add in peppermint shrimp, snails and hermit crabs as the inverts depending on compatibility with the corals.

When my "friend" got me into the saltwater side of things, she said inverts, shrimp, snails etc, do not add to the bio-load. I have never seen that written anywhere but when I had my 75 (now a FW) set-up when I first started, I had quite a few inverts along with the fish. That same friend :) has a 90 gallon reef that she has had running for over 15 years. That tank was been moved from Virginia, to Louisiana, to Georgia and then to Florida. Her fish have come and gone but many of the corals she had when I first met her 6 years ago, she still has in the tank. She runs a full canopy with a DIY metal halide/actinic combination and she has 8 fans built into the canopy that run, so the tank temp never increases. Quite the system and I have HER to blame for getting me saltwater started :) She even bought me my 75 that I still have today, though it is freshwater now.
 

Smiley

Small Fish
Sep 18, 2009
10
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0
#7
so i went down to my LFS today and was kinda told the setup i was thinking of is going to be really hard for my first nano reef! he then sugguested i get a 2x2x2 with a standard 2ftsump with an inbuilt fuge! would this be true or is this guy just trying to sell me lots of stuff?
 

tlkng1

Small Fish
Jul 17, 2009
46
0
0
Glen Burnie, MD
#8
I know there are tanks out there that are referred to as column tanks that are perfect cubes. I was looking at a 56 gallon column tank for a while but went against it..I just didn't like the square/cube look to it.

While sumps are a decent addition, they are not totally necessary and in fact, I have never seen them in anything less than something like a 55 gallon system...I may have just not seen others in my LFS' that are around. In this area, you would have a hard time locating a pre-drilled tank, to use with a sump, less than 55 gallons.

Can't give you much help on this one but I always take the advice of the LFS with a grain of salt (no pun intended). No matter how helpful they seem, they are still trying to sell products. Your best weapon is information.

In a cube that deep, you are going to have issues with light penetrating the entire water column. The deeper the tank, the less light that reaches the bottom. You also have limited surface area for oxygen exchange..this tends to limit the inhabitants.

Do you remember the brand name on the tank?

Terese
 

Smiley

Small Fish
Sep 18, 2009
10
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0
#9
the tank did not have a brand name as the LFS gets them predrilled and made! as he doesnt like the all in one tanks!
they are going for $2000 with skimmer, T5's, tank sump, sand and test kits!
pretty good deal! but i figure i already hav a tank so whats the point! plus its only my first nano to find out if i want to reall get into the hobby!
do you think i should bite the bullet and get the bigger tank or am i right where iam at the moment with the components i have already mentioned!
:)
 

tlkng1

Small Fish
Jul 17, 2009
46
0
0
Glen Burnie, MD
#10
By calculation (24 inches cubed) you are looking at roughly a 60 gallon tank (59.84 gallons).

$2000 seems high to me but then, I know the LFS' need to make their profits and I've never priced the sump system. To check the cost, look at the items individually...make sure that $2000 is reasonable. For example, a 60 square, which is what you are describing, goes for about $220 give or take a few dollars either way. With the depth of the tank, for a reef, at the basis 3 watts per gallon calculation (just using it as a base here, I realize different corals may require more or less light) you need at least 180 watts of light. Look at the T-5 fixture offered. Is it going to have that type of coverage, remembering you have increased depth and light decreases with depth, or will you need to add more light strips to cover, or get a different lighting system. Cost on a 4 bulb, T-5, high output is about $220.00 and that is only 96 watts..that is roughly half of the minimum. The test kit is about $30.00; Aragonite sand, say 100 pounds, is about $30.00/bag, 20 pounds each, about $150 total. (Going on my local area costs). That brings you up to a little over $600.00. Going with even a high priced skimmer, you are looking at about $300. The sump may be about $400 or so..that brings you to a total of roughly $1300.00 leaving a good $700 unaccounted for unless tax is included. If not, add the cost of tax in your area. Now granted, I didn't add in the cost of the powerheads or items that might be included in the sump but somehow, I doubt those added costs would equal $700. BTW, I found all those prices online :)

As you also pointed out, this is your first nano system..besides, a 60 gallon is no longer Nano :) You are wise in saying it might be better to make sure this is what you want before you expand things. You have an excellent start in what you have already gathered.

It is really up to you and how much you want to spend to get things going. At this point, all you need is the liverock to start curing. Oh, and if you use your newly uncovered tank :), make sure you do a thorough rinse...a quick wash with a MILD vinegar and water solution would not go amiss..just make sure to rinse very well before doing your final fill.

Also, how long was the tank buried? You may need to do a quick leak check fill to make sure your silicone seams are still solid. You don't want a surprise of filling the tank with sand, liverock and saltwater, only to find the tank devoid of water and your floor saturated.....

Oh, as an aside...having an empty tank around the house is dangerous :). I had an empty 29, 20 and the 8 gallon biocube..uhm..they WERE empty until about a month ago. Since I set those three back up, along with the 75 that was already running, I added a 40 gallon brackish and a 5.5 split betta tank. Darned empty tanks.......:)

Terese
 

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Smiley

Small Fish
Sep 18, 2009
10
0
0
#11
haha nice work!
and yeah i think your right and i should just stick to my original game plan! and the big cube can come a bit later!
the tank has been sitting in the shed for about a yeah now! so hopefully shes all good or im going to have to do some DIY on it! haha
i like how you have just set up a few more tanks! i love this hobby! haha
thanx for the push back in the right direction!
:)
 

tlkng1

Small Fish
Jul 17, 2009
46
0
0
Glen Burnie, MD
#12
I had tried to add some costs to my previous post but the forum kicked me out and I had to re-log in. It might make you feel better to go back and look at what I found online for prices....:) I edited the last post.
 

Smiley

Small Fish
Sep 18, 2009
10
0
0
#13
wow! looks like i need to start shopping online! im in australia and am unsure about a good website that ships things any suggestions would be nice!

i did what you said and cleaned and filled up my 2ft tank! i also messured it seeing as i had a day off today! finally! haha
height = 46cm
width = 61cm
depth = 30cm
which equals 84.18L so around about a 22 gallon tank by my calculations.
does that sound about right?
:)
 

Feb 25, 2008
342
0
0
Savage, MN
#14
This is just my own opinion, but if you have a 29 gallon disply tank your don't really need a sump. A Koralia 2, HOB filter and a protein skimmer should be plenty. Thats all I had on my 20 gallon setup. Had that for almost 2 years before I upgraded to my 75 gallon tank.