<-- Nano Newbie with ?s

Apr 16, 2005
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Oklahoma
#1
Okay. I know you all might be tired of the newbie posts. Im no stranger to freshwater but im fascinated by saltwater. All I want is someone to tell me EXACTLY everything I'd need to start a nano tank (10gal) or direct me to a post that would tell me. I just want a list of what I'd need and why. I've yet to find a saltwater how to or tutorial that I could really make sense of. There's not too much to freshwater but when I read about SW it just seems like theres a million different things you need to know and/or have in order to keep a healthy, happy, successful tank.

I'm still just considering this based on the difficulty and price of it all. I want to get the 6 gallon nano cube from JBJ which would take care of lighting, filtration, housing, and water circulation (if I read correctly) for just 100.00. If thats the case what else would I need besides that? Just want to learn. Dont hate me! haha.
 

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lordroad

Large Fish
Sep 2, 2004
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Shelby, NC
www.joshday.com
#2
Check out the threads ten gallon nano has begun and new 10 gallon reocurring theme.

You can also get useful info from the saltwater stickies.

check out all the posts in the nano section in the last month and a half. a while back i linked to an excellent article about starting out and what you'll need. best one i found on the web.

it took me a while, but i found everything i needed to know from google. i supplemented my knowledge from books i checked out from the library.

my biggest learning curve was understanding all the lighting jingo... actinic blues, full spectrum, 50/50... there's a whole new language, and unfortunately, you can rarely find stuff laid out for you in exact terms. some books give it to you in detail, others just use the language withOUT defining the vocab.
 

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1979camaro

Ultimate Fish
Oct 22, 2002
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San Ramon, CA
#3
yah, the most current/best threads in this topic by C-Man, lordroad, and OCCFan023 will give you a good idea of how they have gone about setting up a nano. if you read the general SW section there is a sticky called something to the effect of "what you need to start a SW tank" which will also be useful.

I must say I reccomend against starting with a nano, particularly something as small as a 6g, but it is doable. I would advise you to at least seriously consider going for the 12g jbj if you want to go nano. You can't really keep much in a 6 and the hassles of keeping it stable can be a bit overwhelming if you do not have the background to immediately diagnose problems.

Before you do anything tank wise you should read "New Marine Aquarium" by Paletta just so you have a general udnerstanding of the principles by which SW tanks work (and don't).

I am not trying to sound snotty when I say this, but the fact is the information you are asking for requires a book and, while I am a brilliant writer, I do not want to produce said book at this time, especially when there are others out there on the subject...
 

lordroad

Large Fish
Sep 2, 2004
989
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Shelby, NC
www.joshday.com
#4
Yeah, try to steer away from the 6 gallon. 10 gallons are limited enough. check out some other threads with people starting tanks smaller then ten gallons; several have not turned out so well...

from a fellow marine newby, best advise i can give you is read up on everything and know exactly what you are doing... every decision should be thought out. once you research and have a plan, make a schedule and stick to it, you can easily succeed.
 

Apr 16, 2005
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Oklahoma
#5
I'll look around for those posts. Also, checked my local library's site and they have that book so I'll just check it out and read that.

I'm not even 100% sure I want to start a SW tank. Just researching first.

Thanks!
 

OCCFan023

Superstar Fish
Jul 29, 2004
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New Jersey
#7
I havent even started adding fish so far, and its already rewarding me but just seeing how cool the live rock itself is. If you stick with it and learn as much as you can youll love it. People say that once you go salt you never go back, I cant really tell if this is true, but sure feels like it. These guys have given you all the information I can think of, but Id just like to add and reiterate (sp) what I said before, if you go into it, youll love it!
 

Apr 16, 2005
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Oklahoma
#8
Thanks for the responses. I'm just going to keep reading and reading and get as educated as I can. When I give it a shot I'll be sure to make a diary out of it so I can get some help from you guys along the way. Theres a lot of knowledge in this forum.